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PCFanatic85 · 10-10-2005, 04:57 AM

I've had my newbuilt rig for a few months now. I haven't had any real issues with it. It is the first one I've built -- so who knows what I've done wrong (if i've done anything wrong.)

But, recently it started to crash in Wow on occassion. Mostly its the world of warcraft error 132 - which according to their tech support, is a ram error or video card error or sound card error. I ran memtest and it said everything is okay. I've updated my drivers on the sound & video card. Everything seemed okay for a while. But just a little while ago everything locked up... The video on the screen was normal -- just frozen. The speakers started to make a loud squeal. And I had to hard-boot it because nothing worked. When it came back up, the USB ports suddenly do not work. Has this suddenly became more serious?

Specs:
AMD Athlon 3200 w/ venice core CPU
1 GB DDR Ram
Nvidia GEForce 6600 GT 128 mb GPU
NForce4 Mobo
Creative SoundBlaster Live Audigy 2 ZS Gamer Sound card
etc.

Cricket · 10-10-2005, 08:46 AM

Is it only happening in WoW? Or does it happen other times?

Is DirectX up to date?

Cricket

PCFanatic85 · 10-10-2005, 11:10 AM

Only in WoW from what I can tell.

But what about the USB ports? They still aren't working hehe. And the comp is running very loudly now. It doesn't matter what I am doing.. fans are being extremely noisy.

I have DirectX 9.0c.

Cricket · 10-10-2005, 11:22 AM

What brand and model motherboard are you using?

What brand power supply are you using?

Were the fans running with less noise when you first put the computer together?

Cricket

**pam123** · 10-10-2005, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCFanatic85

Only in WoW from what I can tell.

But what about the USB ports? They still aren't working hehe. And the comp is running very loudly now. It doesn't matter what I am doing.. fans are being extremely noisy.

I have DirectX 9.0c.

Check your bios to see how your power supply is doing.
If it looks dicey but your not sure drop by RadioShack and pick up a power supply tester, they're very inexpensive.
It's the sheer number of things going wrong at once that, combined with the fact that trouble first showed up in WOW and the suddenly noisy fans, that says system wide problem.
And failing power supplies do just that.
So do failing motherboards but check the power supply first.
USB ports,I'm guessing if there's a power problem they'd be among the first things to go.

PCFanatic85 · 10-10-2005, 12:47 PM

I'll check my bios really quick. The PSU is a 450w Xclio.

PCFanatic85 · 10-10-2005, 12:55 PM

Hmm. Its a little embarassing to ask but -- what am I looking for in BIOS? Not sure where to check on the PSU in here.

**pam123** · 10-10-2005, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PCFanatic85

Hmm. Its a little embarassing to ask but -- what am I looking for in BIOS? Not sure where to check on the PSU in here.

You're looking for something called The Hardware Monitor Menu or words to that effect. It can also be called PCHealth.
In addition to giving you the voltage readings it should also give you motherboard and cpu temperature and fan speeds.
If you check the cd with the motherboard drivers, since your's in a homebuild, it may also have a utility you can install to measure temps and voltage when the computer is under load (like when you're playing WOW).
You may have installed it already but not enabled it so check your start menu and/or System Tray first.
If you don't have one post back and we'll tell you where to download a good one.

It would help if you'd tell us something more than just 'NForce 4' for the mobo.

PCFanatic85 · 10-10-2005, 01:30 PM

Sorry. I was in a rush when I typed that.

NVIDIA nForce 4 K8N Neo4 Mobo

Edit:

CPU temp shows 33C/91F. CPU Core voltage shows +1.5V?

***glc*** · 10-10-2005, 01:48 PM

Those are both good, but what are the voltages on the 3.3v, 5v, and 12v rails?

**pam123** · 10-10-2005, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glc

Those are both good, but what are the voltages on the 3.3v, 5v, and 12v rails?

ditto

We need the rest of the voltage readings.

PCFanatic85 · 10-10-2005, 02:37 PM

Oops sorry. Thanks for bearing with me hehe.

+3.3 = 3.29V
+12.0 = 12.34V
+5.0 = 4.99V
Batt = 3.0V
+5VSB = 4.96V

***glc*** · 10-10-2005, 02:45 PM

Those all look good.

PCFanatic85 · 10-10-2005, 03:05 PM

I just phoned a pc repair place. The guy on the phone said it sounded like the cpu's thermal paste might not have been applied properly? He said that the cpu temp in BIOS might not be an indicator of what it is approaching in some of the more strenuous games.

