my computer drive me mad, plx kindly help

[gapton]

i hv tried many forums for help and i asked all of my friend that i know is good at computer. but no, the problem isnt solved. therefore i am thinking i need to go to some really pro places like Tom's hardware guide website to seek help. below is my original message
and if u are interested in replies i got. please visit
tweaktown.com forum:
http://forums.tweaktown.com/showthread.php?t=19859
===or===
Steam forum:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=273220

please kindly help me, i am getting mad about this frustrating problem.

**ORGINAL MESSAGE-------:
i know computer better than average computer users but i hv totally no idea wht is wrong with my PC this time....



about a week ago i started to get random crashes as described below. and i thought that its to do with the new driver. i used drivercleaner and re-installed the previous driver, the crash is still there. after many attempts to solve the problem, i decided to format my windows partition and re-in winXP. after a 100% fresh re-install, the crash is STILL there.



that makes me worry about my hardware. however, i think i shall first go through the crash:



1)its random, it occures in games, in browser, in IE, in WMP, and even when the PC is in screensaver mode.

2)when it occures, everything including the cursor freezes. u can only reboot

3) for three to four times, there was a blue screen. once for stop 0x0000007e error and twice for stop 0x0000000a(0x***,0x00000002,0x00000001,0x***) IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error.searched microsoft.com and with my limited knowledge i can not troubleshoot.

4) for the most recent two crashes, they both occured in the same 3Dgame, the crash caused a loud NOISE in the headphone i was wearing and freaked me out. the noise is like heavy interuption or a ULTRA-HIGH distortion guitar going mad....and no bluescreen , its in blackscreen for the last two crashes.



And for my specs:

AMD64 2800+ 9x200Mhz L2=512

Seagate 80GB SATA 7200 8MB cache

2x256 DDR PC3200 400Mhz non-branded (this i worry the most)

ATI 9550 Extreme 128MB 128bit OC to 9600 by Grandmars(manufacture) -i believe that this card is very stable

Gigabyte nForce3 250 GA-K8NS with AC97 audio and latest BIOS and drivers

400W branded power supply unit

cd/dvd rom and floppy drive



OS:WinXP SP2 with Dx9.0c



my PC used to be very stable and runs tasks smoothly. for once i wanna test the temperature of my cpu under very high workload, i play Half-Life 2, scan virus, BT downlaod, defrag harddisk, play mp3 in WMP all together with the monitoring utility and the temperature raised from 25 to 38, but everything is still running fine and it didnt crash. and the PC is 4 months old and has NEVER crashed unitll a week ago.



please help me to solve this. i have asked eveyone that i know who is good at computer, and i really feel sad about my PC hving such a weird and big problem, and even more sadly, i hv absolutely no idea wht is wrong with it. the crash is getting annoying and i feel helpless....



please share ur opinion/suggestion even if u dont hv much to say, or even telling me wht u think is suspicious. ur help is very much appreciated.



thankyou very much in advance.

**recent note:
i hv used memtest86+ to test my ram, it says "pass 5 error 0". i suppose it means i passed the test 5 times without error, correct me if i am wrong.

 

[scottchen]

I highly recommend you trying a new stick of ram, Samsung should do fine, IRQL not less or equal is usually caused by ram, even though i've seen SP2 causing that(on my PC during Rome) So try a SINGLE new stick of ram, and use SP1, and see how that works out for you.

My comp when i first built it was crashing in Rome Total War, and Rome only, so led me to believe maybe next game patch will fix it, but no it didn't, it was SP2, just using SP1 fixed my problem.

 

[cleeve]

I had a similar experience that was caused by a generic power supply.

Once I upgraded to a decent power supply, my problems went away and my system became stable as a rock.

What PSU are you running? Name brand? What are the rails rated at (amps)?

