Worked for a month but then random lock ups

robogopher · 12-05-2005, 05:19 PM

I recently built a computer. I had a few problems getting it started but then when it finally worked, it worked great. I really only used it to play World of Warcraft and Black and White 2 so I was doing no downloading of any sort, save for some drivers I needed.

Then about a month after, Warcraft started locking up, though everything else on the computer ran fine. At this time, I was using the harddrive, a Maxtor 80gb, from my old Dell PC. I decided maybe it was the harddrive and set up my new one, installing Windows XP Home and Warcraft wherein it started locking up again, but still only during Warcraft. I fixed it for about a week, but...

Now it just started locking up no matter what I do, even during start up and at random intervals. I thought it might be the video card driver which is 7.7.7.7 and the website offers the 8.something (don't remember exactly). But when I tried to download that the system locked up, and I can't even run it in safe mode. I even tried going back to the old harddrive and it was locking up just as much. It hardly ever lets me get past the start up to even attempt to fix this (if it is a driver problem).

So now I'm wondering...what can I do?

My current set up is:
450W power supply
AMD Athlon XP 3200+ w/ Thermal Take fan (does NOT overheat, I checked this)
Soyo KT880 Dragon 2 v. 2.0 mobo
1gb DDR ram
160gb Maxtor Harddrive
Windows XP Home edition
DVD-Rom and CD-rom drives (though those are working fine)
Standard floppy drive (from my old Dell computer, also works fine)
eVGA Geforce 6800 AGP 8x graphics card (driver v. 7.7.7.7)

If anyone could tell me what could be causing all this, it would be greatly appreciated.

UPDATE: Just got Safe Mode to run without freezing, installed new video driver, just as I opened hardware manager, while running Windows normally, to check and make sure it actually updated, I saw that it did and...it locked up again.

Tumbleweed36 · 12-06-2005, 04:47 PM

Hi,

Don't know if we can tell you exactly what is causing this, but we can troubleshoot in the process to see if we can find something that is not working correctly.

First of all, you listed your power supply as a 450 watt, be sure and list the brand name so we know what it is supposed to put out on each rail.

I would assume you can get in the BIOS. When there see if you can check the listed temps and voltages. Most motherboard have that info. What would be ideal if you can get it up and going, would be to run the onboard or SPEEDFAN = http://www.sofotex.com/SpeedFan-download_L4655.html. which will tell you a lot more both at-rest and under-stress.

If you can again get it in safe mode, uninstall your present drivers and boot it back up in standard VGA mode. Then, you might (I assume you have access to another computer) try the Omega drivers at: http://www.omegadrivers.net/ <OR> If that does not help, then download the latest (8.0, I think, but not sure) drivers for this card from the manufacturer's website and try that.

I need some information:

When you put this together, did you use Artic Silver or the factory heatsink pad?

Is your heatsink fan blowing down or pulling air up?

Have you tried this unit with only one stick of Ram to see if it crashes? This might be worth a try.

Have you made any hardware or software changes recently?

Post back and let us know how it is going.

robogopher · 12-06-2005, 05:03 PM

Well I had already checked the CPU, my motherboard drivers came with a device to check the temp while the computer was running, so I knew it stayed at least 20-30 degrees below the shut down temp even when running things...but it turns out we figured out the problem anyway...seems the video card was too high of a voltage for my particular motherboard to handle and it blew out some of the circuitry. 1.5v AGP slot and a 2.0v AGP card just might do that. Heh. I guess it just decided it had had enough and blew on me. I talked to a local technician and he confirmed that this was the problem, so he's going to try and help me pick out a better motherboard.

As for the suggestions, I appreciate taking the time to answer my question.

12-05-2005, 05:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
robogopher Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 2 OS: WinXP	Worked for a month but then random lock ups I recently built a computer. I had a few problems getting it started but then when it finally worked, it worked great. I really only used it to play World of Warcraft and Black and White 2 so I was doing no downloading of any sort, save for some drivers I needed. Then about a month after, Warcraft started locking up, though everything else on the computer ran fine. At this time, I was using the harddrive, a Maxtor 80gb, from my old Dell PC. I decided maybe it was the harddrive and set up my new one, installing Windows XP Home and Warcraft wherein it started locking up again, but still only during Warcraft. I fixed it for about a week, but... Now it just started locking up no matter what I do, even during start up and at random intervals. I thought it might be the video card driver which is 7.7.7.7 and the website offers the 8.something (don't remember exactly). But when I tried to download that the system locked up, and I can't even run it in safe mode. I even tried going back to the old harddrive and it was locking up just as much. It hardly ever lets me get past the start up to even attempt to fix this (if it is a driver problem). So now I'm wondering...what can I do? My current set up is: 450W power supply AMD Athlon XP 3200+ w/ Thermal Take fan (does NOT overheat, I checked this) Soyo KT880 Dragon 2 v. 2.0 mobo 1gb DDR ram 160gb Maxtor Harddrive Windows XP Home edition DVD-Rom and CD-rom drives (though those are working fine) Standard floppy drive (from my old Dell computer, also works fine) eVGA Geforce 6800 AGP 8x graphics card (driver v. 7.7.7.7) If anyone could tell me what could be causing all this, it would be greatly appreciated. UPDATE: Just got Safe Mode to run without freezing, installed new video driver, just as I opened hardware manager, while running Windows normally, to check and make sure it actually updated, I saw that it did and...it locked up again. Last edited by robogopher; 12-05-2005 at 05:34 PM.

12-06-2005, 04:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,662 OS: XP Professional	Hi, Don't know if we can tell you exactly what is causing this, but we can troubleshoot in the process to see if we can find something that is not working correctly. First of all, you listed your power supply as a 450 watt, be sure and list the brand name so we know what it is supposed to put out on each rail. I would assume you can get in the BIOS. When there see if you can check the listed temps and voltages. Most motherboard have that info. What would be ideal if you can get it up and going, would be to run the onboard or SPEEDFAN = http://www.sofotex.com/SpeedFan-download_L4655.html. which will tell you a lot more both at-rest and under-stress. If you can again get it in safe mode, uninstall your present drivers and boot it back up in standard VGA mode. Then, you might (I assume you have access to another computer) try the Omega drivers at: http://www.omegadrivers.net/ <OR> If that does not help, then download the latest (8.0, I think, but not sure) drivers for this card from the manufacturer's website and try that. I need some information: When you put this together, did you use Artic Silver or the factory heatsink pad? Is your heatsink fan blowing down or pulling air up? Have you tried this unit with only one stick of Ram to see if it crashes? This might be worth a try. Have you made any hardware or software changes recently? Post back and let us know how it is going. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread. Last edited by Tumbleweed36; 12-06-2005 at 04:49 PM.

12-06-2005, 05:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
robogopher Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 2 OS: WinXP	Well I had already checked the CPU, my motherboard drivers came with a device to check the temp while the computer was running, so I knew it stayed at least 20-30 degrees below the shut down temp even when running things...but it turns out we figured out the problem anyway...seems the video card was too high of a voltage for my particular motherboard to handle and it blew out some of the circuitry. 1.5v AGP slot and a 2.0v AGP card just might do that. Heh. I guess it just decided it had had enough and blew on me. I talked to a local technician and he confirmed that this was the problem, so he's going to try and help me pick out a better motherboard. As for the suggestions, I appreciate taking the time to answer my question. Last edited by robogopher; 12-06-2005 at 05:04 PM.