Really need some help here

[Allnatural]

I have a freezing problem, and the cause is completely eluding me. I built a computer for my mother for Christmas. Some of the hardware is old, parts I've had sitting around my home for some time, but it's still far better than the 500 MHz K6-2 she had been using for 4(?) years. Here's the breakdown:

Epox 8k7a+ mobo (AMD 761 Northbridge, VIA 686B Southbridge)
Athlon T-Bird @ 1 GHz
256 MB Samsung RAM, PC2100
Actiontec 56k modem
Linksys 10/100 NIC
MSI Geforce Ti 4200 NEW
Western Digital hard drive NEW
Sony CRX300A combo drive NEW
Sony floppy NEW
Enermax EG365P-VE 350 watt PS NEW
Win2000

The mobo, proc, and ram I had been using in my previous computer and I never had any issues with them. I built my mother's computer two weeks ago. I was using it during that time, installing software, testing stability, even playing some games. It never gave me a problem.

Then I give it to my mother, and shortly after connecting her monitor, keyboard, and mouse, it freezes. Hit the reset switch, and it was fine for some time, but over the course of the day it must have locked up a dozen times at least. Twice it froze during boot, at the Windows splash screen. Otherwise it would freeze at random points, usually while using an emulator (didn't matter which).

I suspect a heat problem, though the proc is running no hotter than it did when I was using it in my previous computer. I'm concerned about the PS though. It's the same model I'm using in my current computer, but I noticed that with my mother's the fans (intake and exhaust) don't move nearly as much air. The fans do work, that can be seen, but the airflow is significantly less than what I'm used to (with my own). Software wise, all drivers are current.

Any ideas? This has proved most embarrassing for me, and it annoys me to no end that this problem wasn't evident before giving the computer to my mother. :doh:

 

[Trotterwatch]

Silly suggestion I guess, but go into the BIOS and ensure everything is at the most conservative settings (especially ram timings). See if that helps any.

Have to say it does seem like a heat issue to me. Perhaps check the eventlog see if there are any indications as to problems there (though as it sometimes freezes before booting, that may seem unlikely).

 

[Allnatural]

Silly suggestion I guess, but go into the BIOS and ensure everything is at the most conservative settings (especially ram timings). See if that helps any.

Yeah, did that. Sorry I didn't mention it. I think I've done all the obvious things, check BIOS, reinstall drivers, etc.

When Windows failed to boot the first time I thought (hoped) that the problem was hardware related. The motherboard has a port 80 diagnostic LED attached that has been a big help in the past. It shows everything being normal though. sad

 

[Allnatural]

I'm heading over there soon. I'll run the 'puter with the case open for a while, see what happens.

 

[Trotterwatch]

Yeah I think that's a good thing to do. Hope you can get it fixed, nothing more annoying that computer probs like this.

May be worth checking for any dust accumalation in the fans too.

 

[t0rek]

Another silly idea... maybe updating the BIOS? did you already test it with your own monitor, keyboard and mouse to see what happens?

 

[Allnatural]

Yeah I think that's a good thing to do. Hope you can get it fixed, nothing more annoying that computer probs like this.

May be worth checking for any dust accumalation in the fans too.

Nah, cleaned the fans thoroughly before assembly, and the PS is new.

 

[neoak]

Have you checked for possible magnetic interference around the PC. If there is one too strong, it causes the problems you are having. Other possibble causes:

- Heat
- Variable voltage, maybe too low.
- Electromagnetic intereference. (I'm not saying you have an EMP around there... )

Those are what i can think of right now.

 

[Tagrineth]

Test the system with a different PSU.

You never know. You might have bought one with a bad rail somewhere.

 

[Allnatural]

Test the system with a different PSU.

You never know. You might have bought one with a bad rail somewhere.

The thought had crossed my mind. Would that show up as an incorrect voltage in the BIOS? Currently, the BIOS reports correct voltage on all lines, though I realize my problem may be intermittent.

----------------------------------------------

Here's an update:

My brother woke to find the computer frozen this morning, locked up sometime in the night. Reset, then played some PJ64, and it froze again. Removed the side panel as I had instructed, and for some hours it was fine.

Here's the strange part:

My mother wanted to reinstall Compuserve (yes, she's still on dial-up). We did that, and it froze while auto-detecting the modem. Reset, then configured the modem manually. Things were working, but it then locked while acquiring local access numbers. Reset, and the same thing happened. Reset again, but played some PJ64 for a while and things were fine. Finished my game, tried Compuserve again, and again it froze in the same spot.

Modem bad? It looks that way, but I don't understand why it would lock up so often long before trying to access the web, nor why it worked fine before giving it to my mother. The only thing that's different is that I had never connected a phone line while setting it up.

I'll be trying a different modem soon, and likely a different power supply as suggested. Thanks for the tips, and keep them coming.