Can anyone tell me why my computer is crashing?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Doyle
  • Start date Start date
D

Doyle

I built a computer a couple of weeks ago with the following
components:
- AMD Athlon 3000+ CPU
- Radeon 9600 pro
- 512MB DDR Memory
- GA 7vt600 motherboard
- Running windows xp

The PC keeps freezing while i listen to music or play games. Could
anyone help me and give me some ideas as to why this is? Thanks!
 
I built a computer a couple of weeks ago with the following
components:
- AMD Athlon 3000+ CPU
- Radeon 9600 pro
- 512MB DDR Memory
- GA 7vt600 motherboard
- Running windows xp

The PC keeps freezing while i listen to music or play games. Could
anyone help me and give me some ideas as to why this is? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Could literally be anything from drivers, memory, a component,
overheating, app . power supply or whatever.

You can start off by checking your temps with motherboard monitor or
speedfan both free programs. Second check your memory with memtest86
another free program. After that post back.
 
reinstall your graphics driver, especially if you just updated your
motherboard driver. i had a similar problem with games and music, and this
worked for my rig.
 
I had a 9600PRO and it gave me a world of problems, especially if you have
over a gig of RAM. which you don't, research it on google, I had pages and
pages of possibilities of problems with that card and XP.
 
Your responses are only as good as information provided.
Long before even considering a repair, ask what information is
necessary. For example, what did Device Manager report?
What warnings were being stored in the System (event) logs?
If you don't know these, then use Windows Help to find them.
Since you computer manufacturer (obviously) did not provide
comprehensive diagnostics, then download and execute
comprehensive diagnostic from each component manufacturer and
from third party sources such as Docmem or Memtst86. Better
computer assemblers first confirm the foundation on which
system was constructed is sufficient - a 3.5 digit multimeter
to verify all critical voltages between power supply and
motherboard (red, yellow, orange, green, purple, and gray
wires relative to the black ground wire).

Minimal facts necessary to begin getting informed responses.
 
I've got basically the same system, bar the CPU

what i suspect is that you have 400MHZ version of the 3000 chip, although
the board says it does support the 400fsb, i have the funny feeling it kinda
doesn't out of the box. go to gigabytes website and download the latest bios
(F5 i think), this should sort ya, i had similar problems, but that was when
i was o'cing past 170mhz, i got it pretty much rock solid at 187mhz now,
thanks to a bios update, so that might be all that it needs.
 
I built a computer a couple of weeks ago with the following
components:
- AMD Athlon 3000+ CPU
- Radeon 9600 pro
- 512MB DDR Memory
- GA 7vt600 motherboard
- Running windows xp

The PC keeps freezing while i listen to music or play games. Could
anyone help me and give me some ideas as to why this is? Thanks!
Click to expand...

If these freezes ONLY happen under the two above scenarios,
I'd think it most likely an audio-related problem, not temps
or voltages, etc. That is, a software problem.

You might try newest Via Hyperion Pro driver (similar to the
4in1, excpet the SATA support, IIRC), the newest Via Vinyl
Audio driver (both available from following link, assuming
the audio you use is an onboard integrated type),
http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=2

then check your directX version by running "DXDIAG", and
upgrade it to 9.0C if it isn't there already.

Also check the Event Viewer to see if there's anything
mentioned.
 
kony said:
Thanks!

If these freezes ONLY happen under the two above scenarios,
I'd think it most likely an audio-related problem, not temps
or voltages, etc. That is, a software problem.

You might try newest Via Hyperion Pro driver (similar to the
4in1, excpet the SATA support, IIRC), the newest Via Vinyl
Audio driver (both available from following link, assuming
the audio you use is an onboard integrated type),
http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=2

then check your directX version by running "DXDIAG", and
upgrade it to 9.0C if it isn't there already.

Also check the Event Viewer to see if there's anything
mentioned.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the replies... have now installed MBM & speedfan and
the temps are fine. Also i have re-installed the graphics drivers. The
Device manager said everythin was installed properly & the system log
was only finding an error in the cdrom? So far so good but i’ll
download the latest BIOS from the net soon (have now been left wit
dial-up)...once again thanks for the replies, i’ll post any findings.
 
