inexplicable freeze ups - help please

P

PureEvil

Geek Trainee
Hi there, first post here and I have a problem.
I recently got around to rebuilding/revamping my system, but now I'm having some troubles. Namely that my computer will freeze up with no warning, and nothing short of the reset button will remedy the situation. So my screen image freezes, and sometimes it's acompanied by a med-high pitched droneing sound from my speakers. It tends to happen while I'm gaming (Diablo2, almost instantly with Counterstrike source) but also happened while I was moving files from one HD to the other. If it happens once and I restart the task I was doing it tends to do it again right away. Heat sinks seem cold to the touch and nothing is overclocked.
Another problem (of less importance) when I try to install Starcraft (on either one of CD drives, using 2 different legit copies it wont work)

Specs:
MB: ASRock K7VT6/E/A/ASR
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2800+ w/333MHZ FSB
Video card: WinFast A340 T 128MB (GeForce FX5200)
RAM: 512 PC3200
HD: some 200gig HD, and an old 40gig

It doesn't seem to be the RAM, because we poped it out and tossed it in my friends PC and he played for a few hours with no problems.

I cant seem to think of an explaination for this odd behavior, any thoughts would be greatl apreciated.
Please help me!

Oh and as an adendum, it's freezing more often and faster now. As in after less then 10 minutes of Diablo2 which isn't exactly a new game.
any questions please ask.
 
What kind of power supply do you have? Also, could you please post what voltages your BIOS is reporting? That'll help us troubleshoot.

Thanks,
-AT
 
300w Sparkle Power Int'l LTD
As for curent voltages, I dont know, my computer loads up before I manage to get into the bios. last time I remember seeing them a couple were a little low though.
 
This might be a bit off, but try replacing your AGP Card with a PCI-based one if possible and see what happens. If you put in the right drivers for the PCI video card and your PC works well after that, then check for loose connections in your AGP slot or some corrosion thereabouts. It could also be that your video card is drawing too much current for your PSU to handle. Good luck! :good:
 
It is not the power supply.
I bought a new 430W CoolerMaster ExtremePower, installed it and the same thing keeps happening, perhaps more often/sooner (insuficant testing to say for sure.)

Anything else?
 
Have you tried swapping out the video card? If we rule out all possible HARDWARE causes, then it seems logical that it could be your software. Try disabling your anti virus or anything running in the background. On the other hand, try scanning your system for Malware using something like AdAware SE. Check your start-up configuration because if all else fails, it could be your Mobo.
 
Well, the heatsinks should be at least warm (hot is bad too). You might wanna take of the CPU heatsink, clean off the thermal paste or pad (scrape it off the heatsink with a razor blade) with isopropyl alcohol, then reapply a paper-thin coat of thermal paste...something like Arctic Silver is a great choice.

Even if you don't think it's the problem, try it, because it could be a heat issue from the sound of it. If it's not, this will help eliminate it as a possible problem.
 
Hey man, why dont you reinstall the Operating System? That will rule out lots of posible issues. You can also boot your PC in "safe mode". At least it should give you an idea if the problem is hardware-related or software-related.

If you determine that it's hardware, then strip the system to its bare minimum; just MOBO, RAM, CPU, Vid card, and then only one hard drive, and see if the problem persists. Let us know how it went.


PS. IF all else fails, you can try this :crash: , but only as a last resort :stickout:.
 
wait does ur mobo support pc3200? because that might be it. make sure every component is firmly in place and the connections from the power supply are in place, idk if u need a new PSU it seems enough.

i agree with dannyjos if it doesn't work smack it with a hammer, its worked for me b4 haha
 
sorry I've been busy. Took it into the shop and long story short they cant seem to replicate the problem. I've been told that newer systems are more suceptible to voltage spikes and crap like that. So I'm going to try borrowing my friends UPS (it has a voltage corrector and stuff) Hopefully that'll fix the problem.

The heatsink on the video card has since been changed to one with a fan, it's now cool. Bought a new case fan to install, need a power adaptor first though (DOH)

yes the Mobo supports PC3200 RAM. I dont really want to format again it gets annoying, so I'll only try that as a last resort.

It also crashes durring non-video intesive stuff to, so we'll see if it's the power supply from the wall causeing the problem.
 
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