build problem

**Garobill** · 02-18-2003, 09:15 AM

OK, here's the short story (at least as short as I can make it):
I recently built my first computer (ASUS A7N8X, Athlon 2100+, Volcano 9, XFX ti4200, 1 gig of Kingston memory, LiteOn CDRW, LiteOn DVD player, WD 120g HD).
I have had a devil of a time getting everything working consistently. I installed XP pro, and then used a usb file transfer program to move stuff from my old computer(being careful to only move data files). My new one would crash often, giving me the dreaded message that a problem had been detected, and then go back to the desktop. I assumed that there were some problems with the data I had transferred, so re-installed XP from a clean HD and partitioned the HD. and then was VERY careful to only transfer selected data, which I put in the D & E partitions. Same problem with crashing. Sooo..., I gave up, and installed Windows 2000 Professional, and didn't put ANY new programs on my computer. So far, I have gotten the same fault message once. Now, I'm guessing it's somewhere in the hardware.
Can anyone suggest a good course of investigation, or else direct me to a sympathetic shrink?

**Whyzman** · 02-18-2003, 10:06 AM

Using what file system do you have your old data stored?

**Garobill** · 02-18-2003, 10:16 AM

Whyz,
I'm using NTFS on everything.

**Garobill** · 02-18-2003, 10:17 AM

Also,
I have just re-seated the video card and the memory sticks. I will "play" with it for awhile to see if this helps (but probably won't).

**Whyzman** · 02-18-2003, 07:40 PM

Since it's a new build, perhaps you might want to strip it back...just the CD-ROM and floppy for peripherals.

Load up and see if it can play for a while. In the meantime, I think I'd run your HDD diagnostics and a Memory Tester.

See if the thing will "play nice" before moving on...

**Garobill** · 02-18-2003, 09:37 PM

Yeah, I guess I'm going to have to do that. I thought I had the problem licked after I re-seated the memory sticks, but then awhile later, it just rebooted all by itself while I was using the computer. I guess it could also be the processor or the motherboard. I'd hope that wasn't the case. I halfway suspect the video card, as occasionally the monitor just goes blank then recovers, but nothing from the computer that you would notice.

**mjc** · 02-18-2003, 09:46 PM

Why not go into the BIOS and select the most conservative/least "tweaked" memory settings?

**Garobill** · 02-18-2003, 09:51 PM

Thanks. I'll give that a try tomorrow morning. I'm too tired to wrestle with it tonight. Not to mention "relaxed" from the "grande" margarita we had at the mexican restaurant this evening!

**Garobill** · 02-18-2003, 09:52 PM

One more question before I hang it up: What is a good way/place to check the memory and HD, other than replacing them?

**Budfred** · 02-18-2003, 09:55 PM

Check the hard drive with the maker's diagnostic software that you can download from their website.

You can check the RAM with different programs, here are two:

http://www.simmtester.com/page/memor...ory.asp?num=12

www.bootdisk.com

**Garobill** · 02-19-2003, 08:39 AM

Unfortunately, the simtester software says that it doesn't work for 2000 or XP.
One other thought: After I replaced the AMD CPU cooler with the Volcano 9, on bootup I get the voice message "CPU fan fail", although it is still working just fine. The computer goes ahead and boots up. I've configured the fan to use the temp sensor to control the speed. Would the computer somehow occasionally think there was an actual failure and shutdown, only to immediately reboot?

**Garobill** · 02-19-2003, 11:11 AM

I appreciate all the advice. Unfortunately, I've got to be out of town for the next 5 days, so will try the suggestions so far, and report on them after this coming Sunday. Keep those ideas coming!

**Budfred** · 02-19-2003, 05:03 PM

The CPU fan could well be the problem, is it plugged into the motherboard? You could try turning off the sensor, if it will do that, and see if the shutdowns stop.

Did you try the memory tester on the bootdisk site?

**mjc** · 02-19-2003, 05:57 PM

DocMemory can run from a DOS boot disk (then the OS would be irrelevant).

Just set the floppy to be the first item in the boot order and make a simple DOS bootdisk (or download one from www.bootdisk.com) and run it from the floppy.

**Garobill** · 02-22-2003, 08:37 AM

I'm back, and ready to re-tackle the problem. The CPU fan IS plugged into the motherboard, so I was thinking of re-installing it, and setting it up for full on all the time.
My next planned tactic is to get another video card, and perhaps another stick of ram. Then, I was going to start replacing those items and see what happens.
Also, concerning the simtester memory test, I understand about booting from the floppie. But, when I went to the simmtester site, it stated that the test woouldn't work for xp or 2000. I'll rerun it.
Thanks for the help, guys.

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