Phil Walker
Scharfuehrer
VERY opinionated. Best stay away from. You've been warned!!!
Posts: 251
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Post by Phil Walker on Dec 8, 2004 17:31:47 GMT -5
Greetings All!
I have a bit of a situation, so figured I post my quandry here and see if any of you have any ideas.
Situation:
On my OTHER computer (not this one I'm using), I have the following things happen recently. Video locks up yet music plays in certain programs. I get a 1 to 2 inch horizontal line just below center on my desktop and within SOME programs. In some programs not all of the items are displayed ( in once case the actual menu isn't visible). Even somtimes things just "quit" right in the middle of a program.
Attempted remedies:
Running computer in "safe mode" (no problems there). Restarting computer and disabling ALL 3rd party applications AND background programs ( a little better but not much). Disabling (one at a time) vairous hardware functions (which none seem to help).
Other circumstasnces:
Is is a Windows XP system that has RECENTLY had SP2 installed. MAYBE just a coincidence, BUT there were no "lock-ups" prior to installation. Another note, when first booting and getting to the desktop and background programs finish loading, takes about 2 minutes before I can execute ANY program. Can right click and bring up properties menu but even has locked-up when trying to "refresh" After first program is launched seems to work fine OTHER than the lock-ups. ANY comments, suggestions, and/or opinions? HELP!!!
Sincerely,
Phil
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Dec 9, 2004 4:40:41 GMT -5
You may want to try running CHKDSK /R from the START/RUN function.
If that won't work for you, boot to DOS from a restart and then type CHKDSK /R
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Dec 9, 2004 12:01:38 GMT -5
I have been having lockup problems with my computer over the past year or so. It started about a month after I got it and at first only once in a while but the frequency increased up to a dozen times a day.
My computer suddenly went berserk after a reboot last spring. Tech support came out and put in a new motherboard and CPU chip. Ran fine for a month, and it's been locking up on me again randomly since then.
I think I have a thermal problem killing my CPU. They have a massive heatsink on this thing inside a duct that has two fans sucking air over it from the vent in the front of the computer.
You may be having the same sort of heat problem causing lockups, or it could be a bad memory strip. It could also be just about any software on your computer tha is running as a process or application in the background.
What sort of CPU does your system run on? Intel or AMD? How fast?
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Phil Walker
Scharfuehrer
VERY opinionated. Best stay away from. You've been warned!!!
Posts: 251
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Post by Phil Walker on Dec 9, 2004 13:30:55 GMT -5
I was afraid you'd say something like that. To first answer your questions. Intel P4 and 1.6 GHz.
Is there a way to isolate/confirm whether the strip, CPU, or motherboard though? Being frank it is out of warranty as I couldn't afford to keep it updated at the time. If I could find out which for sure, that would be a help as was told much of the same as you have, but wanted to explore all other options first.
Sincerely,
Phil
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Dec 10, 2004 2:43:19 GMT -5
That's a tough one. I doubt there is any definite way to identify the problem without some trial and error.
You can check your CPU and see what sort of heatsink it has on it. I know you can get heatsinks with small fans on them for less thatn $30. Check out catalog places like TigerDirect and CyberGuys. I have dealt with both places in the past and they are reliable. If you have to make sure you get the right model heatsink/fan for your type CPU. My P4 3GHz cpu is a Intel 478 socket type.
I have even seen memory strip heatsinks.
The only way you can check on your memory strips is to pull them out in various pairs combinations and see if the computer behaves any differently. If it doesn't lockup then one of the two you pulled probably has a problem.
Also, you may have a utility programs that will run extensive memory tests. My Dell came with a CD and has these utilities installed on the hard drive that I can run from a reboot and going to the F12 setup menu.
There probably isn't much you can do about the motherboard except try a different one and that's probably not feasable for you.
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Phil Walker
Scharfuehrer
VERY opinionated. Best stay away from. You've been warned!!!
Posts: 251
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Post by Phil Walker on Dec 10, 2004 8:42:08 GMT -5
OK, will keep all this in mind. Seems a call to the vendor is in order though. So, I can make sure of all the details as far as the sincs, and chip sets. Not what I wanted to do, but what can I say?! OH WELL!!!
Sincerely,
Phil
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Phil Walker
Scharfuehrer
VERY opinionated. Best stay away from. You've been warned!!!
Posts: 251
|
Post by Phil Walker on Dec 13, 2004 4:35:32 GMT -5
Latest Update...
I did check on the program to run the memory tests. However it is in the "F10" rahter than "F12" on my PC. My "F12" function is a brief CPU check as I found out though and when I ran it I DID find out something. Apparently the problem is with my CPU as I did get a "Media Failure" notice when running the brief check. It was very brief and I did have to run it 3 times as the report was equally brief and did disappear before I could read it the first 2 times. So, seems I MAY have narrowed it down, but we shall see. Am going to take it in to a local shop that does work on my PC specifically so see if they agree.
Anyway, thanks for the input Keith. We'll see what transpires and will keep you informed.
Sincerely,
Phil
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. It turns out it was NONE of the above as suspected. The ONE thing I had no way of checking was the problem. That being the video card. New one was installed and once rebooted ALL the problems went away. So, thanks for the help, but when one has no way to run diagnostics on a machine does what one can. Anyway, FIXED! YEE-HAW!!! 