Unstable Athlon xp 2800+

[Scot]

I've been having problems for the past month with my set up, which is
this:

Athlon 2800+
Asus A7V8X-X
2.5 gig RAM
Nvidia GeForce 4 MX440

The problem is this: I was running Windows 2000 for a few years and
everything was great. I upgraded most of my hardware about 8 months
ago and had no problems until last month. Last month, whithout having
made any changes, my computer started to randomly shut down, go to the
Bios screen and try to set my processor to 1083 mhz. I would always
fix this to run with the 12.5 multiplier at 333 mhz, but the
instability continued.

First, I tried to improve the cooling, since it was running up to 60-70
degrees. I did that, and now it runs at a constant 50 degrees. This
didn't solve anything. So, I got a new harddrive and upgraded to
Windows XP. The install was horrible, and I had to redo it three times
before it got working, but it is still incredibly buggy. I am
constantly getting errors and programs are failing to install for a
variety of reasons (System exceptions, or claims that files are
corrupted when they aren't.)

I would like to think that this is a windows problem, but I fear that
my motherboard may be at fault, and, frankly, I'm out of ideas. So, I
turn to you -- wise board of messages -- for a possible solution.

 

[Jan Alter]

I feel for you. The first effort I would undertake is to check the RAM.
Memtest appears to be a popular program. When I hear that Windows is
recalcitrant to install that's one of the first thoughts that comes to mind.
I have a Athlon 2700 that seems to run hottish (about 62, but there are no
shut down problems and I kind of think that the MSI board may simply have a
poorly calibrated temp sensor.
Additionally try going to the bios defaults for the cpu at 333 mhz.

 

[kony]

I've been having problems for the past month with my set up, which is
this:

Athlon 2800+
Asus A7V8X-X
2.5 gig RAM
Nvidia GeForce 4 MX440

The problem is this: I was running Windows 2000 for a few years and
everything was great. I upgraded most of my hardware about 8 months
ago and had no problems until last month. Last month, whithout having
made any changes, my computer started to randomly shut down,

Be specific... did it "shut down"? Or did it "reboot", or
"reset", or crash, or turn off? Each is a specific thing
and what exactly it does can be important. For example, you
might want to turn off the windows reboot-on-error setting,
or check the temps and temp monitor threshold settings.

go to the
Bios screen and try to set my processor to 1083 mhz. I would always
fix this to run with the 12.5 multiplier at 333 mhz, but the
instability continued.

Often that happens if it fails to post on the first try.
Sometimes it's only a bios bug (check for a newer bios in
that case) but otherwise it may more often be a motherboard
or psu failing. However, that is in general, when it
specifically happens after the system
rebooted/shut-down/etc, it could also be other things such
as CPU overheating, so check the fans and air passages for
dust accumulation. Perhaps you have checked all these
things but we can only go by what has been mentioned.

First, I tried to improve the cooling, since it was running up to 60-70
degrees. I did that, and now it runs at a constant 50 degrees.

At full load or idle? Nevermind idle temp, run Prime95's
Torture Test (or similar near full load task) and use that
as a basis for temp assessment.

This
didn't solve anything. So, I got a new harddrive and upgraded to
Windows XP. The install was horrible, and I had to redo it three times
before it got working, but it is still incredibly buggy.

When the install fails, best to not try it again rather than
determining why it failed. Identify and resolve the problem
first, because now it is still likely you need to do that,
AND then reinstall windows over again because if you have
some file corruption in addition to the other problem, even
fixing the initial problem may not result in complete
stability.

I am
constantly getting errors and programs are failing to install for a
variety of reasons (System exceptions, or claims that files are
corrupted when they aren't.)

I would like to think that this is a windows problem, but I fear that
my motherboard may be at fault, and, frankly, I'm out of ideas. So, I
turn to you -- wise board of messages -- for a possible solution.

1st idea- this is a hardware forum. Post a concise but
specific list of all major hardware, including power supply
make/model/wattage. Playing odds, IF your CPU is staying
under 60C now it's most likely the motherboard or PSU to
blame. If you have a multimeter you can check the voltages,
plus open the case and examine the motherboard capacitors,
northbridge fan, whatever applies.

 

[Scot]

Thanks for your help, guys. It appears that I had a bad stick of RAM,
so most of the problems have cleared up. I'll reinstall windows again,
and hopefully everything will work. Thanks.