Memory or Motherboard Problems?

todd3617todd3617
edited January 2006 in Hardware
I'm having a problem with my computer crashing. Its hard to explain this problem because there are no error messages, no warning signs, nothing in the error logs. For the past few days, when using the computer the screen goes blank and you can hear that the computer is still running but nothing works, not even holding the power button in for 5 seconds to give it a hard shut down. I have to pull the plug to get it to come off. Now when booting up, it gets to the Windows XP loading screen and then it does it again, sometimes I make it to the desktop but a few seconds later the screen shuts off again and have to unplug it to reset it. I thought maybe it was something to do with so much dust being in the computer, i got all of it out and it's still doing the same thing. I left the computer on the BIOS setup screen for 30 mins and it is still on and working. Any suggestions to what is wrong would be greatly appreciated.

Todd

Comments

  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    First I would suggest memtest86. It runs outside of Windows and so it doesn't need complete stability to function. Let it run for at least an hour. If it turns up ANY ERRORS then you may need to loosen your memory timings and or increase the memory voltage in the system BIOS. If this tests without errors check your voltages in the system BIOS under "health status" or a similar heading. Your 3.3v, 5v and 12v readings should be within 5% of the line value. While there write down your CPU and system temperatures. If the voltages are way off or fluctuate more than just very slightly your power supply is bad. If you still have problems list your complete system including motherboard, CPU, HSF, memory, vid card PSU make and model and drives.

    EDIT
    If you reset memory values you will need to run memtest again. If it keeps getting errors then the memory is at fault.
  • todd3617todd3617
    edited January 2006
    I let the memtest run for 3 hours while i was gone and i ended up with over 50 errors before I stopped it. I looked in my BIOS and I could not find any way to adjust the timing or voltage of the memory. I did find what the current values where showing:

    CPU Temp 48C/118F
    CPU VCore 1.69V
    AGP Voltage 1.48V
    +3.3V 3.36V
    +5V 5.02V
    +12V 11.79V
    -12V -11.62V
    VBat 3.15V
    5VSB 4.94V

    All flucutated just within a few hundreths of what is shown above. Since there were so many errors it does sound to me like memory is having problems. I will post my system specs later if you still need them. Thanks again for all the great help!
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited January 2006
    What motherboard do you have? I'll see if I can find anything about memory timings for that BIOS.

    Your voltages look fine. The 50+ errors is an ominous sign, though. Are you doing any overclocking?

    Also, if you have more than one stick of RAM, shut the machine down and re-run Memtest with one stick at a time. When you see that it's on PASS 2 (or higher) it is safe to move on to the next stick. (The PASS number indicates completed rounds of testing; PASS 2 means that it has gone all the way through twice and is on the third go-round.)
  • todd3617todd3617
    edited January 2006
    My motherboard is a BioStar M7TDF, running a 1.8GHz P4 processor. I am not doing any overclocking. I do have 2 sticks of PC2100 ram, one 512Mb and one 256Mb. I will run the memtest on both the sticks in the morning when I get up. I'll let you know what i find out. Thanks!!
  • todd3617todd3617
    edited January 2006
    I think I've found the problem. I took out the 256Mb stick and ran memtest and found no errors, when I put the 256MB in and took the 512 out, errors all over the place. Hopefully this takes care of the computer going black like it was, but so far so good. Thanks again for all the great help!
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    todd3617 wrote:
    My motherboard is a BioStar M7TDF, running a 1.8GHz P4 processor. I am not doing any overclocking. I do have 2 sticks of PC2100 ram, one 512Mb and one 256Mb. I will run the memtest on both the sticks in the morning when I get up. I'll let you know what i find out. Thanks!!
    Since I see you are running 2 different sticks it is also possible that they may run fine individually but not like to play nice together. If that is the case I would recomend pulling the smaller stick as XP will rune fine of 512mb of memory.

    Here is the link to your board's manual.
    ftp://ftp.biostar-usa.com/manuals/M7TDF/M7TDFmanual.pdf

    Look in "Advanced Chipset Setup" for the memory timings. I couldn't find any voltage control, which is fairly common on this level of board.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    OOps! Posted right on top of you.

