ok, I posted this all in a different forum and no one seems to have been able to pinpoint the problem so i figured i'd give this one a try I'll copy and past the other forum convorsation. This is going to be a bit long, but I suppose it is deatailed enough that someone might be able to tell me whats going on...
-| My 1st Post Addressing the problem |-
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 3
troubleshooting the Hell
Well, In my experience with computers I have had many problems and I can't say that this particular one seems to fall under any type of a set explanation... maybe someone can come up with somthing that I am unable to.
Specs - I built it - so... no make and model
-Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack 2
-CPU Type: Intel Pentium 4E, 3000 MHz (15 x 200)
-Motherboard: Asus P4P800-E Deluxe (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 WiFi, 4 DDR DIMM, Audio, Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
-System Memory: 512 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
-Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600 (128 MB)
hope thats all anyone needs on request ill post anything else..
Alright to start this off I have been experiencing the problem for about 2 weeks now.. It started when I decided it was once again time for a ReFormat. Well I was feeling extra un-lazy, so.. I decided "hell, why not dust it out and move around some cluttered wires so I can get better air flow..." I then proceeded to do a slipstream of sp2 and my winxp pro. I then reformatted with my new slipstream and did the other formalities, (I have to mention that when I fixed the cluttered wire I also Changed some connections between components in order to achieve better airflow...). Well everything seemed great, my computer now looked/sounded/operated better... or so I thought at least.
I started installing my drivers programs again and then noticed I got a hang.. the computer didnt shut down, no bluescreenofdeath, nothing but the same display without any possible way to move mouse, or ctrl+alt+delete, I was forced to manually shutdown. It's not like computers are perfect so I accepted this minor defeat and carried on. Yea, I suppose the hang decided that it would make normal function out of my computer, because... it kept doing it, oddly enough there was no consistency whatsoever with the hangs, it would happen when it was under hard operation, when it was idling, or when i was just browsing through the internet...
Well cringing at the thought of diagnosing a brand new computer problem, I threw my pride out the window and carried on to check the windows error programs that i had to end task to and such and been using before a crash and had no reason behind the crash.
I then though "well... perhaps my power supply has had its day", but then again i doubt it... its a 450W, not gona leave it out as a possiblity though. After a close look of my machine I noticed that during operation my graphic card's fan often slowed down to a very slow spur, then at other times it would circulate like a hoe on crack(that means it spun good.. HAR HAR) the fan consistency might be normal though I don't really know, doesnt seem like a reformat would effect that though... eh?
Then I noticed that there was never a disk check after the crashes, windows just proceeded to boot up like nothing wrong happened and then I thought... "maybe the slipstream's bad?" After all that I decided that my head hurt too much and instead of chucking the bastard out of a vehicle (moving faster than 80mph of course) I would seek help of my fellow geek community.
blech I guess that is all, excuse the gramatical error, at the moment I am very drunk.... awww who am I kidding.. im just an idiot.
Thanks for any and all help
...
-| Ok A User by the name Of SCIS replied to my Post With this |-
Hi and welcome to the community Very amusing first post I might add
Let's see, first thing I would check since the computer just hangs in the memory, even on a brand new computer, there is a slight chance the ram may have gone bad, download a copy of memtest 86:
www.memtest.org
Your fan on your video card is normal, it will spin up and down depending on the load put on it. normal windows stuff will spin low vs. playing games, etc..
Your powersupply is beefy enough to handle your card. Is your computer over clocked?
...
-| He seemed very knowlegeable of this and, it wasnt The first time Memtest had been recommended so I tried what he said and replied with this |-
Thanks, and glad to be a part of the community, tis quite important for us geeks to come together... and plan our inevitable takeover of all mankind...and womankind*makes uncontrollable sound... gigiddy gigiddy*
Moving on - I proceeded to Download Memtest after reading your reply. I burnt it to a dvd with the iso they provided and changed my boot priority. It seemed to be working fine, but I was at a loss of understanding at some portions of the program. so... i figured i'd let it run because it seemed to be on some sort of % finished chain. I left it on for 8 hours and on return was very suprised to see it still running after all that time. I guessed that it just runs the same check over and over until you decide to manually do otherwise, is that correct? I looked at what seemed to be the most important part of the check at the very bottom right it displayed text of
Pass:40 - which I'm thinking is a riduclous amount that is directly related to the *cough* 8 hours of testing =\. I probably just owned the ram with this test, if there were no problems before it's sure to have gotten pissed from overwork and will go on strike
Errors: 0 - I'm in a relentless amount of hope that this means the ram is fine, not that it would be expensive to replace.. I guess.
Ok now the Vid Card - I agreed with your diagnosis of normality, before your reply I took the liberty to email BFG TECH and explain the inablility to be a good little spinny Hoe(refer to first post to get this joke), and just work efficiently They on the otherhand sent this reply -
That erratic fan behavior is indeed abnormal and is covered under warranty as well as the card. Call us on our Tech support line to setup an RMA. Tech support is available 24 hours/7 days a week. Our toll-free number in the USA and Canada only is: 1-866-BFGFIXX (1-866-234-3499). For customers outside the United States, the following direct-dial telephone number is also available 24 hours/7 days a week. NOTE: This is a TOLL call and your phone bill will reflect the charge: 630-637-2459
Regards,
Mark @ BFG Support
So who should i trust? you? him?... or maybe my computer has generated this false email in order to make me think its bad so it can get a new video card.. Mark.. more like stupidcomputerthing..(ok i need a writer for more clever jokes) makes sense though doesn't it? the powerhungry p.o.s is plotting against me, Must... resist.. taking hammer to it....
Finally I have made no overclocked changes to my PC and plan on keeping it that way, cant run it smoothly at normal operation I wouldn't imagine what an overclocked cpu, gpu, ram would produce.
Oh and remember my gramatical errors are actually quite healthy, you can make a game out of it and see who can find the most ENJOY!!!
Thanks for the help good sirs
...
-| Again another reply from him but no real answers this time about the problem at hand |-
hehe don't trust me on the video card, mine does what you say yours does, spins faster when playing games, spins slower while doing the normal stuff.. By all means ship that sucker back to those guys, and get yourself a new card.
And the test on your ram means your ram is good!
...
-| I decided to Try one more time to see if I could beat an oppinion out of someone |-
hmm.. so would you say my problem is the new slipstream i created? did it fail to install some windows files, and hence the crashes?
I have heard of Power Supplies just dieing out after a good 1/2 year Before this predicament. This power supply came with my case and it wasn't anything too fancy but should run my setup fine, I decided oh well and just purchased a new 510W my case has five fans and im running 2 optical drives If it ends up not being the power supply im not gona be angry because The 450w one isnt too impressive.
I honestly think the vid card is fine, and I don't think its really worth much anymore i could send it back but I would probably just put it in a lowly computer I plan on buying a more adequate one in due time.
Anyways Im still at a loss for this, i did notice that the computer ran that test for 8 hours without freezing, yes it was in pre windows form, but hell that must mean something right? I'm thinking this suggest's that its probably the slipstream of win xp pro i created, but then again im quite conviced that the computer is racist against me damn cybernetic bastard, Aprreciate this and any more feedback.. thanks ;0
-| Well, There you have it and if you have taken all this time to view the forum I thank you very much for your time, since my last post i have taken out my vid card and replaced it with a friends old one, the vid card is running smoothly Oddly loud at some times, REALLY loud lol, but the crashes have not stopped, So IMO the VID CARD IS RULED OUT... dunno though -|
Awaiting a response patiently, thanks again!
