PC keeps Freezing in WinXP

[purple buzz]

It was freezing like crazy so I went out and bought this Thermal Paste TC-1996 for 5 bucks at a local PC store http://www.buy.com/prod/dow-corning-tc-1996-thermal-grease-metal-oxide-compound-0-5g-intel/q/loc/101/208404335.html

and even then it still freezes just not as frequently. My CPU didn't always have a paste on it, I unmounted the heat sink to clean it in the past numerous times and never put a new paste on. Could it be permenantly damaged? also, does it matter which paste to use? somebody recommended I get Arctic Silver 5 or something of that sort. but I just dnd't wanna wait for newegg a few days and needed something right away.

and lastly, what is the point of Thermal Paste anyway? what does it supposed to do? because the one I got doesn't seem to be doing it and my system still freezes at weird and unknown times. I gotta close all the apps on the bottom right to prevent these freezes.

My spec:

ASUSTek Computer INC Mobo (A7N8X)
AMD Athlon XP: Thoroughbred, Socket A 2100+ (overclocked it to 1.83 ghz)
3 gigs of RAM (Corsair 2 sticks regular of 1 each, and the 3rd XML)
ASUS AH3650 SILENT/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 3650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X HDCP Ready Video Card
80GB Maxtor HDD or 200G Seagate (master)
500GB Wester Digitital ATI or whatever the form
Coolmax AP-550X Power Supply

 

[logitic]

There could be damage to your CPU. How long did it go without paste of anykind? Hours, days, weeks?


Here is a good link to learn more about Thermal Paste.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_grease


Edit:

Also I am not sure or not. I am sure someone here knows more about RAM then I do. But I would always try to have matching sets. I noticed you have two different types of RAM in your system. I guess if they are the same speed it want matter.

 

[wa1]

A CPU without thermal paste??!
U could kill your processor...

 

[purple buzz]

There could be damage to your CPU. How long did it go without paste of anykind? Hours, days, weeks?


Here is a good link to learn more about Thermal Paste.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_grease


Edit:

Also I am not sure or not. I am sure someone here knows more about RAM then I do. But I would always try to have matching sets. I noticed you have two different types of RAM in your system. I guess if they are the same speed it want matter.

the CPU didn't go without thermal paste. i just never reapplied the thermal paste when i'd switch a diff cpu and taking my old back and putting it in. the old white paste was always reused on my heat sink. and it was enough i guess till about a month when my pc would keeep freezing every hour. now i opened it up last week and wiped half more of that white grease, and it started freezing every 5 mins.


ALSO

I just opened my CPU again and it looks like when I seated it with this new paste i linked in the original post, it got smuged and some part was left open (you could see the metal on the heat sink without any paste on it). So i added some more to it from the sides. I hope it fixes it up cuz my PC kept freezing still. But I don't know. time will tell.

 

[purple buzz]

froze RIGHT after my last reply

oh well.. another try

this time I really cleaned the top of the CPU (metal part) with alcohol. hope it works. other wise this thermal paste is a piece of crap..

 

[wa1]

If your cpu still froze after that, then your cpu is dead...

 

[purple buzz]

but if its dead why is it still working? Im using my PC to type this right now..

 

[enigma067]

Verify the model numbers of your hard drives and check on the manufacturers web site if they are SATA I or II.

Verify that your motherboard's chipset supports Native Command Queing/Tagged Command Queuing hard drives (SATA II).

Your motherboard's chipset may not support NCQ/TCQ hard drives (SATA II). Using a SATA II hard drive with a chipset that doesn't support it will cause the machine to freeze intermittently.

If this is the case then the solution is a Promise Controller card.

 

[badge]

I have the Deluxe version of the MB running for many years. The board was released before SATA and does not support SATA HDs. I have the AMD Athlon 3200. The MB is picky with RAM and gets hot quickly when Ocing. Perhaps try setting the RAM speed, timing and voltage manually in BIOS. Increase the RAM voltage to 2.6v.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1341

Deluxe version.

http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/asus/index.html

 

[purple buzz]

but guys, I have NEVER had this problem and ran this HD (it is SATA 1), and RAM for years. also, the Mobo CAME with SATA cords and sata plugs WITHIN the mobo. so it MUST be compatible with SATA.

I think the other guy may be right. My CPU is fried cuz it keeps freezing

 

[C00lIT]

The good old AthlonXP's run Hot and your old cpu maybe dead.

A bad cpu may boot and give a signal but will perform really poorly and crash.

I would try underclocking it... try running it as slow as possible to see if it helps stability.

I would also wonder how healthy the motherboard is as those old boards also arent eternal as they have older capacitors.
Also I remember how often I stabbed those motherboards with a flat screwdriver while removing the heatsync... thank god new computers no longer have that issue.

Anyways, pm me your adresse I should be able to ship you an AthlonXP 3000+ that I have laying around collecting dust. Should run fine and I don't think shipping will cost me much as the thing is tiny.


Note: I have to find the cpu first as it's in a box in my junkyard.
Will be using Post Canada so if you are in the USA, I am wondering if Ill get one of them famous tracking# 😛

 

[purple buzz]

The good old AthlonXP's run Hot and your old cpu maybe dead.

A bad cpu may boot and give a signal but will perform really poorly and crash.

I would try underclocking it... try running it as slow as possible to see if it helps stability.

I would also wonder how healthy the motherboard is as those old boards also arent eternal as they have older capacitors.
Also I remember how often I stabbed those motherboards with a flat screwdriver while removing the heatsync... thank god new computers no longer have that issue.

Anyways, pm me your adresse I should be able to ship you an AthlonXP 3000+ that I have laying around collecting dust. Should run fine and I don't think shipping will cost me much as the thing is tiny.


Note: I have to find the cpu first as it's in a box in my junkyard.
Will be using Post Canada so if you are in the USA, I am wondering if Ill get one of them famous tracking# 😛

yeah that's what I been doing. It was the only way I could run this game at all.

I ran it at 1500 last night and it worked without crashing once. today though it crashed so I'm underclocking it even more. its at 1266mhz now and so far no problem but I don't know when or when... dont even wanna say it.

and hell yes I stabbed my poor mobo so many times I was afraid it would break, but it's the only way I can mod my sinker on.

and thanks. if you can't find the cpu dont worry about it though.

also, is it true that Barton models (I assume yours is since its 3000+) only allow you to run 2 gigz of ram max? otherwise the mobo runs into problems? I'm running a thoroughbred type and I heard that the 3200+ Barton ones are like that.

 

[purple buzz]

Update:

I got a new cpu from ebay (2700+) and i'm having the same problem.

I think it's my video card. I've had problems with it in the past. it would crash when i'd be playing WoW at least a few times a week.

 

[purple buzz]

just to update you guys on this issue..

IT WAS MY VIDEO CARD

Asus Radeon 3650 was bad and it would cause my system to freeze. i replaced it and no more freezes (although im still in the middle of replacing the new card cuz its real bad and laggy). oh, and ever since this issue my motherboard been making a buzzing sound for at least 2 minutes into the boot-up process and then it would go away. I'm kinda worried and hope it wont cause any issues in the future. I'll try to see if my AGP slot needs to be cleaned when I replace my current card within a few days.

IM NEVER AGAIN MESSING WITH ATI RADEON CARDS! I've had nothing but nightmares with them and on my 3rd one already. from now on it's strictly Nvidia GeForce baby.

thanks for all the help..