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Thread: random freezing

  1. #1
    Member lildude's Avatar
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    random freezing

    ok, i'm really not sure of this one, kinda puzzling.

    lately whenever i'm on my computer, it will randomly freeze, a hardcore freeze. doesn't matter what i'm doing, could be playing a game, could be AIM, could be writing a report, or could be listening to mp3's or a cd, doesn't matter. it ranges from 15 minutes of use to 3 hours of use. it'll just freeze up and the only way to restart it is to cut the power from the wall. afterwards however, for a time, the only thing i can get it to do is turn on. it will freeze at the "detecting ide drives" section of the bios screens for a while. usually about half an hour before it'll boot up again. i'm not sure if it's the HD's failing or not because once i get back in, i can usually do some fairly intensive HD stuff like listening to mp3's and watching divx movies for a while. it sort of just freezes whenever it feels like it. any suggestions as to the culprit?

    specs:

    Athlon XP 2500+
    ASUS A7N8X Deluxe rev 2.0
    512MB Crucial PC2100
    GeForce3 Ti 500
    WD 60GB HD for xp and games
    WD 40GB HD for music and movies
    CD-RW and all that other small stuff

    also, this problem occurs when overclocking and when not overclocking. doesn't matter. psu is a quality antec 350SL and has not given me any problems since i bought it about 6 weeks ago. this problem has just started to come about these past two weeks. thanks in advance to all.

  2. #2
    Ultimate Member Direct1's Avatar
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    Most likely a heat issue. It takes a half hour to bootup again because it needs to cool down. What are your temps? Do not OC until you have this resolved.

    Good luck!

  3. #3
    Member lildude's Avatar
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    idle is usually around 40C with full load around 46C. using a swifty mcx-462 and a nice 50cfm fan to cool my toaster.

  4. #4
    Ultimate Member Direct1's Avatar
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    It sure sounds like something is over-heating? Could be a defective PSU (even though it's new, it does happen)? What are your case temps? Video card temps?

  5. #5
    Member lildude's Avatar
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    it happens with two different psu's i have, the antec and an enermax i have. case temps are around 28C and i really have no idea on the vid card. no overclocking ever been done on it, it's an old geforce3 **** that i had after my geforce4 died.

  6. #6
    Ultimate Member Direct1's Avatar
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    That's strange? Can you try a different video card? Also, test the RAM -- www.memtest86.com.
    Test the HDD with the utility from the HDD makers web site...

    Good luck!

  7. #7
    Member lildude's Avatar
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    well, i just finished trying a tnt2 and a gf2 i had lying around and that didn't solve the problem. so i guess vid card is ruled out. mem tested fine using memtest86 a while back, but i tested again recently using a different comp (because this one keeps crashing) and everything tested fine. the wd tools report the drives as fine. i'm kind of thinking it's not the drives, they haven't been showing any other signs of death and are only about a year old for the 60gig and 9 months old for the 40gig. it's really odd.

  8. #8
    Ultimate Member Direct1's Avatar
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    Well, that leaves the CPU or MB?

  9. #9
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    I would lean towards the MB myself, but try something first. Try switching out the IDE cables to different ones. See if that makes a difference.

  10. #10
    Member lildude's Avatar
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    *tear* i've already replaced this board twice...please don't tell me a third one is dying...i'll cry...well, on the inside, but you get the idea.

  11. #11
    Ultimate Member G Ray88's Avatar
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    Have you tried to use a larger PSU, recheck all connections.
    Good Luck

  12. #12
    Member lildude's Avatar
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    ok, new developments. i tried switching out my data drive for all my mp3's and whatnot and that actually worked for a little while. however, as of right now, it has started again. it's a little different this time though. it just "froze" again, but i occassionally hear sounds of the music i was playing. like it's taking a ridiculously long time to play each bit, but it's still playing however, my mouse and all only moves whenever it plays the sound. kind of like it's trying to run xp pro with a 486. so i guess it's only "sorta" frozen. could it be the sound possibly? any other ideas?

  13. #13
    Member biglaker's Avatar
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    Lildude,
    The suggestion to test the memory on this computer while it is in this computer might be a good idea because then you are not using Windows. If no freeze occurs, then the issue might not be hardware but a software issue. Suggest you retry memtest and see if the computer locks up. Also, with respect to the goodness of your psu, what are your voltages? Don't know if your m/b gives bios voltages, but if not provide what you have. I recently replaced an Antec 350 watt psu because initially we were getting lockups and then a failure to boot. The symptom before boot failure was low voltage on the 3.3 volts (was only about 2.7 volts). A new Antec 350 watt worked just fine.
    Have you checked your cpu heatsink for dust etc?
    Have you tried different jumper settings on the drives (such as using cable select instead of master/slave?
    Have you tried removing any cards beside the video card to see if performance changes?
    Are all fans working?
    You could try blowing house fan into open case to see if condition improves/changes.
    Have you defragged recently?
    Are you using the right memory for overclocking? From what Ive seen around, most people that have your cpu/mb combo seem to have faster memory.
    Hope something in this helps. If not, maybe need to look at your drivers.
    Good luck, Biglaker

  14. #14
    Member lildude's Avatar
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    ok...now my computer won't even boot anymore, just freezes at the detecting ide drives thing.

    biglaker:

    voltages reported by bios are:

    12line - 11.97
    5line - 4.89
    3.3line - 3.18

    i've cleared and cleaned everything out. i tried the CS setting...same result. all fans work. all cards in and out same thing happens. defrag ever 2 weeks. i have the mem set at async to be 133MHz...it's been stab;e for over a year now. i might try the memtest though...

    i dunno...i'm about to get a freaking mac this thing is making me so mad. thanks for all the help so far.

  15. #15
    Member biglaker's Avatar
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    Lildude,
    I've yet to find anyone using PC2100 memory on your m/b and processor. When you overclocked, it may have put more stress on the memory. The fact that it tests good on another computer only indicates that it works under one set of circumstances and not another. Please retest if you can get the PC going again. If no fans operate when you turn it on, then you'll need to go back to basic m/b troubleshooting - clear cmos, try unhooking all unnecessary hardware, maybe even removing m/b from case, etc.
    Your voltages are all on the low side but that shouldn't prevent it from starting especially when you are not overclocking.
    Are you getting any beeps out of the CPU when you try and start and when it does not boot? If none, then maybe CPU issue. If you do get beeps, report back and we can try and go from there.
    Run that memtest in your machine, if you can, and report back.
    By the way, are you using onboard sound?
    Biglaker

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