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at the end of my rope/IDE cable :)



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 5th 04, 05:04 AM
Steve Rennick
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Default at the end of my rope/IDE cable :)

hi all!

first-time poster, and really hoping i can get some help from the collective
wisdom here. my system is very unstable. it either hard-locks (have to
re-set or power right down, including the power switch at the back of the
case), or it randomly reboots (the hard lock usually happens either in the
middle of an app, or if i go away and let the computer go to "sleep"..i.e.
shut the display off...rebooting usually happens during a game...no, no
particular game, ANY game). before i go any further, here are my specs:

asus a7s333 mobo
amd xp 1600+ chip
512mb ddr ram
geforce 4 ti4200 vid card
audigy 1 soundcard
maxtor 40 gig hard drive
liteon burnproof cdrw
dlink network card
daytek 95p monitor
smc wireless router (i'm hardwired into it, as is another PC on my homelan,
with 2 other PCs using wireless network cards)
400 watt PS
OS-win98se w/all the latest updates incl. directx9.0b (or whatever the
latest is)
BIOS-updated to the latest for my mother board...have also updated to the
latest SIS AGP drivers for my mother board.

things i have already done (in no particular order...it's late and i feel
like i've been banging my head against a brick wall ):
-swapped memory with another system that has same mobo.
-ran memtest 86 on current memory and memory borrowed from other system
-reinstalled OS (win98se)
-fdisked and formatted hard drive (after running every imaginable maxtor
utility i could download to verify it WASN'T a hard drive problem)
-moved cards around in my pci slots to eliminate possible conflicts
-checked if it was a heat problem (all monitoring programs say no...to be on
the safe side, took out chip and cleaned and re-applied arctic silver)
-tried changing powerbars
-tried plugging into a different electrical outlet
-ran the system w/o cd-rw plugged in (ya never know)
-reinstalled video and soundcard drivers
-uninstalled most recent windows update updates (but left IE and OE 6)
-tried using different plug-ins off my power supply
-tried using different IDE cables..and configurations (master/slaved
HD/CDRW; configured both as masters in primary/secondary IDE channels; right
now, have the HD as primary master and CDRW as secondary slave)

that's all i can remember having done right now. the only things i can
think it would be now a
1) power supply is bad
2) mobo is bad
3) case is bad
4) processor is bad

none of the things i've already done made a LICK of difference...system
crashes many times a day, and at, because murphy rules, the most inopportune
times. luckily, it's mostly a games machine, and not one i do much work
on...but i do do SOME work on it...and this is driving me nuts!!!! the
other machines on my LAN are ROCK-SOLID...so i'm, literally...at the end of
my IDE cable. any help would be HUGE!

thanks a million!
steve in canada


  #2  
Old January 5th 04, 11:21 AM
jamotto
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Steve Rennick" wrote in message news:yn5Kb.950474$6C4.912851@pd7tw1no...
hi all!

first-time poster, and really hoping i can get some help from the collective
wisdom here. my system is very unstable. it either hard-locks (have to
re-set or power right down, including the power switch at the back of the
case), or it randomly reboots (the hard lock usually happens either in the
middle of an app, or if i go away and let the computer go to "sleep"..i.e.
shut the display off...rebooting usually happens during a game...no, no
particular game, ANY game). before i go any further, here are my specs:

asus a7s333 mobo
amd xp 1600+ chip
512mb ddr ram
geforce 4 ti4200 vid card
audigy 1 soundcard
maxtor 40 gig hard drive
liteon burnproof cdrw
dlink network card
daytek 95p monitor
smc wireless router (i'm hardwired into it, as is another PC on my homelan,
with 2 other PCs using wireless network cards)
400 watt PS
OS-win98se w/all the latest updates incl. directx9.0b (or whatever the
latest is)
BIOS-updated to the latest for my mother board...have also updated to the
latest SIS AGP drivers for my mother board.

