PC Freezing - any advice please? (LONGISH)

Whitefiver

By the way - memtest has completed one pass with no errors, and the PC has been running for 37 minutes so far. I'll leave it for a while, but I would be interested to see what the CPU temp is now. Obvioulsy, the graphics card is barely turning over (dos screen), so if it is related to the graphics in any way, duff AGP slot or associated gubbins on mobo, it should keep on going for ever now.....

Regards,

White

Curry_Queen

Whitefiver wrote:

Thanks Curry, why don't you google for Speedfan, which is some free software which reports certain temperatures in your PC (depending on its age, and so on). Also voltages, etc. etc.

Sorry, no expert about case fans, but surely to do any real good, you would need a hole to fit one in? Don't think the ones that go in a PCI slot would do much good. Make sure the PC isn't full of dust too.

Regards,

White.

I was going to ask about these programmes as I've seen them mentioned a couple of times now, so thanks! I'm sure I used to have something installed on this PC at one point which used to give me these sort of readings but no idea what it was, and I've fitted a new HD since then so I don't have it anymore.

I was actually quite surprised at how clean my son's PC was inside, considering it's almost a year since I built it, and the only heavy dust build up was at the fan vent and in the base of the case which I've managed to eradicate fairly easily. All the components still look relatively clean, especially compared to my machine LOL!

The reason I'm thinking of the extra fan is because although the current problems are probably due to the sudden heatwave, his bedroom also houses the gas CH combi boiler (and the PC sits near it!) which is obviously going to be throwing out extra heat during the winter too once the heating is switched on. Due to lack of room at the moment it's a toss up whether it sits nearer to the boiler or a radiator

Whitefiver

Well, running memtest under DOS from a bootable floppy, my PC lasted 1 hr 13 mins before freezing totally. No repsonse to kboard, memtest frozen,and so on. The good news was that memtest completed 2 passes with no failures, so I guess the memory is OK.

Running DOS (white on blue) meant that the graphics card wasn't exactly being stretched either!

The Dell Outlet pages are beckoning, maybe. Anyway, maybe I'll strip everything bar the absolute basics (but I would have thought thayt running from a floppy was pretty basic - no drivers would have been loaded, for example!), and try again, but *not* tonight.

Any more advice - please?

Regards,

White.

T4i

If memtest froze under DOS (even if it passed 2 phases) its your memory.

1hr is not long enough to run memtest succesfully. You should be looking at 10hrs+.

Joe_Bloggs

@ Whitefiver, you seem pretty competent at putting PCs together and know your stuff. Have you checked the integrity of the North bridge heatsink ? This motherboard chip contains the memory controller for Athlon XP systems and previous processors. Sometimes they just put a useless double sided sticky pad to hold the heatsink on. I lapped my Northbridge flat to make better thermal contact with the heatsink. There are always memory timings to relax to gain stability.
J_B.(My tongue still hurts from those lapping days.)

PS I don't think memtest86 runs 'under dos', it is too compact and has a Linux type feel to it.

Mr_Skint_2

Ok so

On the sort of subject of heat my craptop is getting quite warm
and I cant find a decent cooling platform anyone know of any sites
at a reasonable price...

Cheers Peeps

justpaper

mr white do u really what to safe this pc ? maybe u should make one,. turning it on and testing it all the teim may lead to burning out another part maybe u should get some rounded IDE cables for better air flow in the tower,.. i think u should get another M/B and bult with the working parts in the old pc there no point in getting a bigger harddrive in a pc thats already got problems so based on that i think u should really try (seems like u could) built another,. then u'll have ur no so cheap GFX card in it and new case with 3 case fans on it ur rounded ide cables and temp read out,. also ur new bigharddrive


sorry if theres typos *points at time*

Mr_Skint_2

justpaper wrote:

Mr White do you really what to save this PC?

Maybe you should make one,. Turning it on and testing it all the time may lead to burning out another part maybe you should get some rounded IDE cables for better air flow in the tower, I think you should get another MOBO and build it with the working parts in the old PC there's no point in getting a bigger hard drive in a PC thats already got problems so based on that I think you should really try (seems like you could) build another,. Then you'll have your not so cheap GFX card in it and new case with 3 case fans on it your rounded IDE cables and temp read out,. also your new big hard drive


sorry if theres typos *points at time*

I tidied it up a bit for you

Whitefiver

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

@ Have you checked the integrity of the North bridge heatsink ? This motherboard chip contains the memory controller for Athlon XP systems and previous processors.

PS I don't think memtest86 runs 'under dos', it is too compact and has a Linux type feel to it.

Hi Joe,

The Northbridge has a fan as well as a small heatsink, and that is running sweetly, and is dust free - from what I can see, it would also be a PIG to remove, as the screws are covered in gunk.

Memtest - well, I did pick the windows/DOS floppy option, so I'm sorry, but I assumed it was a sort of DOS.

Thanks for your ideas,

Regards,

White.

Joe_Bloggs

The fact that the Northbridge has a heatsink and fan makes me think that the manufacturers suspected heat would be a factor in normal operation. My Northbridge did not have a fan but it had some useless foam tape between the heatsink and a concave plastic chip coating. The heatsink itself was also warped. If your Northbridge heatsink appears cool it is probably because the heatsink is not in good thermal contact with it.
What FSB are you running your memory at ?
J_B.