________________
<b>Geforce <font color=red>6800 Ultra</b></font color=red>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>3200+</b></font color=red> <i>(Barton 2500+ o/c 400 FSB)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>11,506</b>

 

[gapton]

the PSU is a local brand in Hong Kong, and its well-trusted by many users. it costs me 25USD and i dont know much about specs, all i got is this: (from box)
model number 400D
+3.3v_____+5V_____+12v_____+-5v_____-12v
20A_______30A_____12A______0.5A______0.5A

standby 5VSB:2A
3.3V&5.5V output:180W
peak power:400W

 

[gapton]

i would love to try but i hvnt got another ram available
and the memtest86+ programme, is it trust-worthy?

 

[scottchen]

I was just thinking that it could be incompatibility issues. And that psu's 12V rail is kinda low.

 

[cleeve]

I was thinking the same thing. 12a on the 12v doesn't cut it, especially if it's a generic brand.

The easiest way to test is to try a buddy's (better) PSU.

________________
<b>Geforce <font color=red>6800 Ultra</b></font color=red>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>3200+</b></font color=red> <i>(Barton 2500+ o/c 400 FSB)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>11,506</b>

 

[gapton]

but as i mentioned, during very high workload(latest 3d games, defrag HDD, virus scan, play music), it didnt crash. and for four months no matter how long i keep my PC on(sometimes few days), it didnt crash. imo the PSU is less likely to cause such problem if compared to ram/hdd/cpu overheat etc.

however, please kindly let me know more about PSU, their specs, and how to determind wht is "enough" and whts not. i am a total noob when it comes to power and OC

and thanks for the quick replies everyone.

 

[gapton]

in uk i know very little ppl who is good at computer(most dont even own/is familiar with one....)

so sadly i dont think changing PSU is possible.
if its possible for me to heavy-load the system(increase in power needed?) to see if there is any problem?

this might be a noob question, but well...i am a noob with PSU and OC....so....forgive my stupid questoin if it happens to be

 

[cleeve]

Any component can make a system unstable, and of all components, the PSU is the most likely to die over time.

If it's during high workloads then it's likely either overheating, or the PSU.

If it was memory you'd see it crash all the time. If it was the HDD you'd see it crash all the time.

If your case/CPU temps are good, it's time to take a long, hard look at the PSU. Get some motherboard monitoring software... find out how many volts it's putting out on the 3.3, 5, and 12v rails under load.

I don't know why so many people are stubborn about considering the PSU as a source of problems. They always take it for granted that PSU's are infallible, when the opposite is true.

For a *great* PSU primer, look at Firingsquad's PSU article HERE: <A HREF="http://www.firingsquad.com/guides/power_supply/" target="_new">http://www.firingsquad.com/guides/power_supply/</A>

________________
<b>Geforce <font color=red>6800 Ultra</b></font color=red>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>3200+</b></font color=red> <i>(Barton 2500+ o/c 400 FSB)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>11,506</b>

 

[gapton]

CPU temp(near idle): 25
usual average: around 30
medium load: 35
heavy load: 36~40

Power supplied to :
CPU:5.375V
Core(wht is core?):1.5V
AGP:1.5V
Aux:1.5V

i am using nvidia nTune(nVmonitor) utility

 

[cleeve]

Your CPU temps are great, not a CPU overheating issue obviously.

The voltages you need are the 3.3v, 5v, and 12v rail voltages - not the specific component voltages.

If you can't find them in Ntune, install a utility like "motherboard monitor".

________________
<b>Geforce <font color=red>6800 Ultra</b></font color=red>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>3200+</b></font color=red> <i>(Barton 2500+ o/c 400 FSB)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>11,506</b>

 

[Rugger]

<A HREF="http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=311" target="_new">MBM5 clicky</A>

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[gapton]

i am quoting one of the reply from another person:
Holy cow 400 "peak watts" is a VERY GENEROUS rating for such a horrible unit.

If the 3.3v and 5v peak is 180 W and the 12v rail is only 12 A that means you're real peak is 300 watts (peak power).

A = amps = amount of current drawn.

Power = current * voltage. Power for the 12v is 12 V * 12 A = 144 watts.

