Wierd system instability problem

S

spillsaw

New Member
Specs:

Athlon XP2200+ @ 1800mhz (stock 133 x 13.5)
DFI LanParty NFII Ultra w/ latest bios revision
Copper heatsink / 6000rpm fan (not sure of brand)
1gb generic pc2700 rpm @ 133mhz
geforce 6800 gt @ stock clock and upgraded cooling
3 maxtor hd's w/ custom coolers
500watt PS

Max CPU Temp @ 100% : 48C (~40C at idle)
Max HD Temp @ 100%: 45C (~26C at idle, very low I know)
Max System Temp @ 100%: 43C
Max Video Card Temp @ 100%: 62C

About 2 weeks ago my system started becoming very instable, crashing at random times, mimicking an ultra hot cpu that will slowly start throwing errors, then everything starts freezing up, but the cpu temp was pretty low. I underclocked the cpu/fsb to see if that would help, but it didn't. I tried swapping in some different ram, and still didn't fix the problem. I ran maxtor hdd diagnostic software, and found that my <6 month old 200gig AND 250gig were going out, but my older 80gig was fine. SOO, I yanked the two 'bad' drives out, formatted the 80 gig, and now it's still crashing during the windows install due to freezing up.

I threw together a case/mobo/duron 1600, and put all three harddrives, video card, ram, cd, etc from my crashing computer into it, installed windows and all of th drivers, and ran it for 1 week, 24/7, without ANY issues. The maxtor software still said the two larger drives were on there way out, but they still ran without issue.

So my question is, can a cpu/mobo be going out even though their temps are low and never been pushed beyond what they are supposed to? The computer has probably been on for the last 3 or so years without going off but to upgrade hardware, so maybe that's an issue? Any ideas or suggestions?
 
Vampiric Rouge said:
I could see it being possable that the CPU and Mobo are hurt do to age. Also did you check your PSU?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure exactly how to check the PSU (power supply I assume) for problems, other than if it was shorting or had a blown fuse, which it doesn't. It has two massive/loud fans and it stays pretty cool afaik. How do I check it further?

If it is the cpu/mobo, that would actually be alright. It's by far the weakest link in my system, so upgrading wouldn't be such a bad thing...
 
Compusa and Microcenter and just about all the computer supp;y p;aces have PS checkers, they are from $15 - $30 count your PS socket 20 or 24 pin ?
 
Viking said:
Compusa and Microcenter and just about all the computer supp;y p;aces have PS checkers, they are from $15 - $30 count your PS socket 20 or 24 pin ?
Click to expand...

Well, for the $30 plus 3 hour round trip drive to the nearest computer store, it might be cheaper/easier to just buy a new one online. =/ I think I'm going to just go ahead and upgrade to a xp 64 3500+, 2gb pc3200, a new 500watt PS, and just be done with it. Thanks for the input guys..
 
Oh, I also wanted to mention that my mouse started going invisible and the cursor itself would just freeze. I could still click on things if I could figure out where the mouse was, but the cursor would stay frozen in one location on the screen. This would sometimes happen within a few minutes of a crash, although not all the time.

BTW, I dug around and found my original 350watt PSU, plugged it in, and it's been up for about 10 minutes, if it stays working I'll have to find some other excuse for ordering new parts ;) I kinda want to upgrade anyway lol.
 
Yup, looks like it's not my powersupply. I've had the SAME exact system errors/crashes as before even with the proven 350watt.

How does this sound:

Athlon64 3800+ 939 ($111)
Freezer 64 CPU cooler ($28)
Chaintech S1689 939/AGP mobo ($45)
2GB Micron pc3200 RAM ($116)
Major Brand 500watt PSU, just for kicks ($50)
-------------------
TOTAL New Parts: $350 shipped

Coupled with existing parts:

Geforce 6800GT AGP
NEW 200gb and 250gb maxtor drives (RMA'd)
Lite-On 40x-16x-48x 4x-16x cdrw/dvdrw
Wireless Logictech keyboard/mouse
Dell 1907FP 19" Flatpanel

I dont really game any on it (maybe 1 hour a month if that), but I program about 40hours/week, file transfer to servers at work, and for the next two semesters using it to finish up my masters work.

Anything I should change or add?
 
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