Edit:

But I'm not sure how the CPu would be affecting my USB ports?

blue60007 · 10-10-2005, 03:26 PM

It's not the CPU overheating. All the fans are running loudly? Which ones?

What about the rest of the system? (list parts if you could)

PCFanatic85 · 10-10-2005, 03:40 PM

I was having trouble determining which fan is running loudly. Normally it runs very quiet. On restarts, during the crashes, on some games, etc -- its running much more loudly than it used to though. That started since the latest crash. It seems like it might be the PSU or the CPU's fan that sounds a bit deranged during those periods. Also, the USB ports stopped working since the latest crash. They were fine before-hand. Previously, other than crashing, the speakers sometimes make a bit of a "low volume screech" when the pc restarts. The sound-card was my original suspect since the volume also increases & decreases when I alt+tab in game. But with the new USB ports stopping, deranged fans, etc.. I can't fathom it being the sound-card. Is this a mobo issue? The PSU voltage seems fine.

**pam123** · 10-10-2005, 05:39 PM

Do the USB ports show up in Device Manager at all?

blue60007 · 10-10-2005, 07:29 PM

Does that motherboard have some type of fan controlling function built in? Like I think some have Cool'n'quiet or I think ASUS boards have QFan or something like that.

PCFanatic85 · 10-11-2005, 12:16 AM

Yes blue. It has cool n' quiet. Why do you ask? Also, a new occurrence: whenever I power down the comp and boot it back up.. it stops before loading windows and prompts if I want to enter safe mode or normal mode due to a recent hardware or software change. It has done that two or three times today. I've changed nothing?

Edit:

The USB controller device shows up in the device manager section.

Edit2:

Should I break down and take it to a pc repair shop? Are these guys usually good or more like automobile mechanics (no offense to any automobile mechanic present -- just using a stereotype for 'em)

PCFanatic85 · 10-11-2005, 12:42 PM

Any ideas?

**pam123** · 10-11-2005, 01:58 PM

First read this : http://www.amdzone.com/modules.php?o...ticle&sid=3964

Then disable cool n' quiet and see if that makes any difference before you try the patch.

blue60007 · 10-11-2005, 05:49 PM

Yes, check the cool n' quiet settings. I asked because that would narrow the noisy fan down to one that is hooked to the motherboard (probably just the CPU fan and the northbridge fan (if applicable))

Oh, but then again, it could also be the power supply fan if it is thermally controlled. Like I said fiddle with the Cool n' Quiet settings and see if you can fiddle with fan RPMs and try to determine if you can quiet the noisy fan.

10-10-2005, 04:57 AM	#1
PCFanatic85 Member (6 bit) Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 48	Comp Crashed & Major Issues I've had my newbuilt rig for a few months now. I haven't had any real issues with it. It is the first one I've built -- so who knows what I've done wrong (if i've done anything wrong.) But, recently it started to crash in Wow on occassion. Mostly its the world of warcraft error 132 - which according to their tech support, is a ram error or video card error or sound card error. I ran memtest and it said everything is okay. I've updated my drivers on the sound & video card. Everything seemed okay for a while. But just a little while ago everything locked up... The video on the screen was normal -- just frozen. The speakers started to make a loud squeal. And I had to hard-boot it because nothing worked. When it came back up, the USB ports suddenly do not work. Has this suddenly became more serious? Specs: AMD Athlon 3200 w/ venice core CPU 1 GB DDR Ram Nvidia GEForce 6600 GT 128 mb GPU NForce4 Mobo Creative SoundBlaster Live Audigy 2 ZS Gamer Sound card etc.

10-10-2005, 01:30 PM	#9
PCFanatic85 Member (6 bit) Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 48	Sorry. I was in a rush when I typed that. NVIDIA nForce 4 K8N Neo4 Mobo Edit: CPU temp shows 33C/91F. CPU Core voltage shows +1.5V? Last edited by PCFanatic85; 10-10-2005 at 01:39 PM.

10-10-2005, 03:05 PM	#14
PCFanatic85 Member (6 bit) Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 48	I just phoned a pc repair place. The guy on the phone said it sounded like the cpu's thermal paste might not have been applied properly? He said that the cpu temp in BIOS might not be an indicator of what it is approaching in some of the more strenuous games. Edit: But I'm not sure how the CPu would be affecting my USB ports? Last edited by PCFanatic85; 10-10-2005 at 03:15 PM.

10-10-2005, 03:26 PM	#15
blue60007 Wx geek Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 6,638	It's not the CPU overheating. All the fans are running loudly? Which ones? What about the rest of the system? (list parts if you could) __________________ "It is the way of man to make monsters and it is the nature of monsters to destroy their makers."

