i may have found my elusive problem, but i'm not sure what to do about it. - Page 2

iroc409 · 09-09-2003, 04:32 AM

ok, i loaded the bios fail-safe defaults, and the machine didn't go... it came up as the wrong processor, and the board for some reason didn't like it. it came up as an 1800, but when i went into the bios it said 2400... which is what the processor is. so, i set the processor to 2600 like normal, but left everything else as the fail-safe defaults. the mouse didn't work with that setup, but the system ran. still had the same problem, and it seemed like it was almost worse. but, hard to say.

so, then i spent about half an hour going though the manual and tweaking just about every single bios option i could think of, still had the problem.

i know i need a reinstall, that's no doubt. but it didn't fix it last time, so i'm guessing that's not the issue. my guess would be something doesn't like something. but i don't want to reinstall until i get a couple projects finished up and my lan server running, so probably end of this week or so.

i'm thinking about pulling the sound card on the reinstall. the board has built in surround sound, ac97, i don't remember off top what adapter tho. not really primo sound, but this desktop is eventually going to just games, and i'm sure that would suffice for that (even tho it's kinda weak for my happy fun klipsch speakers).

so basically, if i do that all i'd have is the vid card plugged into the system. the extra hard drives would be gone as well, just the dvd rom and cd writer (which will eventually go if i ever get around to building another workstation).

it is getting frustrating, and i know how difficult it is troubleshooting a problem without being at the machine.

i've been spending way too much time chasing this, i've been neglecting work a bit much. probably the next day or so i'm going to have to let it be to get a couple projects finished, but after that i'll be back at it 100%. in the meantime, i will definitely listen to any ideas

murray13 · 09-09-2003, 06:56 AM

Try reinstalling the heatsink/WB!!! I had a machine that would give me weird memory/video type errors and couldn't narrow it down. The heatsink was not on quite straight. The temps were all good but I would get pauses, bsod's, lockups. I just reinstalled the HS and it all went away. Temps were about the same but stability was rock solid after the reinstall.

Just one more thing to try.

Good luck!!!

iroc409 · 09-09-2003, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by murray13
Try reinstalling the heatsink/WB!!! I had a machine that would give me weird memory/video type errors and couldn't narrow it down. The heatsink was not on quite straight. The temps were all good but I would get pauses, bsod's, lockups. I just reinstalled the HS and it all went away. Temps were about the same but stability was rock solid after the reinstall.

Just one more thing to try.

Good luck!!!

hrm, i haven't thought of that. maybe i'll order up some arctic silver or something while i'm at it...

Ryfver · 09-10-2003, 12:08 PM

greetings!

i also have an abit at7-max2 with xp2000+, twinmos 256mb and i recently had problems similar to iroc, such as frequent freezes, lockups whenever i stressed my comp and general instability. after a day or two i suspected it was something fishy wit the ram, so i slowed it down from ddr400 to ddr333. and now it runs like greased lightning ^_^

dont know if this is helpful though, for u iroc... but i would guess giving the memory another check wouldnt hurt

iroc409 · 09-12-2003, 06:32 PM

hrm, i guess i'll try that as well... but my memory is running at 333 right now. i think it's 2700..

TerraMex · 09-14-2003, 07:30 AM

Could be failing capacitors. I've seen motherboards having most of those simptoms due to the capacitors going bye bye.

One of them was a k7t pro from DFI, and another was an Abit (don't remember the exact model).

iroc409 · 10-03-2003, 09:15 AM

ok, new development... got another bsod, this time a 'PFN_LIST_CORRUPT'.

apparently that's a memory error, and i still every so often get a memory corruption error and a boot from some hlds servers.

i hate computers

airspirit · 10-03-2003, 09:44 AM

If you have another board to test that memory in I would do so. It would tell you if the problem is the memory or the board itself. I'm of the educated opinion that your board is screwing up in the northbridge. Why that is happening is neither here nor there, but I would guess that you are having northbridge problems. I've been there before.

iroc409 · 10-03-2003, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by airspirit
If you have another board to test that memory in I would do so. It would tell you if the problem is the memory or the board itself. I'm of the educated opinion that your board is screwing up in the northbridge. Why that is happening is neither here nor there, but I would guess that you are having northbridge problems. I've been there before.

damn... well, i should be able to rma it. i used the memtest program, let it run through a full cycle, and nothing found in the run. i would *think* that if the memory itself were bad, that program would pick it up.

i think a mainboard issue could explain the problem i've been having.

i'm planning on building a new system after i get a couple checks from my current contract, but that will probably be about a month. i could test the ram in the new board. i was actually thinking of putting this ram in the new box, and getting the new kingston hyperx ddr400 pc3500 3x256mb for this box.

i suppose since it's 2 dimms, i could pull one out, see if i still have problems, then pull the other out. i should try that...

man, if my system goes down before i get the new box, imma be in a world of hurt

iroc409 · 10-06-2003, 02:36 AM

just got finished with a clean reinstall. it's not software-oriented, that i can tell

clean install, with just the crap i need. all the updates i could find. still does it.

i pulled the machine apart somewhat and swapped the slots for the memory (i'm pretty sure they're swapped, but i may have mixed it up).

anyways, guess i'll have to wait until i get the new machine to sort this out

DigitalPirate · 10-20-2003, 12:21 PM

Hello out there...
I hear you're having a problem with system crashes. I, in my capacity as a sometime PC tech will say, Check all the hardware, cabling included. Recently I had a win2K install(SP3) that kept crashing daily. I reinstalled twice, thinking it to be software forgetting my own rule, that hardware can go bad for no particular reason at all. When I tore the machine apart, I found a SCSI-3 cable that was pinched. The system drive was SCSI-3. really fast, supposedly reliable. I replaced the cable, and all my problems went away. My advice is to trade out cables and such.

