Help please - random crashes

[Gumpster]

I have an Asus A7V333 mobo, 1 x Maxtor 200GB, 1 x Seagate 60GB, 1 x
Samsung 120GB, 1 x Sony DVD writer, NIC, Radeon 9800 graphics card,
loads of USB 2 peripherals. Athlon XP2800 1GB RAM, 5 x internal cooling
fans - self built system.

A few weeks ago I noticed that the BIOS would only recognise on or
maybe two disks at bootup. I wasn't too worried as XP recognised them
(XP Pro SP2). Then I started to get random crashes under load (I use
iTunes a great deal, Outlook and Photoshop usually open at once).
Lately, the machine will only run for a few minutes before crashing. I
tried reinstalling Windows and even unplgging the other disks but the
fault occurs under load. Asus probe reports no unusual activity, all
temperatures are OK.

I strongly suspect the power supply as I have so many peripherals. It
is a 350W supply.... Is this a reasonable assumption?

Manyt thanks,

Gary

 

[USR]

I have an Asus A7V333 mobo, 1 x Maxtor 200GB, 1 x Seagate 60GB, 1 x
Samsung 120GB, 1 x Sony DVD writer, NIC, Radeon 9800 graphics card,
loads of USB 2 peripherals. Athlon XP2800 1GB RAM, 5 x internal cooling
fans - self built system.

A few weeks ago I noticed that the BIOS would only recognise on or
maybe two disks at bootup. I wasn't too worried as XP recognised them
(XP Pro SP2). Then I started to get random crashes under load (I use
iTunes a great deal, Outlook and Photoshop usually open at once).
Lately, the machine will only run for a few minutes before crashing. I
tried reinstalling Windows and even unplgging the other disks but the
fault occurs under load. Asus probe reports no unusual activity, all
temperatures are OK.

I strongly suspect the power supply as I have so many peripherals. It
is a 350W supply.... Is this a reasonable assumption?

Manyt thanks,

Gary

Power Supply would be my first guess. Is there any particular hardware or
software that has been added to the system just before this problem started?

If you have a spare HDD lying around, remove the main drive and replace it
with the spare drive. Install XP and see if the same problem occurs. If
yes, it's definately a hardware problem.

 

[USR]

Power Supply would be my first guess. Is there any particular hardware or
software that has been added to the system just before this problem
started?

If you have a spare HDD lying around, remove the main drive and replace it
with the spare drive. Install XP and see if the same problem occurs. If
yes, it's definately a hardware problem.

Actually, just reading again what you posted. If the BIOS does sometimes
not recognize the drives, then be shure to check the power and data cables
for those drives. Try changing the power and data cables with the ones that
do work.

The more I think about it, it's pointing to power supply issue. If you do
get another power supply, make sure it's a good one...Antec, Thermaltake...

 

[Gumpster]

Actually, just reading again what you posted. If the BIOS does sometimes
not recognize the drives, then be shure to check the power and data cables
for those drives. Try changing the power and data cables with the ones that
do work.

The more I think about it, it's pointing to power supply issue. If you do
get another power supply, make sure it's a good one...Antec, Thermaltake...

Thanks for your messages. I haven't installed anything save for some
utilities to look at my system (Sysoft Sandra). This was locking up too
when trying to measure disks.

I did take your second bit of advice a few days ago but the same thing
kept happening on a fresh install - it's off to the computer suppliers
for me I think.

Many thanks for your help!

 

[NoStop]

I have an Asus A7V333 mobo, 1 x Maxtor 200GB, 1 x Seagate 60GB, 1 x
Samsung 120GB, 1 x Sony DVD writer, NIC, Radeon 9800 graphics card,
loads of USB 2 peripherals. Athlon XP2800 1GB RAM, 5 x internal cooling
fans - self built system.

A few weeks ago I noticed that the BIOS would only recognise on or
maybe two disks at bootup. I wasn't too worried as XP recognised them
(XP Pro SP2). Then I started to get random crashes under load (I use
iTunes a great deal, Outlook and Photoshop usually open at once).
Lately, the machine will only run for a few minutes before crashing. I
tried reinstalling Windows and even unplgging the other disks but the
fault occurs under load. Asus probe reports no unusual activity, all
temperatures are OK.

I strongly suspect the power supply as I have so many peripherals. It
is a 350W supply.... Is this a reasonable assumption?

Certainly a place to look. That's an older mobo and if it's still the
original PSU, it could well be going. Besides, 350W is kinda small for all
you're running there, especially all the fans.

Manyt thanks,

Gary

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