Is this an OS Issue with me?

[XL-DJK]

O.K.... here's one to tinker with, I'm not sure where the problem lies, but here goes:

My System randomly hangs.... nuff said

Here's my Basic Debug method -

I've tried installing/uninstalling programs

I've downclocked my CPU to spec

I've reinstalled my OS several times with various settings including defaults

done a reboot using NEWEST Drivers

Now, I've discovered when I install and load Overnet/eDonkey, or run Adobe Audition,my system hanging will happen within an 30min period, normally I've discovered it'll hang after an hour or 2....sometimes it'll go all day without hanging? I'm thinking maybe the Processor's conking out on me? it's reg temp is 45 which is the norm for P4 1.8Ghz and I've installed a Temp monitor to keep an eye on the issue.... temp stays the same... no spikes in range...I'm clueless

Any thoughts/ideas on this?

[Davor]

Try testing your memory with memtest86+ ... you shouldn't have any errors. best is to let it run all night.

greets

Davor

[ripken204]

exactly what he said. this is most likely a ram problem

[coconut]

could be power supply failing too, check voltages in bios. sounds like ram or heating issue though

[alexanrs]

Once I had a problem with my system randomly hanging... I found out that it was a small issue with my PCChips M810LR and my Nvidea Geforce 4... To be more specific, the motherboard was telling the NVidea drivere that it can handle AGP FastWrites and, in fact, this seems to be buggy in that board, so I disabled it ussing RivaTuner and my system turned to be stable like a charm... Maybe you have a similar low level hardware incompatibility?

[coconut]

try entering bios and look for 'fail-safe' settings. load those instead of 'optimized settings'. could be a number of things really, do you still have warranty? how old is the computer?

[XL-DJK]

Well, my motherboard's at least 8months old (purchased)

RAM'S only 3 months old

HardDrive's 3years old

Power Supply's for a P4 (not a 400watter though,)

Radeon 9200 SE's a year old

Gonna run Memtest and see what comes up

and I am running on Default setups in Bios, still same issue

[atomizer]

in addition to running memtest, you might want to check with the vendor of your RAM to see what the voltage should be set at, as well as the timings.

[XL-DJK]

KINGSTON 512MB 400MHz DDR Non-ECC CL2.5 DIMM Dual Rank

Standard 64M X 64 Non-ECC 400MHz 184-pin Unbuffered DIMM (SDRAM-DDR, 2.6V, CL2.5)

ASUS Motherboard - Intel 865PE Chipset Socket 478

-800 MHz FSB

-Dual-Channel DDR400 Memory

-Intel Hyper-Threading Technology

-ASUS Intelligence Features

-Wi-Fi slot for optional wireless LAN upgrade

INSTALLED PROCESSOR:

Pentium 4 CPU @ 1.8Ghz

Supported Voltage - 3.3v,2.9v

External Clock - 100Mhz

Max Speed 3600Mhz(?)

Current Speed 1800Mhz

Socket Populated Enabled

Socket 478

VIDEOCARD - ATI RADEON 9200 SE 128MB

-Quad-pipe Pixel Power

-AGP 8X

-SmoothVision,SmartShader and FullStream

-Hydravision

-3.3V

CURRENT POWER:

12volt <-12.159v/avg

+5volt <-5.107volt

3.3volt <-3.136v/avg

VCORE ->1.568v/avg

CPU Temp avgerages between 29c - 45c

Edited September 5, 2005 by XL-DJK95355

[iWindoze]

Once I had a problem with my system randomly hanging... I found out that it was a small issue with my PCChips M810LR and my Nvidea Geforce 4... To be more specific, the motherboard was telling the NVidea drivere that it can handle AGP FastWrites and, in fact, this seems to be buggy in that board, so I disabled it ussing RivaTuner and my system turned to be stable like a charm... Maybe you have a similar low level hardware incompatibility?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I had that board for a while...that's the one with the onboard SiS730 video, right?

How'd you ever recoup the memory? The board refused to give it up even with a

alt video card in...

