06-19-2006, 12:33 AM
I've been having some computer problems and so was thinking I would post here with whats going on and my theories and see if people agree or can think of other things to try. The basic problem is that my computer keeps freezing. It basically just locks up completely. Whatever is on the screen stays there, the mouse doesn't move, the keyboard has no effect (can't even turn the numlock light on and off or anything of the such). Basically I have to go hit the restart button on the tower and let the computer boot again. Now this used to happen once or twice a week and while annoying, it could be put up with. A few days ago it started doing it within a few minutes of being booted. So the computer is unusable at the moment (I'm on an old p2 450 currently).
My first step in trying to fix the problem was reinstalling the OS. I can get windows 98 installed on the computer alright, but it does the same thing; freezes after having been running for a few minutes. I tried installing 2k (I can't find my xp cds at the moment heh), but it wouldn't make it through the install. I also tried putting a version of red hat on the computer thinking that maybe something other than windows would work. It froze during the installation of that too though. All this points to a hardware problem to me.
So then I started swapping out hardware to see if anything would make the computer stable. Didn't have any luck here. I eventually booted the computer with just RAM, power supply, video card, and hard drive attached with keyboard and mouse plugged into PS/2 ports. This still did the same thing. I then went and attached a completely different power supply, video card, and harddrive to the system and it still does the same thing. I also tried reseating the RAM and also running with just one of the sticks in (have tried both by themselves). None of this solved the problem. I'm currently using that RAM in this computer as well as one of the harddrives, video cards, and power supplies. So since they are working in this one I am left thinking that they aren't the problem.
This leaves me thinking that something is wrong with either the motherboard or CPU. Normally I would think it could be a heat issue, but this happens with the case off and just after having been booted when nothing else is running. It shouldn't be overheating then. The CPU does have a heatsink and a fan attached to it as well. So as far as I can tell there is something wrong with the MB/CPU.
Can anybody think of anything else to try here? Any ideas on what could be wrong and how to fix it? Have you heard of MB/CPU problems causing symptoms like this? Since I'm thinking its the MB/CPU that is messing up, I've done a little poking around for replacements. I'm looking at this one. Its a generic brand that I don't know much about, but it looks to be a little faster than my old one and so would be good enough for me if it would be reliable. The main thing that drew me to it though was the price. I will have to talk my parents into buying whatever replacement I find and so I have to try and keep the price down. Does anybody see anything wrong with that particularr MB/CPU combo? Anything that one should typically avoid or that is a red flag for problems to come?
So basically I'm looking for three things here.
1: Thoughts on how to fix the computer that is having said problems.
2: Agreement/Disagreement about my opinion on it being the MB/CPU that is the problem.
3: Thoughts on that MB/CPU combo as a replacement.
Anything else you can say that is helpful is welcome as well of course. Thanks ahead of time.
My first step in trying to fix the problem was reinstalling the OS. I can get windows 98 installed on the computer alright, but it does the same thing; freezes after having been running for a few minutes. I tried installing 2k (I can't find my xp cds at the moment heh), but it wouldn't make it through the install. I also tried putting a version of red hat on the computer thinking that maybe something other than windows would work. It froze during the installation of that too though. All this points to a hardware problem to me.
So then I started swapping out hardware to see if anything would make the computer stable. Didn't have any luck here. I eventually booted the computer with just RAM, power supply, video card, and hard drive attached with keyboard and mouse plugged into PS/2 ports. This still did the same thing. I then went and attached a completely different power supply, video card, and harddrive to the system and it still does the same thing. I also tried reseating the RAM and also running with just one of the sticks in (have tried both by themselves). None of this solved the problem. I'm currently using that RAM in this computer as well as one of the harddrives, video cards, and power supplies. So since they are working in this one I am left thinking that they aren't the problem.
This leaves me thinking that something is wrong with either the motherboard or CPU. Normally I would think it could be a heat issue, but this happens with the case off and just after having been booted when nothing else is running. It shouldn't be overheating then. The CPU does have a heatsink and a fan attached to it as well. So as far as I can tell there is something wrong with the MB/CPU.
Can anybody think of anything else to try here? Any ideas on what could be wrong and how to fix it? Have you heard of MB/CPU problems causing symptoms like this? Since I'm thinking its the MB/CPU that is messing up, I've done a little poking around for replacements. I'm looking at this one. Its a generic brand that I don't know much about, but it looks to be a little faster than my old one and so would be good enough for me if it would be reliable. The main thing that drew me to it though was the price. I will have to talk my parents into buying whatever replacement I find and so I have to try and keep the price down. Does anybody see anything wrong with that particularr MB/CPU combo? Anything that one should typically avoid or that is a red flag for problems to come?
So basically I'm looking for three things here.
1: Thoughts on how to fix the computer that is having said problems.
2: Agreement/Disagreement about my opinion on it being the MB/CPU that is the problem.
3: Thoughts on that MB/CPU combo as a replacement.
Anything else you can say that is helpful is welcome as well of course. Thanks ahead of time.