I have had instability problems with this computer since it was new, 2 years ago. Specs include Win 98 SE, AMDK6-3 450 mhz, 256mb PC-100 ram, 3DFX Voodoo3 3000 video card, SB Live sound card,12 GB Hard Drive.

Instability issues include (but are not limited too):
1. black screen with flashing cursor loop when trying to shutdown
2. most games will randomly exit to desktop, games with Unreal Tournement engine give random error messages
3. IE crashes often
4. occasional random unproked restarts
5. complete freezes
6. etc,etc,etc

Have tried upgrading all drivers, have recently reformatted and reinstalled Win 98 SE with no luck. I have also tried different videocards and upgraded the cooling system (alpha cpu cooler and fan added to videocard heatsink) with no results.
I have used Norton System works to try and find problems, while it often finds things such as invalid shortcut paths, activeX, and registry problems
it fixes them, but does not improve stability. I have also ran defrag and scandisk and the Norton equivalents.

I have pretty much ran out of ideas. Can anybody out there help?

Welcome, Magicjabba! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif For some TS help, try here (http://www.pcguide.com/ts/index.htm).

Have you downloaded Windows Updates from Microsoft's web site? Couldn't hurt. Good Luck! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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"When I nod my head, hit it with the hammer."
-- (Moe, holding nail, to Curly, holding hammer)



[This message has been edited by tjaymadison (edited 05-01-2001).]

Hey,

This doesn't sound like a software problem to me. Sounds more like hardware. First thing I would try is swapping out the RAM for known good RAM. But first, make sure the existing RAM is seated properly. You might try removing the RAM and cleaning the contacts with a rubber pencil eraser, then reinstalling to see if it makes a difference.

In other words, it sounds like a RAM problem to me.

Or, it could be a compatibility problem with the sound card and processor. I know that SB Live cards have been known to be picky with various other components, CPU included, but can't remember which ones. You might try borrowing a friend's soundcard to see if that makes a difference.

Good luck,

BB 66


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The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability that you'll get it wrong.

[This message has been edited by BigBlue66 (edited 05-01-2001).]

unless I'm missing something.. it sounds like either or a ram memory problem / VIDEO card problem. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif

voodoo3's are good , but came from the box needing updates.

is it running hot ?? (hottet than normal for that processor)

randyTx can tell you how hot its supposed to be.... and RANDY?? how hot is my T-bird (ath- 800Mhz) supposed to run optimally??

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sea1_69@hotmail.com

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It seems you guys were right about the RAM. I popped out one of my 128MB DIMMs and the computer it the pillar of stability. Thanks.

Now the next question, do you have more than two slots?

You could flip flop the RAM and see if the other stick also works, if it does and you have three slots you could try it in the third slot... if it works then you've got a bad slot (could be dirty or corroded). Some boards will work with out the slots being filled in orderr others won't.

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/highrise/11/index.htm)