Crash, crash, crash, crash...

[Blup]

I've posted all over about this, i'll just compile all my posts here. I need desperate help...

well here's the situation, i've been dealing with since the summer. First i'll post my specs.

(specs when problem first occured):
AMD Athlon XP 1700 (1.46 ghz)
asus k7 motherboard
Voodoo 5500 pci (changed to geforce3)
256 megs sdram
creative labs soundblaster live 5.1 soundcard w/ 4 speakers/subwoofer.
was originally running win98se but recently changed to WinXP Pro, problem remains.
-----
I got a Geforce 3 ti 500 vid card and put a slot fan by it to help cooling.
-----

Mostly it happens while i'm playing a game, the screen will freeze and i'll hear this terribly loud and harsh static noise from my speakers. I'm forced to restart my computer with the button on the box.

I originally thought it was an overheating problem (it only started happening on a really hot summer day). So as a quck fix i opened my box and put a table fan blowing onto it to cool it down. It seemed to work, but then i noticed i was getting a lot of dust (which further increased heating) so i turned the fan around and stuck it close to act as an exhaust. Well it seemed to fix the problem.

However after a brief respite the problem returned... my system continued to lock up randomly while playing games, with the same loud static noise.

Now i have a few specific questions:

Has anyone experienced this and figured out what causes it?

Does blowing the fan into my computer better/worse/same as sticking it close and blowing it out as an exhaust?

Should my processor fan blow air onto my processor or blow air off of it? (originally it was blowing air onto it, but i just switched it around today b/c everyone tells me it should blow air off of the chip)

There's no use in changing video cards since the same problem occured when i had my Voodoo Card in. The only elements that have not changed since i FIRST experienced the problem are my Ram, motherboard, processor, and power supply. (i have new harddrives, sound card, video card, operating system, and added cooling)

I'm running a 300w supply, is that enough? Someone suggested getting a 450. But i'm running out of money and can't just keep replacing parts (well the ones i replaced were b/c i wanted to, not to try to fix a problem, altho was hoping it would)...


someoen posted to me:
""I promise you 99% its your mother board. You blew your Video Caps I bet. Wild guess your Power Supply is a 250 or a 300 Watt??? The lowest you should ever run a G3 on is a 350 Power Supply and 400 for G4 is ideal. I know I blew a board running a g3 ti 4600(on my 3rd box) with a 250 watt power supply(dumb me). Check your caps and see if any of them are balloon'd on top(rounded) instead of flat. """

My board seemed fine tho.



well that's pretty much it.. i'm gonna test a different stic of ram tonight and if that doesn't fix it i'm down to power supply...

anyone know optimal temperature for an amd athlon xp 1700 processor?

[Surge1243]

What temps are you getting with the original setup, both idle and under load. If directing a table fan into the case stops the random lock ups and drops system temps(which it should) then heat is most likely the issue. How long did you have the fan blowing into the case for? Before I got my temps manageable on my XP 1600+ I had a table fan blowing into the case to at least be able to play games. I didn't like the setup too much so I put the side back on and simply let the fan blow on the front of the case...which cooled things down a bit. A 300w power supply is usually more than adequate to run a system...how many devices do you have installed? I don't know who's telling you that a 400w is needed but I really don't think it is.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Originally posted by Blup
Has anyone experienced this and figured out what causes it?

Yes. Myself. Check out these threads:

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?threadid=37899

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?threadid=42058

And welcome to the PC Mech Forums!! :)

[Blup]

Hey Nuclear Krusader's da man. Replacing your mobo fixed the problem 100% and all?

A friend said i might of blown a video cap on my board, so i checked 'em all and they weren't rounded or anything, so i didn't think it's my board.

do you know what exactly happens tot he board that it does this? we both experienced "overheating" in the beginning. Our problems are so identical, but i wonder what exactly happened tot he board as all the diagnostic tests i run on it pass.

[Nuclear Krusader]

MSI finally agreed to replace the mobo. After puttin in the new one, probs disappeared.

But I'm not buying MSI again in a very long time.

[mike breck]

Hi Blup,

Make sure you have the onboard audio disabled in the BIOS

Before writing off the mobo, I think this may connected to the Soundblaster. Either an IRQ conflict or a Latency problem with the 686a chipset on your mobo.

Try pulling the Soundblaster out and seeing if the problem continues.

See this thread for some info about the Latency problem and a patch.

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=305076#post305076

HTH

[Blup]

Sorry aboutt he post probs, thought i deleted that. the forum follows the same format as another i go to except the "New thread" button is the "reply" button on the other one. just confusing, then i thought i deleted the othe rpost. well ya know. things get wierd. ;p

anyway:


well i've changed every piece of hardware but the MB and nothing changed so i'm chaning the mb now. also a lot of techies i been talking to say it's probably the board... if the board doesn't change the problem then my computer's just possessed.. once the board is changed the computer will effectively be brand new. new board, ram, hd, os, video card, sound card, ide cables, power supply...


my stuff should be in my mailbox today or tomorrow so i'll let yas know what happens.