Computer freezing

[utbigred]

Ok first the problem.
Everynow and then when I reset the computer, it'll reset a few more
then finally go through. Secondly it freezes at random. Another words
it might freeze up on startup or while doing random things while on
desktop. I'm not quite sure what to do. I don't believe it's my hard
drives (maxtor somethin) becaused I used their program to test my hard
drives for problems and I've reformated it twice (had to reinstall
windows xp)
-I have 1.5 gig of ram ddr 400 (3200). <--1 gig and a 512 stick
-AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 2.4GHz
-BIOSTAR TForce6100-939 Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD
Motherboard
-3D Fuzion 3DFR76256GSE GeForce 7600GS 256MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16
Video Card
350 watt power supply (new case that came w/ this power supply)

What I've tried so far:
Reinstalling windows
Changing ram (problem still the same)
Playing games such as wow and vanguard which allows me to run finely
so I don't belive it's my vid card
Did a hardware check on my 2 hard drives.
I have all the up to date software like drivers, windows sp2, etcs (i
know it might make a difference)

Any help please?

Update: ok this may sound stupid now. I wasn't using the power cord
the case provided. Anyways, I have not seen it resetting multiple
times on startup. Now the only problem is that it tends to freeze
roughly every 2 hours.

 

[Joel]

Ok first the problem.
Everynow and then when I reset the computer, it'll reset a few more
then finally go through. Secondly it freezes at random. Another words
it might freeze up on startup or while doing random things while on
desktop. I'm not quite sure what to do. I don't believe it's my hard
drives (maxtor somethin) becaused I used their program to test my hard
drives for problems and I've reformated it twice (had to reinstall
windows xp)
-I have 1.5 gig of ram ddr 400 (3200). <--1 gig and a 512 stick
-AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 2.4GHz
-BIOSTAR TForce6100-939 Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD
Motherboard
-3D Fuzion 3DFR76256GSE GeForce 7600GS 256MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16
Video Card
350 watt power supply (new case that came w/ this power supply)

My own experiences with many systems for many years, if the system freezes
at random then it could be (1) CPU overheat (2) hard drive problem is a
newest experience I have been having for 2-3+ months now (3) and usually
power supply problem

- If system freezes at boot or may take several tries for it to boot, then
the chance of bad power supply is pretty high

I ain't saying if it's Maxtor or not but my first 3-4 Maxtor was 20+ years
ago, and none of them ever made through 4-6 months. Maxtor was replacing
them without question asked and they even shipped me the newer replacement
before I sent the damaged one back, and they paid for the return shipping
etc.. then I stopped using Maxtor for around nearly 20 years, then about 2
years ago I gave it another chance and the 200GB didn't last 3-4 months, I
got the replacement and external enclosure can't recognize it, I put on my
grandkids' system and the CMOS doesn't recognize it either (or it requires
to DEL then setup CMOS every boot). And Maxtor doesn't seem to work well
with other manufacture, or if using with WD or other (don't remember much
how well it worked with Seagate) then WD has to be Master (it was years
ago).

What I've tried so far:
Reinstalling windows
Changing ram (problem still the same)
Playing games such as wow and vanguard which allows me to run finely
so I don't belive it's my vid card
Did a hardware check on my 2 hard drives.
I have all the up to date software like drivers, windows sp2, etcs (i
know it might make a difference)

Any help please?

Update: ok this may sound stupid now. I wasn't using the power cord
the case provided. Anyways, I have not seen it resetting multiple
times on startup. Now the only problem is that it tends to freeze
roughly every 2 hours.

I sounds like Power Supply may be ok. CPU overheat problem? You may want
to check back 1-2 days old messages that we have several messages about
BOOTING problem

 

[kony]

Ok first the problem.
Everynow and then when I reset the computer, it'll reset a few more
then finally go through.

?

Could you rephrase that?

Secondly it freezes at random. Another words
it might freeze up on startup or while doing random things while on
desktop.

When it freezes, does the image stay onscreen, and what do
you have to do to resolve it at a bare minimum? Will
pressing CTRL-ALT-DEL work, or the reset button, or the
power button?

Are you using USB devices? I could be wrong but thought
that board had a bios update to address some USB issue,
though it might not be related to your problem, my memory of
the problem with USB is vague. Come to think of it, it
might've not been USB at all but SATA, but either way, see
what bios updates are available while you can get them...
since Biostar has a separate website URL for the TForce
boards, it's hard to tell whether they'd eventually merge
the support onto their main website url or if it will vanish
eventually... and historically biostar hasn't been the best
at support, though better in the past few years than the
preceeding.

I'm not quite sure what to do. I don't believe it's my hard
drives (maxtor somethin) becaused I used their program to test my hard
drives for problems and I've reformated it twice (had to reinstall
windows xp)
-I have 1.5 gig of ram ddr 400 (3200). <--1 gig and a 512 stick

You might temporarily remove one of these modules, and while
thinking about memory, run memtest86+ for a few hours. Your
board has that built into the bios doesn't it? Makes it SO
easy, I wish all boards had it integrated.

-AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 2.4GHz
-BIOSTAR TForce6100-939 Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD
Motherboard
-3D Fuzion 3DFR76256GSE GeForce 7600GS 256MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16
Video Card
350 watt power supply (new case that came w/ this power supply)

It's probably the power supply, insufficient 12V current.
Just a random guess as they're often problematic after
awhile, what's the branding on the PSU and it's rated 12V
current? If you have a multimeter, take voltage readings
particularly of 3.3V, 5V, 12V.

How long since the system was built? If you feel
comfortable doing it, you might unplug AC for a few minutes
then open and inspect the PSU, particularly looking for
vented capacitors near the wiring harness. While on a
vented capacitor hunt, inspect those on the motherboard as
well, including those around the memory slots (I've a
different TForce board here that runs some of those caps
rather hot for the memory supply circuit, but it doesn't
have this problem (yet?)).

What I've tried so far:
Reinstalling windows
Changing ram (problem still the same)
Playing games such as wow and vanguard which allows me to run finely
so I don't belive it's my vid card

It would be good to try to isolate when it freezes, if there
is any commonality to the use it would help to find it. How
about a stress test like Prime95's Torture Test, you might
try running that... and of course, monitoring voltages and
temps while you're at it.

Did a hardware check on my 2 hard drives.
I have all the up to date software like drivers, windows sp2, etcs (i
know it might make a difference)

You might also leave it sitting in the bios hardware health
page and leave it there... see if it freezes up there as
well as in windows, or freezes running memtest86.

Any help please?

Update: ok this may sound stupid now. I wasn't using the power cord
the case provided. Anyways, I have not seen it resetting multiple
times on startup. Now the only problem is that it tends to freeze
roughly every 2 hours.

Any reasonable quality power cord should suffice, though I
suppose if whatever cord you were using didn't make a good
connection that could cause it. If the prior cord
connection was bad, it could foul the PSU socket contacts,
you might use a strong flashlight and visually inspect them
(as much as possible).

Had anything else changed just prior to the onset of this
problem, even moving it from one place to another?

How's your heatsink airflow, is it possible it isn't blowing
in the (presumably passive) northbridge heatsink enough and
northbridge is overheating?