trademark604

Hi. In the past year my computer has been freezing a few times a day, depending on what I am doing. I began to think that it could be a problem with my heating, but I checked into it and my fan is enough to cool my computer and my power supply cable is fine. Then I realized that it is most likely my video card or RAM, since it was only freezing when I did certain things. Here is the list of activities that would freeze my computer, from most to least.

1. Played Games (My computer always froze after at least 5 minutes)
2. Played Videos (Some videos worked, but my homemade videos did not)
3. Ran too many applications, and tried to do too much stuff.
4. Loaded Programs ( Sometimes when some programs loaded it froze)

I wasn't sure whether it was my video card, RAM, both, or something else. I began to think it was my entire computer that sucked, but its not that bad. I have friends who have older, crappier computers who can still play games and run videos without freezing. Maybe its a virus? I dont know, but I do know that I have ran multiple Spyware/Virus detection programs, and have found nothing. Maybe its hidden. Anyways, here is some computer info and hopefully you can tell me that its just a hardware problem, and to upgrade. If its a virus I dont know what I would do. Here is the list:

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name MILLER
User Name Tyler

Motherboard:
CPU Type Intel Celeron, 1700 MHz (17 x 100)
Motherboard Name ECS P4S5MG/651+ (2 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 AMR, 2 SDR DIMM, 2 DDR DIMM, Audio, Video)
Motherboard Chipset SiS 651
System Memory 256 MB (PC133 SDRAM)
BIOS Type AMI (08/30/02)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440SE with AGP8X (Microsoft Corporation) (64 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440SE with AGP8X
Monitor NetLup PRT-701702/701709/951709 [17" CRT] (12371)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter SiS 7012 Audio Device

Storage:
IDE Controller SiS PCI IDE Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive WDC WD400BB-00FJA0 (37 GB, IDE)
Optical Drive HL-DT-ST CD-ROM GCR-8520B (52x CD-ROM)
Optical Drive LITE-ON LTR-40125S (40x/12x/48x CD-RW)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 7812 MB (2509 MB free)
D: (FAT32) 30334 MB (28217 MB free)
Total Size 37.3 GB (30.0 GB free)

Input:
Keyboard PC/AT Enhanced PS/2 Keyboard (101/102-Key)
Mouse Microsoft PS/2 Mouse

Network:
Network Adapter SiS 900 PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter
Network Adapter SMC EZ Card 10/100 Fast Ethernet PCI Network Adapter (70.69.204.215)

Peripherals:
Printer Epson Stylus COLOR 440 ESC/P 2
USB1 Controller SiS 7001 PCI-USB Open Host Controller
USB1 Controller SiS 7001 PCI-USB Open Host Controller
USB1 Controller SiS 7001 PCI-USB Open Host Controller
USB2 Controller SiS 7002 USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller

If you would like me to post any other bits of my computer info, just let me know and I can tell you. Please get back to me ASAP.

Spriggan43

i say its your ram, to check this get a free dos utility to bench your ram for errors.. Like hirens boot cd.. Or swap the ram around with ram that you know that works…

And if the ram that you know works dose not work in your pc then post back..

trademark604

RAM can corrupt? I was unaware of that. So you are saying that if it is my RAM, then I should just replace my current RAM with new RAM, instead of just adding more RAM and keeping my current RAM? And, also, how much RAM can my computer handle? I know there is probably a limit. I have the right slots for decent RAM, but I'm not sure if my crap computer can handle it. Please let me know if there is anything more that could be causing this problem, and tell me if I should risk adding more RAM, boosting my computers power, OR should I remove my current RAM and replace it with, say, a brand new 512MB RAM stick? Thanks.

koala

256MB RAM is very low for XP. You'd be better off with at least 512.

Before spending any money, run memtest to check the RAM, and SpeedFan to monitor the temperatures.

Are all the fans (including the video card) spinning and unobstructed? Do you have a fan at the front of the case pulling cool air in and one at the back blowing hot air out?

Check your system's power requirements here (add 30% to the total to allow for inefficency).

If your CPU temperature is too high, you can reapply some thermal paste.

trademark604

Umm 1st things first. I dont know how to work memtest. It's confusing. 2nd, the Speedfan download isnt working. There isn't any download link. 3rd, I dont have a fan at the front, but I do have one at the back. As far as I know they are working fine......however, they might be dusty. Could dust be causing my problem??? And 4th, could you recommend a video card that would be compatible with my system. Scroll up and read my first message to see my computer info. Thanks.

Indoril Nerevar

To download memtest, select the pre-compiled version for Windows. Unzip the file, and burn the BOOT and MEMTEST.IMG files onto a CD. Set your system to boot from CD, put the memtest disc in, and let it run.

Try SensorsView Pro (in my sig) for temperatures.

Dust could be a problem - definitely clean out all the fans and heatsinks, and do this regularly to keep the system running well in future.

Any AGP video card will work in your system, so long as the power supply will handle it (more than likely, you'd need to upgrade the power supply). However, the video card is going to be limited severely - in terms of performance - by your 1.7GHz Celeron.

trademark604

I dont really understand how this program works (Sensorsview). I will tell you what it says, and you can tell me whats wrong. It says:

Temperatures-

CPU: 0*C/32* F
SYS:36*C/97* F
AUX: 47*C/117*F
HD0: 35*C/95* F

CPU Usage: (It moves around roughly from 7%-13%)

Memory Usage: 78% (Total: 256. Used: 200)

Then it has a graph that I have no idea *** it says. It has a straight red line at the zero mark and a straight thicker blue line at the 35 (roughly) mark.

Fans-

CPU Fan: 2767 RPM
SYS Fan: 0 RPM
AUX Fan: 0 RPM

Voltages-

VcoreA: 1.68 V
VcoreB: 1.79 V
+3.3V: 3.15 V
+5V: 5.05 V
+12V: 12.20 V
+5VSB: 4.97 V
+VBAT: 3.26 V

Thats all. Please comment on anything that you think I should upgrade or fix. Please get back to me ASAP. Thanks.

PS- Do you think it would hurt if I just added more RAM into my system and kept my old RAM in? Would that be a problem, or would it be ok? Also, I would plan on adding in a 256 RAM stick, boosting my RAM up to 512. Please tell me if there are any risks in doing this, and if my system could handle that much RAM.

Indoril Nerevar

The only real problem I can see in those temps is the CPU temp - 0 degrees just doesn't sound right. Download Everest (in my sig) to double check the temps (run the program, and click Computer -> Sensor). Just post the temps here.

As for adding RAM, that should be fine. Just make sure you get a RAM stick of the same brand, size, and speed as your current stick - this will avoid any problems.