random restart and clock not staying on time

[hakeem5454]

Well how do i figure out what piece of hardware it is? Is it my power supply?

ok my computer restarted and i got this stop code:

0x0000008E(0xC0000005,0x80574F74,0xEE58BB4,0x00000000)

[Zxian]

Did you even read the page that I linked above?

0x0000008E: KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

(Click to consult the online MSDN article.)

A kernel mode program generated an exception which the error handler didn’t catch. These are nearly always hardware compatibility issues (which sometimes means a driver issue or a need for a BIOS upgrade).

The link under that Stop code also suggests the possibility of faulty RAM (Link). If you've got more than one stick of RAM, try running one at a time, and switching the slots that it/they are in.

The problem with figuring this out right now is the fact that it could be either hardware or software.

Have you tried running Knoppix yet? If the system works fine with Knoppix, then we can rule out a hardware problem altogether. Right now, it could be either hardware or software (drivers, specifically). If the system crashes while running Knoppix, then it's hardware - if it doesn't, then it's software.

Download and run Knoppix. It will really help to pinpoint the problem.

[hakeem5454]

ok im downloading knoppix as i write this, it takes around 11hrs to download this?. Is that correct or am i getting it from the wrong place. And i did buy an extra stick of ram, and when i told my friend that i bought it he said that they have to be the same speeds or you will run into problems. Could that be the problem.?

1-256mb

1-512mb ----how do i figure out what speeds they are?(if that is the problem)

[Zxian]

As for Knoppix - You should be able to find a faster server... you're only getting about 15-20kbps, right? There should be servers that will download at 60-100kbps depending on your location and theirs. Try to find one that's in Canada or the States.

If it's DDR RAM, then you shouldn't have troubles with different speeds. All that will happen is that both sticks will run at the slower of the two speeds.

If you've got the sticks visible, there should be a sticker on each of them. It will say PCxxxx where the last 4 digits will tell you the speed (2100 = 266MHz, 2700 = 333MHz, 3200 = 400MHz, etc etc). If the numbers are different, like I said, the RAM will simply run at the speed of the slowest chip.

[hakeem5454]

ok well knoppix is done downloading so im going to burn it to a disc and see what happens. As for the ram ill get back to u on that one when i open my computer to check.

EDIT: ok i ran knoppix and it booted a linux OS and stuff. Is that supposed to happen? And its all in german or something. but it did run succesfully?

Edited September 1, 2005 by hakeem5454

[Zxian]

It's in German...:S Does the ISO file name have "EN" in it?

If it runs and you can run programs and such for a good long while (several hours, or much longer than you would in Windows), then like I said, you've got a problem with your Windows settings or installation.

If you get a crash in Knoppix, then we can say that your problem is hardware related.

[hakeem5454]

yes it does sayEN in it. How long am i supposed to run it for appoximatly? i only ran it for about 15 mins. And for the 15 mins it worked fine, but it was hard to get it run becuase i had to decypher what everything said kind of to get into the knoppix itself.