computer keeps freezing

xxkkangxxxxkkangxx
edited November 2005 in Hardware
just built the machine about a week ago. after about a minute after boot up, the computer will freeze. i was working with mbm5 to see if it was a temp issue but toying with the sensors meant atleast 15-20 restarts before i could get to all of them. at first the computer would freeze about 3-5 minutes in but with each restart i think the time is getting shorter and shorter before it freezes. any help would be great. thanks

didn't hook everything up so hardware specs are currently

Western Digital Raptor 74GB
NEC 3540a
Zalman CNPS7700-CU 120mm
1GB (2x512) OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2
AMD Athlon 64 Venice Core 3000+
XFX GeForce 7800GT
MSI K8N NEO4-F
PC Power & Cooling 510W SLI-PFC

Comments

  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited November 2005
    Great hardware you've got there. You can also check the the temperatures in the BIOS under Computer Health. What is being reported there? Your heatsink is a masterpiece, it shouldn't be the problem unless there's a mounting problem leaving a slight air gap between its base and the CPU heatspreader. I'm sure you've double-checked that, right?

    Try running with just one stick of RAM. If it's a go, then run with the other stick. I guess your machine won't run in Windows long enough to run Memtest on the RAM. It's been a long time since I've used Memtest. Open question to anyone: does Memtest have a version to run in DOS?

    Also, assuming temperatures are good, have you tried booting into Windows with the BIOS set to "Failsafe Defaults"? It could be that your settings are not where they should be. Hope you don't think I'm condescending here - I just don't know your experience level.

    It's my guess all your hardware is good, but just that some settings may not be right.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited November 2005
    Leonardo wrote:
    ...Open question to anyone: does Memtest have a version to run in DOS?
    It actually runs under a flavor of Linux. Even if the memory turns out not to be the problem it would be a good test of the system. If it gets through several passes of memtest without a reboot you'll have a better idea that it's a Windows problem.
    ...Also, assuming temperatures are good, have you tried booting into Windows with the BIOS set to "Failsafe Defaults"?...
    Excellent suggestion. :)

    Often it's just one or two little BIOS tweaks needed to get you out of the woods. If it runs well in "Failsafe Defaults" you can then tweak things up a notch - one at a time - and spot your trouble.

    Good luck. :wave:
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited November 2005
    xxkkangxx wrote:
    just built the machine about a week ago. after about a minute after boot up, the computer will freeze. i was working with mbm5 to see if it was a temp issue but toying with the sensors meant atleast 15-20 restarts before i could get to all of them. at first the computer would freeze about 3-5 minutes in but with each restart i think the time is getting shorter and shorter before it freezes. any help would be great. thanks

    didn't hook everything up so hardware specs are currently

    Western Digital Raptor 74GB
    NEC 3540a
    Zalman CNPS7700-CU 120mm
    1GB (2x512) OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2
    AMD Athlon 64 Venice Core 3000+
    XFX GeForce 7800GT
    MSI K8N NEO4-F
    PC Power & Cooling 510W SLI-PFC

    Hi there,

    Reset the bios (the mainboard manual tells you how), go into bios and load optimised defaults. Save and enter the bios again. Look in the sections that tells you the temperatures and voltages. Your board probably defaults the ram voltage to 2.6, but the ram you have needs 2.75 or 2.8 to operate at 2,2,2,5 timings so you should chaneg the voltage to that.
  • xxkkangxxxxkkangxx
    edited November 2005
    i loaded optimised defaults (couldnt find fail-safe) and raised the memory voltage from 2.60v to 2.75v. computer continues to freeze.
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited November 2005
    memtest.
    You have to seperate hardware and software.

    I take it that this is a fresh install.
    Are you sure that drivers are good?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited November 2005
    I think Ed's point is good. It looks like it's either memory or a problematic Windows installation - improperly installed or wrong device drivers somewhere.
  • xxkkangxxxxkkangxx
    edited November 2005
    im not entirely sure but i think the drivers are okay. is there any way to check? should i re-install windows?
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited November 2005
    xxkkangxx wrote:
    im not entirely sure but i think the drivers are okay. is there any way to check? should i re-install windows?
    Three different people have recommended that you run Memtest-86.

    There's a message there. ;)
  • xxkkangxxxxkkangxx
    edited November 2005
    is memtest86 run in dos or in bios? if not i cant keep my computer to run long enough to even download the file.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited November 2005
    xxkkangxx wrote:
    is memtest86 run in dos or in bios? if not i cant keep my computer to run long enough to even download the file.
    Good old DOS.

    Download the file, extract it, then double-click the install.bat file. It will then lead you through the process of making a bootable floppy disk.

    Good luck, xxkkangxx. :)
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