things i have already done (in no particular order...it's late and i feel
like i've been banging my head against a brick wall ):
-swapped memory with another system that has same mobo.
-ran memtest 86 on current memory and memory borrowed from other system
-reinstalled OS (win98se)
-fdisked and formatted hard drive (after running every imaginable maxtor
utility i could download to verify it WASN'T a hard drive problem)
-moved cards around in my pci slots to eliminate possible conflicts
-checked if it was a heat problem (all monitoring programs say no...to be on
the safe side, took out chip and cleaned and re-applied arctic silver)
-tried changing powerbars
-tried plugging into a different electrical outlet
-ran the system w/o cd-rw plugged in (ya never know)
-reinstalled video and soundcard drivers
-uninstalled most recent windows update updates (but left IE and OE 6)
-tried using different plug-ins off my power supply
-tried using different IDE cables..and configurations (master/slaved
HD/CDRW; configured both as masters in primary/secondary IDE channels; right
now, have the HD as primary master and CDRW as secondary slave)

that's all i can remember having done right now. the only things i can
think it would be now a
1) power supply is bad
2) mobo is bad
3) case is bad
4) processor is bad

none of the things i've already done made a LICK of difference...system
crashes many times a day, and at, because murphy rules, the most inopportune
times. luckily, it's mostly a games machine, and not one i do much work
on...but i do do SOME work on it...and this is driving me nuts!!!! the
other machines on my LAN are ROCK-SOLID...so i'm, literally...at the end of
my IDE cable. any help would be HUGE!

thanks a million!
steve in canada


Might have picked up a virus somewhere.

How old is the motherboard? What brand of Power Supply do you have?
While you where in the case did you try and remove everything and just
run with the bare essentials(keyboard, harddrive, video card, memory
and monitor). Have you tried going into "safe mode"? When you
plugged the computer into a different outlet was it on a different
circuit than the other outlet?
  #3  
Old January 5th 04, 03:18 PM
Steve Rennick
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default



Might have picked up a virus somewhere.

just did a virus scan, so i don't think so...

How old is the motherboard?


less than 2 yrs

What brand of Power Supply do you have?


US-Can Switching Power Supply

While you where in the case did you try and remove everything and just
run with the bare essentials(keyboard, harddrive, video card, memory
and monitor).


No.

Have you tried going into "safe mode"?


Safe mode also crashes

When you plugged the computer into a different outlet was it on a

different circuit than the other outlet?

Yes.

Thanks Jamotto!


  #4  
Old January 5th 04, 06:21 PM
N. Thornton
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Posts: n/a
Default

"Steve Rennick" wrote in message news:yn5Kb.950474$6C4.912851@pd7tw1no...

wisdom here. my system is very unstable. it either hard-locks (have to
re-set or power right down, including the power switch at the back of the
case), or it randomly reboots (the hard lock usually happens either in the
middle of an app, or if i go away and let the computer go to "sleep"..i.e.
shut the display off...rebooting usually happens during a game...no, no
particular game, ANY game). before i go any further, here are my specs:


sounds like typical symptoms of a badly overclocked system. That
doesnt mean it is overclocked, but if its not and you now deliberately
underclock it your woes might be over. In other words something may be
below par frequency response wise, and slowing it would likely get it
to work ok.

Try that and see, either way you then know a bit more, and you may get
a stable system.

I would also monitor the PSU rails, check theyre within spec.
If you have 2 sticks RAM run it with one stick, then the other - again
if ones off you'll pick it up that way.

Remove anything non essential and run, see if it crashes again. Again
youre diving and conquering. All you need run for this is mobo, psu,
cpu, ram, vid card, monitor, floppy. Remove everything else, HDD,
other cards, etc. Boot in DOS and see if it runs or crashes.

that's all i can remember having done right now. the only things i can
think it would be now a
1) power supply is bad

- maybe
2) mobo is bad

- maybe, probably the most likely.
3) case is bad

- case doesnt normally affect anything.
4) processor is bad

- least likely.

Theres never a guarantee youll fix it, but the more you can narrow
things down the better.


Regards, NT
  #5  
Old January 6th 04, 06:08 AM
Steve Rennick
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

sounds like typical symptoms of a badly overclocked system. That
doesnt mean it is overclocked, but if its not and you now deliberately
underclock it your woes might be over. In other words something may be
below par frequency response wise, and slowing it would likely get it
to work ok.

Try that and see, either way you then know a bit more, and you may get
a stable system.

so, after swapping out my 400w psu for a 300w psu in another system in my
homeLAN that is stable Iwhen i took it out of this other machine, i was
amazed at how much stuff i have plugged into that 750mhz duron system [3hds
for example], that i should probably have the 400 in it, i was still
getting reboots (the game i'm using to make it crash right now is diablo 2).
what typically happens is right after i start the game (as soon as i load up
a character and start running, within about 30 seconds) the computer
reboots. and it happened even after swapping out my PSU. so one your
advice, i went into the bios after the system had rebooted, and throttled
back my cpu from 1400 mhz to 1050 (which knocked by FSB from 133 down to
100). now, usually, when it reboots, and i try to go back in and play
diablo2, it'll just keep rebooting until i power every thing down (including
switching off the PSU itself), and leave the machine off for awhile. BUT
NOT THIS TIME!?! i'm gonna leave the computer on overnight, and see if it's
still running in the morning. good night...


