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Damned computers - can anyone help me out?
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| nrjizer |
Alright, my computer that I built myself nearly a year ago crashes like hell no matter what I try. A pc shop ran ram tests on it (the likely problem) but said it worked fine. A friend of mine said he had the exact same problems due to a bad stick of ram. So after a bit of swapping, ive determined that neither bad ram or bad ram slots are the problem (unless BOTH sticks are shot... I just tried pulling one out and trying it, and then swapping it around a bit)
Now I have absolutely no ing idea whats going on. No matter what I try, flashing the bios, upgrading/downgrading to all sorts of drivers for every little device, trying different windows versions, moving pci cards around, ect. Anyone have any ideas at all?
One thing to keep in mind.. when first building it we accidentally melted a cpu, which may have damaged the motherboard under it, but the pc shop tested it and said it was working fine. (In fact, they ran 2 or 3 programs AND a game at the same time for hours flawlessly)
Heres my rig:
Epox 8k7a Motherborad
AMD Tbird 1.4ghz
256 (2x 128) DDR pc2100 ram
Elsa GeForce 3
SB Live! Value
D-Link DFE 530-TX+ Network card
Plextor CD-RW
2x IBM 40 gig ATA 100 HD's (one of them it wont detect no matter what I try... any ideas for that one?)
Any advice would be great... |
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| TranceSeeker |
What error do you get ?
If you get a memory dump it can be that your RAM-memory and graphics card dont work well together.
I had the same problem:whip:
Now I have a new pc -> problem solved :tongue3 |
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| nrjizer |
| I get memory dumps when I bluescreen. It always gives me some random 0x error. A few times ive managed to catch nv4_mini.vxd as it flashed up for a split second, maybe thats a clue that the video card is/part of the problem? |
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| flystyler |
Right. It crashes repeatadly. Hmmmm. Well i would get your hands on XP pro. That is damn good, and hasnt crashed on me once.
If it was a motherboard problem you would not be able to instal xp. As xp will pick up any major hardware problem and not instal. But other OS may work
If the computer suddenly reboots that means that you have either installed a wrong driver, or your power supply is not good enough. A major problem with the AMD processors is that they need a steady power supply, if they dont get this they will reset. AMD processors are very very sensitive, and the littlest thing can make them go wrong in some cases.
My mate builds computers. So give me exact details of what the problem is, and if i cant think of the cure he will be able to :) |
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| verminator |
| win2k > winxp :D |
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| flystyler |
| quote: | Originally posted by nrjizer
I get memory dumps when I bluescreen. It always gives me some random 0x error. A few times ive managed to catch nv4_mini.vxd as it flashed up for a split second, maybe thats a clue that the video card is/part of the problem? |
VXD ERRRORS
they r the big errors. You need to try another motherboard in there. You prob ed it when you melted the processor
Sounds like you r having the same prob as i did when my motherboard was stuffed. When i installed 9/10 i got a vxd error. When i managed to get it installed after 5 mins it blue screened and had vxd errors. Get another motherboard and test it.
Otherwise it is a processes of trial and error, swapping every component for one that works, say using bits from a mates comp :) |
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| TranceSeeker |
| quote: | Originally posted by flystyler
VXD ERRRORS
they r the big errors. You need to try another motherboard in there. You prob ed it when you melted the processor
Sounds like you r having the same prob as i did when my motherboard was stuffed. When i installed 9/10 i got a vxd error. When i managed to get it installed after 5 mins it blue screened and had vxd errors. Get another motherboard and test it.
Otherwise it is a processes of trial and error, swapping every component for one that works, say using bits from a mates comp :) |
hehe yeah the wont go away here, so I just bought a new computer
athlon xp 1800+
512 ddr ram
geforce 3
60gb harddisk
-> much better now :happy2: |
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| flystyler |
| quote: | Originally posted by TranceSeeker
hehe yeah the wont go away here, so I just bought a new computer
athlon xp 1800+
512 ddr ram
geforce 3
60gb harddisk
-> much better now :happy2: |
Bit extreme, i am sure you can get the motherboard replaced for free under warranty. But i am pritty sure that is the problem. |
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| Fir3start3r |
That or even your power supply.
I built a computer and a year later the power supply wasn't able to keep up the juice to my computer and it did REAL weird stuff.
What wattage is your ps?
After replacing mine it worked great. :)
If you're getting an actual error though (mine was just flat rebooting) it sounds more like a faulty component.
Since you ruled out RAM the MB sounds like the next best thing.
But try swapping the PS just to see.... |
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| dmcilwaine |
| quote: | Originally posted by flystyler
If the computer suddenly reboots that means that you have either installed a wrong driver, or your power supply is not good enough. A major problem with the AMD processors is that they need a steady power supply, if they dont get this they will reset. AMD processors are very very sensitive, and the littlest thing can make them go wrong in some cases. |
im going to build my next computer, with an amd processor, 256mb memory, 64mb graphics card, 80gb hdd
do you think 350 watts would be enough to power this?
cheers |
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| Fir3start3r |
| quote: | Originally posted by dmcilwaine
im going to build my next computer, with an amd processor, 256mb memory, 64mb graphics card, 80gb hdd
do you think 350 watts would be enough to power this?
cheers |
Yea that should be lots :) |
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| flystyler |
| quote: | Originally posted by dmcilwaine
im going to build my next computer, with an amd processor, 256mb memory, 64mb graphics card, 80gb hdd
do you think 350 watts would be enough to power this?
cheers |
Yeah that should be fine. The only reason i had a problem with that is because i had a tower fan as well. Which just pushed it over the edge. |
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