How do you test if a motherboard is faulty?

[barrada]

Lots of times when I build a PC it will boot up ok but exhibit lock-ups later. I just finished repairing one I built about a year ago that locked up periodically. I swopped components out over time - memory, video card, hard drive, to no avail. I recently replaced the motherboard and that seems to have stopped the lock-ups. I know Mem86 seems to be the thing to use to test memory - is there anything similar to test a motherboard? or how do you test if the fault is in the motherboard?
thx
Paul

www.barrada.co.uk

 

[endyen]

Most often a situation like that can be avoided by running the xp compatability test. Usually what causes the lock-ups is a via board, with a soundblaster card, or a vivo card with a sis chipset.

 

[Codesmith]

How exactly do you run the XP compatibility test.

You can't test the motherboard, but you can test the complete system.

I test for stability by running Prime95, Sandra's burn in wizzard, a hard drive benchmark and maybe something like 3D Mark.

After a new build I keep every part of the system under maximum load for 24 hours and see if I can get it to crash.

If I can crash it with reliable software, then its not stable.

 

[barrada]

What is Prime95 and how does it work/what does it do?

www.barrada.co.uk

 

[barrada]

What is the XP compatibility test?

www.barrada.co.uk

 

[Codesmith]

Prime 95 is a free program that allows people to help discover new prime numbers. But more importantly it also does system stress testing.

It performs a series of higly cpu and memory intensive calculations, but then it checks the answers against known good results.

They mainly did this so people wouldn't run prime 95 on unstable systems and waste everyone's time, but it's now used more often for system testing than to help find prime numbers.

I keep it running while I am stress testing using other program, that way I know that not only has there been no crashes, but that my CPU performed a series of complex computations without a single error.