    Looks like you found it. Good deal! :D
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited January 2006
    Nice call, mtgoat! :thumbsup:

    Glad to hear you're back in business, todd3617. :clap:
  • todd3617todd3617
    edited January 2006
    Thanks for the congrats and thanks for all the help but alas i have bad news. It looked like it was working fine for a while but now its doing it again with the bad stick of memory out. The screen goes blank and the computer locks, cant turn it off and cant even open the CD trays until i pull the power. This all seemed to start after a storm came though a few mornings ago. I guess it could be related to that, even though it is on a surge suppressor, but I do know those things fail. My wife said she did hear some popping noises the afternoon after the storm soooo it could have fried something else. Any more suggestions?

    System specs:

    Motherboard: BioStar M7TDF
    Processor: 1.8GHz P4
    Memory: 512Mb DDR PC2100
    Vid Card: 128Mb ATI Radeon 9200
    HD: 80GB 7200rpm Maxtor
    DVD: Benq 16x DVD-ROM
    DVD-RW: BusLink 4X DVD-RW
    Sound: Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS
    500W Power supply

    Thanks again guys!
  • DonutDonut Maine New
    edited January 2006
    Got another psu to try?
  • todd3617todd3617
    edited January 2006
    Donut wrote:
    Got another psu to try?
    PSU? Processing Unit? I do have a P4 1.5GHz in the computer im on right now. Is it safe to swap processors out like that?
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    PSU = Power Supply Unit :)

    I agree with Donut. Try another power supply. If you recently had a storm and the trouble began at that time it is the logical next step. Hopefully nothing else got sacked.
  • todd3617todd3617
    edited January 2006
    Here I am again, I put in a 400W PSU into the computer and am still getting the same result. I can stay in the BIOS screen or run that memtest all day long but once i get to the XP load screen or sometimes after I'm on the desktop for a few minutes its gone. Should I start trying to run the computer without some of the peripherals (sound card, ethernet card, different vid card)?

    Thanks guys
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited January 2006
    Storm + popping noises + lockups = it could be anything. What you just mentioned (Should I start trying to run the computer without some of the peripherals (sound card, ethernet card, different vid card)? ) is an excellent idea.

    Good luck to you. :)
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    Running "CHKDSK /r" would be a good idea also. It is very likely your driver got scrambled during the strike.
  • todd3617todd3617
    edited January 2006
    profdlp wrote:
    Storm + popping noises + lockups = it could be anything. What you just mentioned (Should I start trying to run the computer without some of the peripherals (sound card, ethernet card, different vid card)? ) is an excellent idea.

    Good luck to you. :)

    OK here is the scoop, I ended up taking out the sound card, ethernet card, unpluged both DVD drives, swapped out the video card and even swapped out the hard drive with another that had a bootable WinXP on it and all did the same it would make it to the desktop and then black. I think without a doubt that its the motherboard. If you disagree please let me know. Now when getting a motherboard, my main concern is the memory, i dont want to have to buy all new RAM. Do i need to get a board that only takes PC2100 or will it work on anything that takes PC2100 or more. It's been so long since I bought my board that I can't remember the rule.

    Thanks again, you guys are great!
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited January 2006
    Anything that takes PC2100 or greater is fine.

    Before you shell out for a new board I'd stick the RAM in another machine and run Memtest-86. Or, if you have a spare stick laying around I'd try that in your current motherboard.
  • jradminjradmin North Kackalaki
    edited January 2006
    profdlp wrote:
    Anything that takes PC2100 or greater is fine.

    Before you shell out for a new board I'd stick the RAM in another machine and run Memtest-86. Or, if you have a spare stick laying around I'd try that in your current motherboard.


    What he said.

    Lightning strikes are extremely unpredictable, especially if you dont have your comp on a UPS (Battery Backup). Surge Protectors are good only for a short time, and not many people realize that. They have 5 maybe 6 varistors (variable resistors) and voltage choke coils that reduce the voltage and current from harmful to normal. They can only take so many direct hits with large amounts of current before they arn't good anymore.

    I suffered a rather big hit this past summer due to a surge protector that I had not replaced within a year. Normally I replace them after every summer since thats our stormy part of the year.

    My suggestion for you is that you go out and pay $50 for a nice APC Battery Backup for your computer. They use the same principle to condition your line voltage as a surge protector but they also use a battery as current and voltage inhibitor that will only feed in 120v. Much safer, lasts longer, and more useful.
  • todd3617todd3617
    edited January 2006
    This issue is finally resolved! I went ahead and ordered a new motherboard and some more memory. I hooked it all up and it works like a charm. Thanks for your help.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited January 2006
    Good to hear that you're back in business. :clap:
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