Computer Freezing

[AlvinG]

I have 14 remote computer labs which consist of 15 to 30 computers each, and
all computers are running WinXP Pro in a workgroup environment. I inherited
these labs "as-is" due to a job relocation. Most of the computers in the
labs are Compaq EVO P4 computers, which work fine for the purpose of
Internet access and software training. Prior to my arrival, they had started
replacing the Compaq's with Gateway E2500's and E2600's which work fine for
the purpose as well.



Here's the problem, at all 14 remote locations the new Gateways randomly
freeze frequently, and the older Compaq's have no problem. After freezing,
it may unfreeze and continue working, and sometimes you just have to reboot.
I took a look around the lab and because of the limited number of cat5 drops
in the rooms they are using 10/100Mbs hubs (which personally I would never
use a hub for anything).



The new Gateways come with 10/100/1000Gbs on board NIC's, which is a Marvell
Yukon 88E8050 PCI-E ASF Gigabit Ethernet Controller. This is the first I've
heard of this brand. I'm assuming for whatever reason the hubs are having a
problem with the GB NIC's. The 10/100 hubs have auto-sensing, and I suppose
the NIC's would auto adjust to only send at 100Mbs, but for some reason in
this environment they frequently freeze up, and it seems to happen "most"
when they are accessing the Internet, although they do freeze when typing in
a word processing app like MSWord.



This is my speculation, but I'd like to get some feed back before upgrading
all the hubs. Any ideas?



Thanks

 

[Dallas Overturf]

At a guess: I'd say the network is not likely the culprit and if you prove
it is; then that would indicate a problem in the Gateway PC.
You could remove the network cable and run the pc standalone and see if it
will freeze.

Note: Bad Packets on Ethernet should be discarded and thus not do anything.

One last thing you could try is to put only the gateways on the network and
see if they crash. I suspect they will.

Another thing you might try is to check the BIOS and assuming you have the
ability try slowing down the processor or the memory access.
If they are under warranty still you might check with gateway to see if they
had any FCO's on the product; (Even if not under warranty).

Why you would not use a hub is beyond me; we used to use them in all places
I worked as they were cheaper than a router or switch.
AND: the hubs were fed from the routers so the access protection from the
outside was inherent anyway.




Regards, Dallas...


--
Home Page: www.geocities.com/d_overturf/index.html
Newsgroups to reply to me me via email, please fix the email address
(e-mail address removed)
REMOVE NOSPAM from the reply address.

----------