09-09-2003, 04:32 AM	#26
iroc409 Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: midwest side, yo Posts: 596	ok, i loaded the bios fail-safe defaults, and the machine didn't go... it came up as the wrong processor, and the board for some reason didn't like it. it came up as an 1800, but when i went into the bios it said 2400... which is what the processor is. so, i set the processor to 2600 like normal, but left everything else as the fail-safe defaults. the mouse didn't work with that setup, but the system ran. still had the same problem, and it seemed like it was almost worse. but, hard to say. so, then i spent about half an hour going though the manual and tweaking just about every single bios option i could think of, still had the problem. i know i need a reinstall, that's no doubt. but it didn't fix it last time, so i'm guessing that's not the issue. my guess would be something doesn't like something. but i don't want to reinstall until i get a couple projects finished up and my lan server running, so probably end of this week or so. i'm thinking about pulling the sound card on the reinstall. the board has built in surround sound, ac97, i don't remember off top what adapter tho. not really primo sound, but this desktop is eventually going to just games, and i'm sure that would suffice for that (even tho it's kinda weak for my happy fun klipsch speakers). so basically, if i do that all i'd have is the vid card plugged into the system. the extra hard drives would be gone as well, just the dvd rom and cd writer (which will eventually go if i ever get around to building another workstation). it is getting frustrating, and i know how difficult it is troubleshooting a problem without being at the machine. i've been spending way too much time chasing this, i've been neglecting work a bit much. probably the next day or so i'm going to have to let it be to get a couple projects finished, but after that i'll be back at it 100%. in the meantime, i will definitely listen to any ideas __________________ :shrug:

09-12-2003, 06:32 PM	#30
iroc409 Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: midwest side, yo Posts: 596	hrm, i guess i'll try that as well... but my memory is running at 333 right now. i think it's 2700.. __________________ :shrug:

09-14-2003, 07:30 AM	#31
TerraMex Cooling Savant Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Portugal, Europe Posts: 870	Could be failing capacitors. I've seen motherboards having most of those simptoms due to the capacitors going bye bye. One of them was a k7t pro from DFI, and another was an Abit (don't remember the exact model). __________________ "we need more cowbell."

10-03-2003, 09:15 AM	#32
iroc409 Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: midwest side, yo Posts: 596	ok, new development... got another bsod, this time a 'PFN_LIST_CORRUPT'. apparently that's a memory error, and i still every so often get a memory corruption error and a boot from some hlds servers. i hate computers __________________ :shrug:

10-03-2003, 09:44 AM	#33
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	If you have another board to test that memory in I would do so. It would tell you if the problem is the memory or the board itself. I'm of the educated opinion that your board is screwing up in the northbridge. Why that is happening is neither here nor there, but I would guess that you are having northbridge problems. I've been there before. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

09-09-2003, 06:56 AM	#27
murray13 Cooling Savant Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Omaha, NE USA Posts: 216	Try reinstalling the heatsink/WB!!! I had a machine that would give me weird memory/video type errors and couldn't narrow it down. The heatsink was not on quite straight. The temps were all good but I would get pauses, bsod's, lockups. I just reinstalled the HS and it all went away. Temps were about the same but stability was rock solid after the reinstall. Just one more thing to try. Good luck!!!

09-10-2003, 12:08 PM	#29
Ryfver Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Sweden Posts: 1	greetings! i also have an abit at7-max2 with xp2000+, twinmos 256mb and i recently had problems similar to iroc, such as frequent freezes, lockups whenever i stressed my comp and general instability. after a day or two i suspected it was something fishy wit the ram, so i slowed it down from ddr400 to ddr333. and now it runs like greased lightning ^_^ dont know if this is helpful though, for u iroc... but i would guess giving the memory another check wouldnt hurt

10-06-2003, 02:36 AM	#35
iroc409 Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: midwest side, yo Posts: 596	just got finished with a clean reinstall. it's not software-oriented, that i can tell clean install, with just the crap i need. all the updates i could find. still does it. i pulled the machine apart somewhat and swapped the slots for the memory (i'm pretty sure they're swapped, but i may have mixed it up). anyways, guess i'll have to wait until i get the new machine to sort this out __________________ :shrug:

10-20-2003, 12:21 PM	#36
DigitalPirate Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: A basement room Posts: 22	Hello out there... I hear you're having a problem with system crashes. I, in my capacity as a sometime PC tech will say, Check all the hardware, cabling included. Recently I had a win2K install(SP3) that kept crashing daily. I reinstalled twice, thinking it to be software forgetting my own rule, that hardware can go bad for no particular reason at all. When I tore the machine apart, I found a SCSI-3 cable that was pinched. The system drive was SCSI-3. really fast, supposedly reliable. I replaced the cable, and all my problems went away. My advice is to trade out cables and such.

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