10-11-2005, 12:16 AM	#19
PCFanatic85 Member (6 bit) Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 48	Yes blue. It has cool n' quiet. Why do you ask? Also, a new occurrence: whenever I power down the comp and boot it back up.. it stops before loading windows and prompts if I want to enter safe mode or normal mode due to a recent hardware or software change. It has done that two or three times today. I've changed nothing? Edit: The USB controller device shows up in the device manager section. Edit2: Should I break down and take it to a pc repair shop? Are these guys usually good or more like automobile mechanics (no offense to any automobile mechanic present -- just using a stereotype for 'em) Last edited by PCFanatic85; 10-11-2005 at 12:21 AM.

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10-10-2005, 08:46 AM	#2
Cricket Shiro Usagi Premium Member Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii Posts: 34,002	Is it only happening in WoW? Or does it happen other times? Is DirectX up to date? Cricket

10-10-2005, 11:10 AM	#3
PCFanatic85 Member (6 bit) Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 48	Only in WoW from what I can tell. But what about the USB ports? They still aren't working hehe. And the comp is running very loudly now. It doesn't matter what I am doing.. fans are being extremely noisy. I have DirectX 9.0c.

10-10-2005, 11:22 AM	#4
Cricket Shiro Usagi Premium Member Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Kaneohe, Hawaii Posts: 34,002	What brand and model motherboard are you using? What brand power supply are you using? Were the fans running with less noise when you first put the computer together? Cricket

10-10-2005, 12:47 PM	#6
PCFanatic85 Member (6 bit) Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 48	I'll check my bios really quick. The PSU is a 450w Xclio.

10-10-2005, 12:55 PM	#7
PCFanatic85 Member (6 bit) Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 48	Hmm. Its a little embarassing to ask but -- what am I looking for in BIOS? Not sure where to check on the PSU in here.

10-10-2005, 01:48 PM	#10
*glc* Forum Administrator Staff Premium Member Join Date: May 2000 Location: Joplin MO Posts: 41,178	Those are both good, but what are the voltages on the 3.3v, 5v, and 12v rails?

10-10-2005, 02:37 PM	#12
PCFanatic85 Member (6 bit) Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 48	Oops sorry. Thanks for bearing with me hehe. +3.3 = 3.29V +12.0 = 12.34V +5.0 = 4.99V Batt = 3.0V +5VSB = 4.96V

10-10-2005, 02:45 PM	#13
*glc* Forum Administrator Staff Premium Member Join Date: May 2000 Location: Joplin MO Posts: 41,178	Those all look good.

10-10-2005, 03:40 PM	#16
PCFanatic85 Member (6 bit) Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 48	I was having trouble determining which fan is running loudly. Normally it runs very quiet. On restarts, during the crashes, on some games, etc -- its running much more loudly than it used to though. That started since the latest crash. It seems like it might be the PSU or the CPU's fan that sounds a bit deranged during those periods. Also, the USB ports stopped working since the latest crash. They were fine before-hand. Previously, other than crashing, the speakers sometimes make a bit of a "low volume screech" when the pc restarts. The sound-card was my original suspect since the volume also increases & decreases when I alt+tab in game. But with the new USB ports stopping, deranged fans, etc.. I can't fathom it being the sound-card. Is this a mobo issue? The PSU voltage seems fine.

10-10-2005, 05:39 PM	#17
pam123 Computing Professor Staff Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 11,941	Do the USB ports show up in Device Manager at all?

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10-10-2005, 07:29 PM	#18
blue60007 Wx geek Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 6,638	Does that motherboard have some type of fan controlling function built in? Like I think some have Cool'n'quiet or I think ASUS boards have QFan or something like that.

10-11-2005, 12:42 PM	#20
PCFanatic85 Member (6 bit) Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 48	Any ideas?

10-11-2005, 01:58 PM	#21
pam123 Computing Professor Staff Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 11,941	First read this : http://www.amdzone.com/modules.php?o...ticle&sid=3964 Then disable cool n' quiet and see if that makes any difference before you try the patch.

10-11-2005, 05:49 PM	#22
blue60007 Wx geek Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 6,638	Yes, check the cool n' quiet settings. I asked because that would narrow the noisy fan down to one that is hooked to the motherboard (probably just the CPU fan and the northbridge fan (if applicable)) Oh, but then again, it could also be the power supply fan if it is thermally controlled. Like I said fiddle with the Cool n' Quiet settings and see if you can fiddle with fan RPMs and try to determine if you can quiet the noisy fan.

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