[XL-DJK]

K, well, I ran memtest for about 9hrs with NO errors, anyone know of a good CPU tester for a Pentium?

Edited September 5, 2005 by XL-DJK95355

[Davor]

well, if the reboots are random, as you say, it suggest the problem is failing hardware, and so it isn't 'coded'.

anyhow, as you ran memtest, you also 'tested' your cpu ... something has to 'compare' the values, no?

what i would do is last time try to set all the possible biossettings to disable, so not just default, (even maybe the UDMA, but this would probably make your PC extremly slow). If it still crashes the problem with highest probablility is IMO the PSU, as coconut suggested.

(what also might be is extreme temp on the componets, but thats unprobable, atleast if your incase temperature is below, lets say 50°C)

Greets

Davor

[XL-DJK]

The system doesn't reboot... it just freezes. Especially when I'm running Adobe Audition, Overnet/eDonkey2000 or even PJ64 (N64 Emulator)... all of which are processor intensive.

I had my CPU overclocked to 2.3Ghz 533Mhz, and noticed the freezing times increase slightly, so I'm honestly thinking that my Processor's conking out.

2 years ago, my uncle threw out a Motherboard saying that the owner said it used to freeze all the time. I looked into it, it turned out that the Retention Mechanism/Module was broken therefore not allowing the heatsink to disperse heat properly resulting in overheating 90c and the system would hang. I fiddled around with the heatsink... threw a little more heat paste on and found that I could bring temp back down to norm resulting in no more freezing. A year later the motherboard that came with the processor died, so I replaced the motherboard with another Socket478 - P4P800 SE, I got a new Retention module but I still was left with having the replace the clamp (mechanism). About 1 month ago, I noticed that it would freeze randomly, I have since bought a new clamp/heatsink hoping that it would solve the issue, but it hasn't.

Basically saying -> I think that when the prev. owner of the P4 I'm running now used to own it, all the constant overheating has cooked the processor making it enevitable for my situation that's happening now. Unusual being that I've been using this processor for close to 2 years now with no issue since I've resolved the problem. Plus, I think I've just contributed to the shorter life of the processor by overclocking it. What do you guys think?

Anyway I could do a benchmark on the Processor? Throw different "loads" onto the processor and then analyse the situation from there? I think that's my last hope....

Edited September 6, 2005 by XL-DJK95355

[Cartoonite]

Sounds like you have been doing everything right as far as trying to isolate the problem.

Based on what has been presented in the thread so far, my best guess is either the CPU or the PSU.

Given the history of your CPU, it seems more likely to me that it would be the culprit. You are definitely right that the constant overheating by the previous owner would likely have long-term effects on the CPU; and it is also a known fact that overclocking a CPU will reduce its lifetime as well.

I didn't find much notice of your PSU in the thread, but if you are running near its maximum capacity, you may also simply be suffering from insuficient power. CPU-intensive apps require more CPU power, and, as such, more power from the PSU to run.

Unfortunately I don't know of any applications that will help determine which of these two components is the true cause of your difficulties. You could try to reduce the power consumption of your PC to see if that resolves the issue. Options to do that include unplugging unneccesary hardware such as additional hard drives and/or optical drives or, if you have one available, you could try downgrading your video card as an older model should require less power. If reducing the power usage in your PC is enough to resolve the issue, it is likely the PSU that needs to be replaced; if not, the CPU is the more likey cantidate.

Hope this helps.

[XL-DJK]

Thanks, that's the answer I've been thinking on for the day.... my PSU is brand new...450watt supply, and, now that you mention it, my unit HAS started to do some funky stuff around the same time I replaced my PSU. I think we've nailed it down to those 2 things... i think I have an older PSU I can try out and see what happens.... right now I'm running 2 HD's, CD Drive,DVD Drive, SBLive!PCI,USB 2.0 (2 jacks) and my 128MB AGP as well as a floppy drive. Haven't added anything to the system for the last 3 years in the way of additions besides upgrading my VideoCard and replacing my PSU solet's see what happens now, shall we?