[demacht]

ok I'm now here sitting on my moms 350mhz gateway computer asking u guys why my nice but yet obsolete (sorta) gateway 1.3Ghz comp is freezing up randomly, i gave it nice upgrades since it came to me (geforce 4 ti-4600, new SB LIVE! gamer, new RD ram (384mb PC800) ) but after its been running smooth suddenly one night at around 1amish while I was playing my addiction (anarchy online) a sweet MMORPG, it locked up... then ever after, it locks up within 5sec-1hour time periods complete random after boot up, I did norton scan found 3 trojan worms, (they could not of caused this b/c I reinstalled windows and did clean out) and also did defrag, norton win pc medic to clean probs, everything cleared, and it still did it, so I uninstalled EVERYTHING while it kept locking up, taking about 9 restarts for me to clean everything out, then i reinstall windows, and now its just sitting there with nothing but standard windows ME installed and running without graphics still freezin up) I could load win xp, but since its allready freezing I may just ask, is it the CPU? the motherboard? the Hard drive? I have no clue what to do, i tryed everytihng I could think of. nothing much worked.... but before I buy a new CPU, which would be 600+ cause I only buy the best of the current market. I wanna know if I can fix my baby up myself. :upset:

 

[jgvernonco]

I jusr wanted you to know that I read this.

My very first thought is HDD, but I don't know how to dx that from where you are currently at.

PM John Will and ask him to take a look at your thread.

 

[demacht]

thoguht i had it fixed, and I just realized I dont =\ so any suggestions..?

 

[ashraff]

crashing

Yes the technical name for this is crashing it happens when ur Harddrive is full of ****

 

[Volt-Schwibe]

he said he has reinstalled, and it is still occuring.


please pay attention.

the problem he is having isnt due to crap on the disk.

~BoB~

 

[merlin]

ok people, lets keep the focus on the problem , ok ?
Before you fork over money for a new cpu, check everything else by removing anything that is not needed for the PC to operate and running your PC on bare minimum. Unplug everything out and clean out whatever is dusty, and plug back in only components that are critical for the PC to run, such as memory. That way you eliminate some components. If it keeps freezing, then you have narrowed it down. And if you have multiple sticks of memory, seat them in different slots...Check all the fans, see if they're working...When you reloaded windows, did you format or did you just re-install ?

 

[Locke Digitalus]

Yeah, double check those memory sticks. One of the computers at work had that problem, freezing up suddenly... and it turned out to be failing RAM.

 

[demacht]

ok quick update... after a few restarts the comp will run fine, I ahd it running fine for 7 hours last night... but ti did the same agian today.... I cleaned out the CPU fan its clear of dust... and I just reinstalled I didn't reformat....

 

[JerryWMac]

Worksw for me...
Backup whatever you need to on CD, floppies just don't make it...
make yourself a checklist of things to backup.
and doit.

Fdisk, format.
go in and strip as they said everything out on the table.
Start in piece by piece starting bare minimum to boot.
Power supply connected, 1 stick of memory slot 1, cpu and fan.
can of air spray to spray dust off before putting things in.

Check connections on cables and settings for hard drives as they are going in.

On each successful boot, shut down and install another piece.
Starting with 1 stick of memory and complete all memory.

When you have enough to install XP, then install XP, install software for board and items as needed.

as soon as basic windows is completed, install virus progams to search boot, and programs.

That is completed, connect to the internet, upgrade virus programs and start over with virus scan.
slow methodical and steady.
make certain to also scan your backup cd's that you wrote with upgraded virus scanners.
Run a minimum 2-3 virus scanners on your system to make certain that nothing is there.
Some virus scanners may pickup what another does not...

 

[johnwill]

I recommend you start the process by downloading MemTest86 and running it overnight. If it turns up any errors, that's the first thing to fix.

 

[JerryWMac]

Actually ?I did try the memtest 3.0 last night..
Read just fine on the memory inside, let the program run.
I have no idea if it ever stopped, but, the computer stopped responding.
Rebooted, and the program that was on that particular floppy , memtest 3.0 was wiped, that was on a different computer.
As well that particular computer I had to reset the bios on the Motherboard. and still won't read from the floppy.

Most programs such as these do work, and they work fine, most of the time, but they are types that you need to use with caution.
If you are not careful, they can do some minor damage to the computer. These are to be run at owners risk.

 

[johnwill]

I don't know what you did to your computer, but MemTest86 has been my primary memory test for several years, and probably at least 100 systems. It's never done anything but test the memory, and unless your hardware is broken, no other effects will be observed. The idea that MemTest86 damaged either the BIOS or the floppy is laughable.

I've seen a number of your posts with mis-information show up here in the last few days, including this one. I'd suggest that you may want to do more reading and less typing, you might learn something.

 

[Volt-Schwibe]

ive never seen memtest screw anything up before...

i also agree with johnwill on the less typing and more reading, i did exactly what he is suggesting you do, and i am amazed at what i dont know..

when you say programs like these, i think you are referring to second rate programsthat have no support that come from cheap sites. memtest is nothing such. it is a real product with real support.


~BoB~

 

[Mental_Myopia]

Back to the original post...

When reading that, my first thought was actually the power supply. You added all of that new stuff to your Gateway? In my experience, I've discovered that OEM's keep the PSU wattage at a minimum for what comes standard on the computer model. I had nearly the exact same thing happen on my Compaq as what happened on your system. I put some nice new stuff in it, which turned out to be too much for the 250W power supply, and it wore out. If you run a test on the CPU clock, you may discover that it's operating at a lower speed.