If you have 2 sticks RAM run it with one stick, then the other - again
if ones off you'll pick it up that way.


i've tried this, with ram from another machine that i know is good...still
crashes...

Remove anything non essential and run, see if it crashes again. Again
youre diving and conquering. All you need run for this is mobo, psu,
cpu, ram, vid card, monitor, floppy. Remove everything else, HDD,
other cards, etc. Boot in DOS and see if it runs or crashes.


have yet to do this, but it sounds like a weekend project

thanks NT...will keep you posted...


  #6  
Old January 6th 04, 07:50 AM
jamotto
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Steve Rennick" wrote in message news:KmeKb.956304$6C4.170672@pd7tw1no...

Might have picked up a virus somewhere.

just did a virus scan, so i don't think so...

How old is the motherboard?


less than 2 yrs

What brand of Power Supply do you have?


US-Can Switching Power Supply

While you where in the case did you try and remove everything and just
run with the bare essentials(keyboard, harddrive, video card, memory
and monitor).


No.

Have you tried going into "safe mode"?


Safe mode also crashes

When you plugged the computer into a different outlet was it on a

different circuit than the other outlet?

Yes.

Thanks Jamotto!


I would remove all devices you don't need. What I posted before is all
you need to start the computer(if you need it you can add the floppy
drive but it will run without it). See if it run's ok. N. Thornton
brought up a good point are you overclocking this computer?

What I'm thinking is either a overheating computer/underperforming
powersupply or resource confilicts.

At two years hold the motherboard could be failing. When my
motherboard started to fail it would often not want to reboot(would
not post).
  #7  
Old January 6th 04, 03:53 PM
Steve Rennick
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Posts: n/a
Default

I would remove all devices you don't need. What I posted before is all
you need to start the computer(if you need it you can add the floppy
drive but it will run without it).


haven't done this yet...but probably will on the weekend.
N. Thornton
brought up a good point are you overclocking this computer?


no...but when i clocked it down to 1050/100fsb (from 1400/133fsb, which amd
says this chip is supposed to run at), i thought, briefly, i had some
stability...for reasons given in an earlier post (i could actually do
something post rebooting that i couldn't before). so i left the pc on
overnight...but, by morning, it had crashed again

What I'm thinking is either a overheating computer/underperforming
powersupply or resource confilicts.


both motherboard monitor and asusprobe tell me all my components are
operating well with acceptable heat ranges...i swapped out the current 400w
ps for a 300w ps i have in another stable machine (which, when i took the
other machine apart, given all the stuff i had plugged into it, SHOULD'VE
had the 400 in IT!), but it still crashed.

At two years hold the motherboard could be failing. When my
motherboard started to fail it would often not want to reboot(would
not post).


i'm beginning to wonder...either that or the chip...not what i wanted to
hear, but if it'll fix it...


  #8  
Old January 6th 04, 09:15 PM
jamotto
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Posts: n/a
Default

"Steve Rennick" wrote in message news:oZzKb.12458$hk.4577@pd7tw1no...
I would remove all devices you don't need. What I posted before is all
you need to start the computer(if you need it you can add the floppy
drive but it will run without it).


haven't done this yet...but probably will on the weekend.
N. Thornton

While your in the case check all the CAPS on the motherboard for
damage. These cylindrical parts that tend to be silver colored. See
if any of are ruptured and leaking electrolyte and double check all
your connections again.

One more question did your problems start out of the blue or did you
install any new hardware and/or software and then the problems began?
  #9  
Old January 7th 04, 05:11 AM
ray
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Default

jst a thought.... u said ur using win98, try installing a diff OS
win98 has allot of issues try 2k with the latest service packs, also
if u want to use 98 for some odd ball reason in particular then try
diff flavors(builds) of it...!!

hope it helps..!!
  #10  
Old January 7th 04, 05:23 AM
Steve Rennick
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Posts: n/a
Default

hey ray,
yeah, i've tried winxp...have the same problems, but thanks
steve

"ray" wrote in message
m...
jst a thought.... u said ur using win98, try installing a diff OS
win98 has allot of issues try 2k with the latest service packs, also
if u want to use 98 for some odd ball reason in particular then try
diff flavors(builds) of it...!!

hope it helps..!!



 




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