Computer Freezing/Blue Screen Errors

[DTWells]

Recently my computer has become extremely unstable. I have unplugged
nearly everything since I figured it was my power supply that was/is
causing problems.

Its the kind of error where it says your computer had an error and is
being shutdown to prevent any damage to your system blah blah blah......

Then at the end of all the stuff it says what the specific error is,
sometimes. The last one I saw was something like USBBus.sys or USB
something.

The only stuff running now that requires power is 4 Hard Drives and a
couple PCI cards (and obviously my CPU/Mobo/Vid Card).

I have a 300 watt PS that I got with my Antec Case.

It worked fine before with just the 2 Hard Drives, CD-RW, and DVD-ROM.
Any ideas on what it could be and/or how to fix it.

 

[kony]

Recently my computer has become extremely unstable. I have unplugged
nearly everything since I figured it was my power supply that was/is
causing problems.

The details of this computer are a secret?
We need specifics, all the major details.

Its the kind of error where it says your computer had an error and is
being shutdown to prevent any damage to your system blah blah blah......

Well that could be anything, corrupt OS files or memory errors or power
supply or drivers or ...

Then at the end of all the stuff it says what the specific error is,
sometimes. The last one I saw was something like USBBus.sys or USB
something.

So is the same specific or related error recurring, is it always "USB
something"?

When you write "only stuff" below, does that mean no USB devices attached
now? What about USB device drivers? Any usb devices have driver added?

What operating system?
Did you update that OS recently with patches or service packs, etc?

The only stuff running now that requires power is 4 Hard Drives and a
couple PCI cards (and obviously my CPU/Mobo/Vid Card).

So you left everything that uses any significant amount of power, running,
and only disconnected the devices with negligable power usage? Seems a
bit backwards to me.

1 hard drive
NO PCI cards, unless it's manditory.

I have a 300 watt PS that I got with my Antec Case.

It worked fine before with just the 2 Hard Drives, CD-RW, and DVD-ROM.
Any ideas on what it could be and/or how to fix it.

You might recreate that configuration and see if the errors go away.

Might be insufficient power for that system but you're too vague, not even
mentioning if the onset of the problem coincided with addition of the
drives, right afterwards, or if "Before" just means sometime in the past.

If you suspect power supply then take voltage readings, preferribly with a
digital voltage meter. Remove more parts from the system and underclock
it to further reduce power usage.

Run http://www.memtest86.com for several hours.

 

[Will Sutton]

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...prodtechnol/winxppro/reskit/prmd_stp_hwpg.asp



it may help

 

[DTWells]

The details of this computer are a secret?
We need specifics, all the major details.

Its a custom built computer. I bought an Antec 1030 or 1040 case which
included the Power Supply, cant remember which model. Its roughly 2
years old so the power supply shouldnt be dying since its a quality
model. It has an XP 1500+ chip, ECS K7S5A Mobo. 30,40,80, and 200GB
Hard Drives. Radeon 7500 All In Wonder video card. Controller card to
hook up the 200GB to bypass the 137 limit. Ethernet card for my cable
connection.

Well that could be anything, corrupt OS files or memory errors or power
supply or drivers or ...




So is the same specific or related error recurring, is it always "USB
something"?

When you write "only stuff" below, does that mean no USB devices attached
now? What about USB device drivers? Any usb devices have driver added?

Only USB Devices I have hooked up to it are my Keyboard, Mouse (which
are both back to the ps/2 inputs now. Printer cable is also USB. I
have other stuff in the usb ports (usb hub) such as game controllers but
im not using them when it happens.

What operating system?
Did you update that OS recently with patches or service packs, etc?

I am using Windows XP SP1 and havent upgraded patches or anything in a
while.

So you left everything that uses any significant amount of power, running,
and only disconnected the devices with negligable power usage? Seems a
bit backwards to me.

1 hard drive
NO PCI cards, unless it's manditory.