What wattage is your power supply? GeForce4 Ti cards require a minimum of 350W for the system in order to ensure system stability.

How old is this computer? If your power supply wore out, a nice Antec True Power PSU might be all you need.

 

[JerryWMac]

Impressions...

I was under the impression that people were supposed to be helping others..
I put out information that I verified prior to. you guys enjoyed jumping on the band wagon and flaming a person...

Oh well.
AS for info..

I have noticed over and over again on this board that people are coming here asking for help, and it is the identical same questions over and over.

Most motherboards are basically identical, at least in layout.
Granted the cpu's may change, but they use industry standard connections.
Granted the Memory may change, but then again they use industry standard..
In addition the HDD change, and this drastically in short periods of time, however the interface for the HDD to the motherboard is an industry standard.

Most of these things do not change, the interface does not change..
Take a look at these photos on this page, follow the settings going through.

http://www.buildeasypc.com/hw/howto/insthdd.htm

AS you idiots can tell, the second page photo shows that what I said on the IBM Desktore HDD IDE settings as a Master drive being set to Master, and being placed in the master portion of the ribbon cable and connected to the motherboard is layed exactly as I detailed. Exactly as I checked prior to putting it out on your board.

Maybe if you idiots would check things out prior to mouthing off because you want to do something first instead of verifying it, others begging you for help might get help they can and could undertand.

Also a granted, maybe on a SCSI the settings might be different, but I did not say a SCSI drive, I said point blank IDE connection.
Ther are 3 connection spots on the cable.
1 off to one end, away from the other 2.
Usually the end connectingto the motherboard, has a nick or block, or notch in the middle on one side, to line the connection up in the right direction, this is NOT always true on each and every cable...

The middle one is the master location as shown in the instalation photo.
and the oposite end is the Slave.
Also shows explicitly these connection being made..

I would suggest prior to flaming shomeone in the future you lousy idiots should go out and do some studying your own *amn selves..

I did learn about this board though,it is a buddy board, it is not meant to help people, you guys enjoy to *amn much flaming others who try to unconfuse people...


And yes, an each Mboard I encounter that I have not personally had before, I never work on it until AFTER I read the manual, In fact, quite often I go ahead and read the *amn manual anyway, just to refresh myself and make certain I don't make mistakes...

In addition a few Mboards that come into my shop no longer have manuals, on those that do not , it is not a problem to get the bios string, feed it into the net, find the manufacturer using that bios string, and download not only the manual, but the original and updated drivers for whatever board I am working on..

NOw IF the owner of this board were to take notice, of what is going on with the threads on this board, he might do something besides helping flaming people honestly helping...
He might read or reread the threads, and see what is going on..

It would not be hard or difficult to take a couple of photos of settings, the generic ones, showing a general Mboard hooking up cables, memory, cpu even... offering helpful advice...
Then place a link to these generic answers when peoople ask questions about them. But then that may be too much work for idiots as on this board...

It seems that of the human race 40% or so are visual people, they have to physically see something going on before they can do it, they others can generally surmise from reading about something.

 

[johnwill]

Getting our knickers in a knot here are we?

We are here to help people, and part of that help is to dispel obviously incorrect information, which you were generously providing.

If you don't use cable select on 80 conductor cables, but rather use the master/slave jumpering, you can put the master and/or slave where you like on the cable. However, since almost all new hard disks come jumpered for CS out of the box, and if you use them that way, they must be connected properly.

Let's go right to the horse's mouth, from the Maxtor hard drive installation sheet, they illustrate the blue MB connector on one end, the gray slave drive connector in the middle, and the black master connector on the end.

Now, I could assume that Maxtor doesn't know what they're talking about and you're correct, but I choose to believe one of the largest makers of disk drives when it comes to connecting them up.

 

[JerryWMac]

http://www.buildeasypc.com/hw/howto/insthdd.htm


Refer to posted link..

I have seen multiple references on conneting IDE drives up, and configuring IDE drives, and each and every single one referes to as is posted in the above link..

I have seen to date NO references from you of any URL going to show any link done the way you have described...

The link above is a reference to a posted page done by someone who builds computers, and does not hypothetically put them together out of whims as your statements assume...


I did not write the above page, but I referred to it as the way they should be connected..


Two to three times now you have referred to Maxtor and configuring the way they do...
You provide no URL.
I referred to this page, it shows an IBM desktar being configured..
I positevley connaot be insulting, as you have nothing to insult, no brain matter
i d i o t.....

 

[johnwill]

If you've ever purchased a Maxtor drive, most of us that actually have built more than one or two systems have, just look at the paper that came with it.

You offer a picture of a 40 conductor cable that has no master/slave connector identity as proof your point is correct. I'm not impressed.

The difference betweeen you and I is that I have used 100's of these cables, and I don't have to search the web for examples of their use.

Do this little experiment. Configure a drive for CS (Cable Select) and plug it onto the blue (end) connector on an 80 pin IDE cable. Turn on the machine and see if it's the master or slave.

You can come back and eat your crow with mustard after that experiment.

 

[Mental_Myopia]

I still think it's the power supply... :winking:

As for the argument, lets simply provide demacht with information to help fix this problem.

Here's a Maxtor installation guide to help sort things out:
Maxtor Hard Drive Installation
Now our readers have that information straight from Maxtor.
:winking: