lock-ups

[x_dreams]

Ok folks,
A little help please!! lately my computer has started to freeze up. I bought 2 new thermaltake fans and my system stays around 42-43 degrees. Also, my cpu has never gotten above 48 degrees so I am ruling out the heat. I was thinking maybe windows took a dump on me so I backed everything up, wiped the 120gb wd clean and did a fresh install of XP Pro. Still the same thing. Also, I ran MEMTEST and the memory checked out fine according to that. Would the video card have anything to do with it? It is a GF 2 Ultra so of course it is old. Usually freezes within 10-15 mins of booting up. This is so frustrating. Please help b4 I go crazy. Whats a guy to do when he can't play his C&C Generals??

x_dreams
Baked, not fried, the healthy choice.........;)

athlon xp 2500 barton
512mb crucial 2700
gigabyte ga7vaxp
wd1200jb
GF2 Ultra

[ski]

Make sure that all connections are secure, all cards(especially the video card) are fully inserted, the video card's fan(if it has one) is running, and clean out any dust build up inside the case.
If the video card does not have a fan, then remove the computer's cover, and run an external fan blowing on the video card's heatsink.

When does the freezing occur, and how often does it happen after booting up?

[Paleo Pete]

ski covered checking for heat problems, which could be the case, you still have video and power supply that can get overheated even if CPU is running coolenough.

Then, how old is the power supply and is it able to handle the demands of your system? If it's a 300W unit a couple of years old and you've added drives and upgraded video, it could be getting weak, underpowered or both.

Also check for spyware, plenty of those applications can clog up the system until it chokes. Check mjc or Budfred's signatures for links, I'm not om my Windows machine and haven't gotten all the links on this one yet...

[Quantax]

I understand from what I've read that though it's basically a good program that the Memtester you've done still can miss detecting bad memory modules. So if you have more than one memory chip you should start by just having one in at a time and seeing how that works out.
Or swap the locations of the existing ones that are in there now.

[x_dreams]

k guys,
went and got a brand new 40gb maxtor and did a fresh install of windows. everything seems to be in good working order. I did everything you guys mentioned before but at the constant nagging of my wife i had to go get the hd so she could check her email!!! anyway, thanks for everything and i'll be back if anything else goes crazy.


x_dreams

[Whyzman]

You didn't mention if you ran the diagnostics on your Harddrive...

If you've the Harddrive slaved you can still run them and see if it gets a clean bill of health...