Cant afford to only have 1 Hard drive in it, since I have a dual boot
system for diff operating systems, and my other 2 have other data that
is frequently accessed.

You might recreate that configuration and see if the errors go away.

Might be insufficient power for that system but you're too vague, not even
mentioning if the onset of the problem coincided with addition of the
drives, right afterwards, or if "Before" just means sometime in the past.

If you suspect power supply then take voltage readings, preferribly with a
digital voltage meter. Remove more parts from the system and underclock
it to further reduce power usage.

Run http://www.memtest86.com for several hours.

I have ran the memtest program and it went through all 11 phases and
didnt find a single error so I would assume its not my memory (1 512 stick)

When you say underclock do you mean underclock the CPU and memory
because they are currently at 133.

 

[DaveW]

You should probably buy the Antec 430 Watt Tru-Power Power supply. You
apparently don't have enough power to drive that many harddrives and other
things.

 

[kony]

Its a custom built computer. I bought an Antec 1030 or 1040 case which
included the Power Supply, cant remember which model. Its roughly 2
years old so the power supply shouldnt be dying since its a quality
model.

Probably a PP303 or SL300. Either are fairly good, worthy of being called
300W but bad capacitors can make their way into power supplies too. It is
"probably" working fine if you wanted odds, but power supplies do fail,
the voltage readings would be a first test. Also temporarily disconnect 3
of the hard drives and see if that appreciably raises the voltage.

It has an XP 1500+ chip, ECS K7S5A Mobo.

What revision of motherboard?
Some revisions were buggy and/or prone to have failed caps. Particularly
those with the turquoise G-Luxon caps up to the left of the CPU socket,
might be vented/swollen/leaky, or residue underneath.

I'll assume you're checked all fans (including power supply), that they
are operational.

30,40,80, and 200GB
Hard Drives. Radeon 7500 All In Wonder video card. Controller card to
hook up the 200GB to bypass the 137 limit. Ethernet card for my cable
connection.

Ok, now I see why you needed the two PCI cards.

I have ran the memtest program and it went through all 11 phases and
didnt find a single error so I would assume its not my memory (1 512 stick)

When you say underclock do you mean underclock the CPU and memory
because they are currently at 133.

Yes, underclock both the CPU and memory to 100 MHz. If the problem seems
to recurr at same frequency (I mean, rate of occurance) then I'd lean
towards operating system files, configuration errors or drivers. If it
happens less often or no longer, more likely the motherboard or possibly
the power supply.

If your ECS motherboard is an earlier revision, say revision 3.x or lower,
it may be picky about memory. If it were memory it'd also be more stable
at 100MHz memory bus, even if it's one of the aforementioned buggy boards.
However since it was stable previously with that memory(?) it would seem
more likely the motherboard is failing.

 

[DTWells]

Probably a PP303 or SL300. Either are fairly good, worthy of being
called 300W but bad capacitors can make their way into power supplies
too. It is "probably" working fine if you wanted odds, but power
supplies do fail, the voltage readings would be a first test. Also
temporarily disconnect 3 of the hard drives and see if that
appreciably raises the voltage.




What revision of motherboard?
Some revisions were buggy and/or prone to have failed caps.
Particularly those with the turquoise G-Luxon caps up to the left of
the CPU socket, might be vented/swollen/leaky, or residue underneath.

I'll assume you're checked all fans (including power supply), that
they are operational.



Ok, now I see why you needed the two PCI cards.



Yes, underclock both the CPU and memory to 100 MHz. If the problem
seems to recurr at same frequency (I mean, rate of occurance) then I'd
lean towards operating system files, configuration errors or drivers.
If it happens less often or no longer, more likely the motherboard or
possibly the power supply.

If your ECS motherboard is an earlier revision, say revision 3.x or
lower, it may be picky about memory. If it were memory it'd also be
more stable at 100MHz memory bus, even if it's one of the
aforementioned buggy boards. However since it was stable previously
with that memory(?) it would seem more likely the motherboard is
failing.

