Diagnosing crash problem - memory?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Joe Befumo
  • Start date Start date
J

Joe Befumo

I have a no-name machine that I picked up on Ebay that's exhibiting some
flakey behavior. It's and AMD 2.something Ghz, with 1Gig ram, running Win XP
with the latest service packs.

Every now and then, it'll simply die. No blue screen. No incriminating log
entries. It just goes dead, and, when it does this, you can't restart it
with the power button. You have to unplug it for several seconds, blug it
back in, and then when you press the button, it starts.

It seems to crash when I'm running a bunch of applications. At first I
figured maybe it was heat related, however, it does it with the A/C running
till the room is an ice box, and with the case open & right in front of the
A/C unit. So, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe it's a memory or
motherboard/addressing problem. I can now make it happen fairly regularly by
running two applications that each read a half million names from files.

So, question is, how do I go about diagnosing whether it's memory,
motherboard, or something else? I hate to just start replacing components
until something works --

Thanks.

Joe
http://www.befumo.com
 
Joe said:
I have a no-name machine that I picked up on Ebay that's exhibiting some
flakey behavior. It's and AMD 2.something Ghz, with 1Gig ram, running Win XP
with the latest service packs.

Every now and then, it'll simply die. No blue screen. No incriminating log
entries. It just goes dead, and, when it does this, you can't restart it
with the power button. You have to unplug it for several seconds, blug it
back in, and then when you press the button, it starts.

It seems to crash when I'm running a bunch of applications. At first I
figured maybe it was heat related, however, it does it with the A/C running
till the room is an ice box, and with the case open & right in front of the
A/C unit. So, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe it's a memory or
motherboard/addressing problem. I can now make it happen fairly regularly by
running two applications that each read a half million names from files.

So, question is, how do I go about diagnosing whether it's memory,
motherboard, or something else? I hate to just start replacing components
until something works --

Thanks.

Joe
http://www.befumo.com
Click to expand...

You need to be specific about your components. Power supply,
motherboard, memory, and more.
 
I have a no-name machine that I picked up on Ebay that's exhibiting some
flakey behavior. It's and AMD 2.something Ghz, with 1Gig ram, running Win XP
with the latest service packs.

Every now and then, it'll simply die. No blue screen. No incriminating log
entries. It just goes dead, and, when it does this, you can't restart it
with the power button. You have to unplug it for several seconds, blug it
back in, and then when you press the button, it starts.

It seems to crash when I'm running a bunch of applications. At first I
figured maybe it was heat related, however, it does it with the A/C running
till the room is an ice box, and with the case open & right in front of the
A/C unit. So, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe it's a memory or
motherboard/addressing problem. I can now make it happen fairly regularly by
running two applications that each read a half million names from files.

So, question is, how do I go about diagnosing whether it's memory,
motherboard, or something else? I hate to just start replacing components
until something works --

Thanks.

Joe
http://www.befumo.com
Click to expand...

That is typical of a power supply problem. Check it with a
multimeter.
 
I have a no-name machine that I picked up on Ebay that's exhibiting some
flakey behavior. It's and AMD 2.something Ghz, with 1Gig ram, running Win XP
with the latest service packs.

Every now and then, it'll simply die. No blue screen. No incriminating log
entries. It just goes dead, and, when it does this, you can't restart it
with the power button. You have to unplug it for several seconds, blug it
back in, and then when you press the button, it starts.

It seems to crash when I'm running a bunch of applications. At first I
figured maybe it was heat related, however, it does it with the A/C running
till the room is an ice box, and with the case open & right in front of the
A/C unit. So, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe it's a memory or
motherboard/addressing problem. I can now make it happen fairly regularly by
running two applications that each read a half million names from files.

So, question is, how do I go about diagnosing whether it's memory,
motherboard, or something else? I hate to just start replacing components
until something works --

Thanks.

Joe
http://www.befumo.com
Click to expand...

To test memory, you can make a memtest86 boot disk. Google it and
you'll find the disk image. I would also check the BIOS and CPU to
make sure it's not overclocked.
 
As other have said, do standard diagnosis procedures. First
confirm the computer is built on a properly functioning
foundation. The multimeter confirms power supply integrity.
Then move on to verifying integrity of various components
using comprehensive diagnostics. Download diagnostics from
each component manufacturer or third party diagnostics such as
Memtst86.

But this is the point. Simplify the analysis using simple
functions. For example confirm all hardware before even
looking or executing Windows. Isolate and test each functions
one at a time. Since the power supply will adversely effect
everything else, then power supply integrity must be confirmed
with the multimeter before anything else.

Best way to run a memory diagnostic is first at room
temperature, and then with memory heated by a hair dryer on
high. It may be uncomfortable to your hand. But your hand
does not have the same numerical specs that memory has. To
memory, that hair dryer on high is 'pigs heaven' and is also
how to make intermittent failures temporarily hard enough to
be detected by Memtst86.

Chances are that the meter may find a problem with the power
supply controller - which is another component of the power
supply system. But to see this, you need that multimeter and
basic knowledge since as found in two previous posts:
"Computer doesnt start at all" in alt.comp.hardware on 10
Jan 2004 at
http://tinyurl.com/2t69q and
"I think my power supply is dead" in alt.comp.hardware on 5
Feb 2004 at
http://tinyurl.com/yvbw9

When a power supply controller has locked out, then the
multimeter should show enough details to say if, why, or
where. Computer should work just fine in a 100 degree F
room. If not, then find the defective hardware; don't cure
the defect with 'more fans'. And, of course, the informed
repairman never starts by 'shotgunning'. You don't replace
components until symptoms of the defect are obvious - as
demonstrated above.
 
I did check & confirmed that it was not overclocked -- that was my first
suspicion

Joe
 
Back
Top