The BIOS did not change. Your problem (probably) was
created without a BIOS change. BIOS upgrade is dangerous -
can be destructive - and still will not address the problem.
Motherboard monitor also is not sufficient for measuring
voltages until motherboard hardware is first verified with a
3.5 digit multimeter. Listed were wires you must provide
voltage numbers from. The only alternative to that so
inexpensive meter is a much more expensive solution.

One advantage of XP: many things will not crash the
computer. It shortens the list of suspects. Suspect list
include video controller, sound card, and memory. Get and
execute those hardware diagnostics. Details about making
those diagnostics more effective in a paragraph below.

How to test memory. Heat is sometimes necessary to make an
intermittent obvious to a diagnostic. Execute the memory
diagnostic once at room temperature - to learn what good
messages look like and how long it takes. Then repeat it
while memory is heated with a hairdryer on high.

Semiconductors are just fine (well within normal
temperatures) when uncomfortable to touch but does not leave
skin (hairdryer on highest heat setting). Intermittent
semiconductors will start failing diagnostics when at elevated
(and quite normal) temperatures. Instead, some people try to
cure these symptoms with more fans. Use the hairdryer on high
in conjunction with diagnostics to find defective memory (and
repeat for other hardware suspects).

And again, without specific voltage readings from a
multimeter, then the computer's foundation has not yet been
confirmed intact. Suggest you list those numbers here since I
don't recall anyone providing limits of good and bad.

You are cautioned to not upgrade the BIOS. Bios would not
have changed. BIOS upgrades can be destructive, especially if
the hardware problem interrupts the BIOS upgrade. Its not a
good idea to change things without first having a good reason
to do so. You have no reason to upgrade the BIOS.
 
The BIOS did not change. Your problem (probably) was
created without a BIOS change. BIOS upgrade is dangerous -
can be destructive - and still will not address the problem.
Click to expand...

According to the opening post the system is only 2 weeks
old. Perhaps it would (had) always crashed in these
scenarios, we don't yet know if the inital setup was stable
in any/every way yet.

It could indeed be a bios problem, particularly if the board
shipped with an early bios, it may be useful to at least
look at the bios update notes available (if any) too see if
any problems are addressed.
 
w_tom said:
The BIOS did not change. Your problem (probably) was
created without a BIOS change. BIOS upgrade is dangerous -
can be destructive - and still will not address the problem.
Click to expand...

BIOS upgrades are NOT dangerous. Yes they can fail. Yes they can cause the
PC to become unusable. It's highly unlikely that it will happen though.
Motherboard monitor also is not sufficient for measuring
voltages until motherboard hardware is first verified with a
3.5 digit multimeter. Listed were wires you must provide
voltage numbers from. The only alternative to that so
inexpensive meter is a much more expensive solution.
Click to expand...

So, you think a BIOS flash is "dangerous", yet you expect a newbie to go
poking around inside the computer with some metal prods?

Tsk tsk..
 
even if it did fail that board is as cheap as chips, lol
£30.00, one of the cheapest quality brand name boards you can get, and hey
if fails, a reason to go and get a NF-7s2.0 :)
i and yeah, bios updates are kinda in the grey area, theres is alot that can
go wrong, but the same can happen when your word processing. As long as your
system runs fairly stable then it should be fine, if in doubt, do it via a
disk with the bios image on it.
 
Probing inside with multimeter prods is one of the least
dangerous things one can do inside a computer. Only those who
fear fear itself would also fear multimeter probes.

Meanwhile, Kony makes a valid point. If the system is only
a week plus old, then maybe the motherboard was provided with
a defective BIOS. First the motherboard supplier should be
able to confirm that 'known' problem. Second, BIOS upgrades
provide 'reasons for the software correction'. A BIOS would
be updated on unstable hardware because the new version
corrected that specific or related problem. To blindly
upgrade a BIOS only because hardware is unstable - for no
other reason - is unnecessarily dangerous. This danger
multiplies if power supply voltages are marginal - just
another reason to first get a multimeter.
 
BIOS upgrades are NOT dangerous. Yes they can fail. Yes they can cause the
PC to become unusable. It's highly unlikely that it will happen though.
Click to expand...

'Tis all in one's definition of "dangerous".
Some would consider a failure a danger.

Personally, I never flash from Windows, still dont' trust
those win-utilities... always from a floppy, CD, HDD, or
flash drive in DOS.
 
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