Apparently its the Power Supply being over worked. I have it back to
just the 2 hard drives and the 2 optical drives that I originally had it
configurated to and its working fine.

I apparently just need a new more powerful PS. I would like to get
something thats rather quiet. I am looking at getting/building another
system. Anyone know of some good sites where I can get a barebones sent
to me. Only thing I am looking for is just:

Mid-Full Tower Case (something similar in size to my ANTEC that is big
and has a lot of room to work with and help out air flow)

A Big (at least 450W) Power Supply, preferably something quiet.

Mobo/CPU Combo (AMD XP series)

Possibly some RAM too just to save on shipping.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[kony]

Apparently its the Power Supply being over worked. I have it back to
just the 2 hard drives and the 2 optical drives that I originally had it
configurated to and its working fine.

I apparently just need a new more powerful PS. I would like to get
something thats rather quiet. I am looking at getting/building another
system. Anyone know of some good sites where I can get a barebones sent
to me. Only thing I am looking for is just:

Mid-Full Tower Case (something similar in size to my ANTEC that is big
and has a lot of room to work with and help out air flow)

A Big (at least 450W) Power Supply, preferably something quiet.

Mobo/CPU Combo (AMD XP series)

Possibly some RAM too just to save on shipping.

Any help is appreciated.

Quite often the barebones kits are comprised of lower-end parts... You
might find a big case but if it's not a top name-brand it might be pretty
flimsy and a generic power supply not worth it's weight in manure.

You might try http://www.newegg.com, just buy another Antec case with
Antec power supply, and since they have a good selection of boards, CPUs,
memory, too, that's one-stop shopping.

 

[DTWells]

Quite often the barebones kits are comprised of lower-end parts... You
might find a big case but if it's not a top name-brand it might be pretty
flimsy and a generic power supply not worth it's weight in manure.

You might try http://www.newegg.com, just buy another Antec case with
Antec power supply, and since they have a good selection of boards, CPUs,
memory, too, that's one-stop shopping.

I suppose I can do that. I would like to get the Antec Sonata but its a
little smaller than Im used to, but I suppose it would do. It comes
with a True 380 Watt Power Supply. Do you think thats enough to run
4HDs, and 3 Optical Drives? Its 80 watts higher than mine, and I would
need to run 1 more optical drive, and 2 more hard drives.

 

[DTWells]

I suppose I can do that. I would like to get the Antec Sonata but its a
little smaller than Im used to, but I suppose it would do. It comes
with a True 380 Watt Power Supply. Do you think thats enough to run
4HDs, and 3 Optical Drives? Its 80 watts higher than mine, and I would
need to run 1 more optical drive, and 2 more hard drives.

I currently have a case the size of the Antec 1040 on newegg.com. I
would like to get something that big for the new case, but I like the
Sonata quietness.

 

[kony]

I currently have a case the size of the Antec 1040 on newegg.com. I
would like to get something that big for the new case, but I like the
Sonata quietness.

So you had 4 HDD and now in this new system you want "2 more", so 6 hard
drives?

The 1040 series can be pretty quiet (though with 4-6 drives, those drives
will still be making some noise) if fitted with Panaflo fans. For those
80mm, their FBA08A12L1A model is a good choice, often simply called an
"L1A" on the 'net. If it weren't for the number of hard drives I'd
suggest that you might even be able to undervolt them to further reduce or
eliminate that noise, but considering the hard drives you might need take
a wait-and-see attitude. I have a (different name but same case) 1040
case with fans of same airflow as the L1A, undervolted to nearly 8V with
inline resistors, and they do keep 4 HDDs cool enough, though I don't have
all 4 drives in the original bays, I put two in the lowest bay and added
another bay to the bottom of the case, behind that lower fan.

