What would cause a comp to freeze

[jtax]

It's a computer that's been in working order but i haven't used it in months. Now, it freezes on me all the time after windows xp has booted, like maybe 1 min after.

I thought it was windows so i tried reinstalling it but my comp froze during installation after the first reboot. I install from the cd boot and all that.

I took out my cpu, cleaned it thouroughly, still nothing.
I've tried memtest86 3.0, no errors yet (it's on the 2nd pass)
I've tried a different cd rom, nope.

Could it be my abit kt7 raid (i'm not using the raid) or my hd? Unfortunately, i have no way to test them unless i buy new parts...So what are common mobo or hd errors? Would they cause the comp to freeze like that? I mean, it freezes 98% of the time, the other 2% are when during installation after the first reboot, a fatal error occurs regarding a missing or corrupt file called D:/i386/NT5.cab

Has this occurred to anyone?

I'm running:

Athlon tb 950
256 pc133
Abit KT7 Raid
20 gig hd
Winfast 32mg Gforce 2 mx

JTAx

[Vampiel]

What are your cpu temp's?
What kind of power supply are you using and whats the wattage?

tb's are notorious for overheating.

[jtax]

I'm not sure about the cpu temp, i'll look into that. When i checked the bios, it seemed fine but that was only when i first turned on the comp, but it only freezes after the first reboot of xp's installation.

When i try to "repair" the drive i can spend as much time as i want and it won't freeze.

I'm not sure about the power supply neither but i'm sure it's enough. Do you think it's what caused the comp to freeze or to overheat the cpu?

jtax

[Vampiel]

Does it freeze at the exact same moment? Try using a household fan, take off the side of the case and blow the computer with the fan.

[jtax]

I've checked the cpu temp after the comp froze and it was 38 celcius.

I've also ran the memtest86 and the ram is fine.
I've also tried a different hd and it also froze.

Mobo?

[BipolarBill]

It could be bad clusters on the hard drive or just corrupt software. Scan the disk with the drive maker's utility.

[jtax]

can't be the hd cuz i've tested with another and had the same problem.

can't be the software cuz i've tried installing two versions of xp and had the same problem as well.

[Ankun]

could be the battery.. if you havent used it for months the thing could of been sucked dry. Are all the bios settings as they should be? Also is its storing changes to the bios?

[Vampiel]

What kind of power supply and wattage do you have?
Did you try re-setting the bios to fail safe options?
Did you try a different cmos battery?

[jtax]

I'm not sure what the power supply is. How can i check?

I did reset bios settings to their default values.

I also thought it could be the battery. I will try to change it.

[Vampiel]

Just open up the side of the case and there should be a sticker on the power supply that will tell you the brand and wattage. Does it freeze at the exact same point everytime?

[pmckinnie]

Check for the latest drivers for the mother board, and also see if there is a update for the bios. I have had several fixes lately by updating the M/B drivers. Also had 1 fix by flashing the bios.

If you do flash the bios, make a copy of the instructions before doing the job and FOLLOW them step by step. Most bios flashes now save the orginal bios programing so it possible to go back if needed.

gl mac

[Ol'Tunzafun]

The KT7 is notorious for leaky caps. Take a close look at the capacitors on the motherboard for any sign of leakage or swelling. The tops should be perfectly flat.
http://home.earthlink.net/~doniteli/index27.htm

[lito pospos]

Ol'tunzafun,,,,i encounter that in ibm p111 board leak or blowted capacitor.

[Ol'Tunzafun]

Ol'tunzafun,,,,i encounter that in ibm p111 board leak or blowted capacitor.

Yes there were many others, especially among P3s and Kt133/As but it seems that Abit took the biggest hit from this electrolyte scam. Having said that, Abit and IBM were the only board makers to fess up to the problem and take remedial action.
According to Gary Headlee, a repair tech in Utah, who has replaced 40,00 of these faulty capacitors on 15,000 computers, Asus was the only manufacturer to remain untouched by this problem.
http://www.stevequayle.com/News.aler...whodunnit.html

But, let's not get off on a tangent here; jtax's problem may be something else altogether.