The specs for that unit might be OK for the system if it were a quality part but it obviously isn't (a quality part would have given an honest rating of 300 Watts or less). Look for a higher quality PSU to put in there...

------------
if its that bad i might consider getting a new unit, is there any brand that u recommend?

and for the voltages, i cant find it in ntune, but i cant find a utility that provides me with such information. would u name one for me please?

 

[Rugger]

Sparkle Power (will have FSP in the model number), Fortron Source, Antec and Enermax all make great PSUs. You can typically get the FSP and Sparkle Power PSUs for less than the others. Here is a recent <A HREF="http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20050228/index.html" target="_new">THG Power Supply Review</A>.

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[gapton]

someone has another story, quote:
i had this exact same problem before!!

it was a hardware conflict, turned out to be my crappy realtek sound card, replaced it with an audigy, problem solved

unfortunately you are using onboard audio, so buy a decent sound card, disable your onboard audio device in bios, and i bet it goes away

for now to test the theory, try disabling your onboard sound, see if it still locks up, if it does then i could be off, but it is definately a piece of hardware causing this!
--------
wht do u guys think? sorry but please understand that i hv very little surplus to spend on computer at the moment, i will only get a new and decent PSU if i really need to. and plus, i had no problem before so i think i shall consider buying a PSU later. advice needed.

 

[gapton]

average vlaues
+3.3 : 3.28V
+5.0 : 2.91V
+12 : 11.54V
-12 : -3.45 (high:1.63V low: -8.75V)
-5 : 0

since i know little about these values, please tell me if there is anything wrong
thanks for your help

 

[Rugger]

Your voltages need to be within 5% of the rating of the rail. Your 5V rail SUCKS ASS! The PSU is your problem. If your 5V line is consistently at those levels then DON"T run the PC until you replace that PSU...you will end up frying components.

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[gapton]

but the program that i DLed detected my CPU temperature as -10C....the highest value is 1C....while the nTune, at the same time, detected my CPU temp as 28C

 

[Rugger]

The temps are probably from you not having the correct sensors selected. I've never had problems with MBM5 misreading the voltages coming from the PSU - especially not that large of a margin. I don't think nTune nTune will detect the voltages on the 3.3V, 5V and 12V lines, but you should be able to monitor the voltages in the BIOS. Monitor the voltages in the BIOS for 5-10 mins and see how much they are fluctuating and get a feel for average V on each line. Be aware of sudden spikes up or down. Let us know what you abserve.

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[gapton]

okay i hv tried using Ram A, and it crashed, for once.
and i tried to use only Ram B. didnt crash, YET.

everything was fine with Ram A for 4 hours, then the PC crashed. and for Ram B, no problem for up to 9 hours now.

is it too soon to say its the ram thats cuasing the problem?

 

[gapton]

i think i will get a new PSU
2.9 on the +5 is far too low....according all articles i read

 

[Rugger]

You NEED to get a new PSU, if 2.9V is the correct reading. Retest RAM A when you get the new PSU...the crashes may just go away. I seriously would <b>NOT</b> run that PC until I had a good PSU installed. You have a <b>serious</b> chance of killing other components in your system and - at a minimum - shortening their lifespan.

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[cleeve]

To see if it's one of your RAM sticks, try running memory testing software.

Here's a link to a memory tester (I've never tried this one, I usually use memtest86... memtest86 is a DOS program, this one's probably easier to use)

<A HREF="http://hcidesign.com/memtest/download.html" target="_new">http://hcidesign.com/memtest/download.html</A>

If your memory is bad, this program will report an error.

________________
<b>Geforce <font color=red>6800 Ultra</b></font color=red>
<b>AthlonXP <font color=red>3200+</b></font color=red> <i>(Barton 2500+ o/c 400 FSB)</i>
<b>3dMark03: <font color=red>11,506</b>

 

[Rugger]

Even if some of his memory is showing erros at this point it could be due to his PSU...5V rail at 2.91V

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>