A 380W power supply should be enough, but considering the number of drives
and your further upgrade plans, I'd get a case with an Antec Truepower
430W in it.

 

[DTWells]

So you had 4 HDD and now in this new system you want "2 more", so 6
hard drives?

The 1040 series can be pretty quiet (though with 4-6 drives, those
drives will still be making some noise) if fitted with Panaflo fans.
For those 80mm, their FBA08A12L1A model is a good choice, often simply
called an "L1A" on the 'net. If it weren't for the number of hard
drives I'd suggest that you might even be able to undervolt them to
further reduce or eliminate that noise, but considering the hard
drives you might need take a wait-and-see attitude. I have a
(different name but same case) 1040 case with fans of same airflow as
the L1A, undervolted to nearly 8V with inline resistors, and they do
keep 4 HDDs cool enough, though I don't have all 4 drives in the
original bays, I put two in the lowest bay and added another bay to
the bottom of the case, behind that lower fan.

A 380W power supply should be enough, but considering the number of
drives and your further upgrade plans, I'd get a case with an Antec
Truepower 430W in it.

No, not 2 more Hard Drives added onto the 4 already.

I am back to just 2 HDs and 2 Optical drives so my system is actually
stable, which in turn its not quite as loud, so I think it was the power
supply making all the noise in it.

I am looking for the Power Supply to support 4 total HDs and 3 optical
drives (just transporting all the stuff into a new case, preferably the
Sonata). Can a 380 watt hold 4HD, 3 Optical Drive, 3 PCI cards (Network
and Controller Card, Sound Card), Radeon 7500 All In Wonder vid card.

The way I see it is that its 80 watts more than mine, and its a "True
380" and all I need to add are the 2 extra HDs (4 total, not 6) and
Optical drive.

Do you know of any sites that have power supply calculators. I found
one thats called Js Custon PCs but seems to be kind of off.

Thanks.

 

[kony]

No, not 2 more Hard Drives added onto the 4 already.

I am back to just 2 HDs and 2 Optical drives so my system is actually
stable, which in turn its not quite as loud, so I think it was the power
supply making all the noise in it.

I am looking for the Power Supply to support 4 total HDs and 3 optical
drives (just transporting all the stuff into a new case, preferably the
Sonata). Can a 380 watt hold 4HD, 3 Optical Drive, 3 PCI cards (Network
and Controller Card, Sound Card), Radeon 7500 All In Wonder vid card.

The way I see it is that its 80 watts more than mine, and its a "True
380" and all I need to add are the 2 extra HDs (4 total, not 6) and
Optical drive.

Do you know of any sites that have power supply calculators. I found
one thats called Js Custon PCs but seems to be kind of off.

Thanks.

I have a system with more gear than that in it, running from a good 300W
power supply (Delta DPS-300BB). You're not likely to easily find Delta
power supplies in PC cases or separately though, they're mostly OEM for
servers or other special configurations.

As I wrote previously, the True 380 should be able to handle what you're
planning, but I would've expected the the old Antec 300W you have to
handle it too. That is, I have an Antec PP303 that was running a similar
system except lower-powered video card (lower powered than my system
running from the 300W PSU, possibly similar video power consumption to the
Radeon AIW 7500, which is a relatively low-powered card itself compared to
many alternatives), so it wasn't even stressing the 12V rail as much which
seems to be where your present power supply has the problem. It could be
that your 300W isn't just insufficient capacity but starting to fail in a
gentle way rather than sudden death. Again I'm reminded of defective
taiwanese capacitors... a power supply is a prime example of a device that
would use some makes of potentially-defective low-ESR capacitors that were
subject to failure.

Even though the True 380 should be enough, I'd still consider a 430W
model... PCs are on an upward trend, consuming ever more power and for
someone knowing they want 4 HDDs and a few opticals already, the larger a
power supply you buy the more likley it'll be reusable someday or allow
for even further expansion of the system.