Video and Shutdown problems, HELP

[nomad]

VIDEO PROBLEM

System Description

P4 3Ghz
2 GB
Intel D865PERL mobo
WIN XP SP2 all updates in
Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse
McAfee
Windows Defender
Zone Alarm

Problem:

Until yesterday this system ran for over two years with an economical
Radeon 7500 AGP video card. Yesterday the video died with total black
screen. Since I was not sure of the true problem, I tried a few
things. I replaced the power supply with a brand new 350 watt unit.
The old one tested perfect but I had a spare so I went ahead and
replaced it. I cleaned everything inside including the CPU heat sink.
This meant I had to re-seat the heat sink with fresh heat sink
compound. This morning I replaced the Radeon with an older Hercules 3D
card I had salvaged. That gave me video. I had every reason to believe
that my Radeon 7500 had simply died. I bought a new Radeon 9000 series
card and installed it. Again, I had total black screen. While a DOA
video card is rare, it is possible. I exchanged the video card for a
Radeon X1300. Once again, I had a black screen. I put the Hercules
back in and everything works. It does not make sense that my system
has developed a sudden allergy for ATI video cards.


SHUT DOWN PROBLEM

Same system as above.

In the last two weeks, I have had a problem shutting this system down.
Clicking on Shut Down works up to a point. Windows will do one of two
things. (A) Will follow normal shutdown until the very end and then
give a series of messages about Exception Breakpoints. After hitting
cancel to debug, the system will shut down. (B) The system seems to
follow normal shutdown but goes to black screen with only the cursor
showing. After about ten minutes, the system shuts down.

Any suggestions for either of these problems welcomed.

 

[Chris Hill]

VIDEO PROBLEM

System Description

P4 3Ghz
2 GB
Intel D865PERL mobo
WIN XP SP2 all updates in
Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse
McAfee
Windows Defender
Zone Alarm

Problem:

Until yesterday this system ran for over two years with an economical
Radeon 7500 AGP video card. Yesterday the video died with total black
screen. Since I was not sure of the true problem, I tried a few
things. I replaced the power supply with a brand new 350 watt unit.
The old one tested perfect but I had a spare so I went ahead and
replaced it. I cleaned everything inside including the CPU heat sink.
This meant I had to re-seat the heat sink with fresh heat sink
compound. This morning I replaced the Radeon with an older Hercules 3D
card I had salvaged. That gave me video. I had every reason to believe
that my Radeon 7500 had simply died. I bought a new Radeon 9000 series
card and installed it. Again, I had total black screen. While a DOA
video card is rare, it is possible. I exchanged the video card for a
Radeon X1300. Once again, I had a black screen. I put the Hercules
back in and everything works. It does not make sense that my system
has developed a sudden allergy for ATI video cards.


SHUT DOWN PROBLEM

Same system as above.

In the last two weeks, I have had a problem shutting this system down.
Clicking on Shut Down works up to a point. Windows will do one of two
things. (A) Will follow normal shutdown until the very end and then
give a series of messages about Exception Breakpoints. After hitting
cancel to debug, the system will shut down. (B) The system seems to
follow normal shutdown but goes to black screen with only the cursor
showing. After about ten minutes, the system shuts down.

Any suggestions for either of these problems welcomed.

Hmm, not all 350w supplies are equal; I'd suggest trying a better one
of a decent name-brand. It could be that the video cards that
black-screened require more out of a psu than he ones that worked.

 

[Mike T.]

Hmm, not all 350w supplies are equal; I'd suggest trying a better one
of a decent name-brand. It could be that the video cards that
black-screened require more out of a psu than he ones that worked.

Yup. Most current video cards require more than 350W, and that's assuming
that the power supply is a good brand name like fortron/sparkle, enermax or
seasonic. I agree with you there. I wouldn't try to run that rig on a
generic 350W power supply. It might be OK if you run a very old video card
in it.

But on the other hand, I've seen systems acting very much like this one when
the RAM goes bad. It could also be some kind of bogus CMOS setting.

I'd try resetting the CMOS and then loading default settings (not
performance and not optimized settings). Then download and burn the ISO
image (zip) of memtest86 and create a bootable cd-rom with it using Roxio or
Nero software. Use that to test the memory for a few hours. -Dave

http://www.memtest86.com/

 

[Bob M]

VIDEO PROBLEM

System Description

P4 3Ghz
2 GB
Intel D865PERL mobo
WIN XP SP2 all updates in
Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse
McAfee
Windows Defender
Zone Alarm

Problem:

Until yesterday this system ran for over two years with an economical
Radeon 7500 AGP video card. Yesterday the video died with total black
screen. Since I was not sure of the true problem, I tried a few
things. I replaced the power supply with a brand new 350 watt unit.
The old one tested perfect but I had a spare so I went ahead and
replaced it. I cleaned everything inside including the CPU heat sink.
This meant I had to re-seat the heat sink with fresh heat sink
compound. This morning I replaced the Radeon with an older Hercules 3D
card I had salvaged. That gave me video. I had every reason to believe
that my Radeon 7500 had simply died. I bought a new Radeon 9000 series
card and installed it. Again, I had total black screen. While a DOA
video card is rare, it is possible. I exchanged the video card for a
Radeon X1300. Once again, I had a black screen. I put the Hercules
back in and everything works. It does not make sense that my system
has developed a sudden allergy for ATI video cards.


SHUT DOWN PROBLEM

Same system as above.

In the last two weeks, I have had a problem shutting this system down.
Clicking on Shut Down works up to a point. Windows will do one of two
things. (A) Will follow normal shutdown until the very end and then
give a series of messages about Exception Breakpoints. After hitting
cancel to debug, the system will shut down. (B) The system seems to
follow normal shutdown but goes to black screen with only the cursor
showing. After about ten minutes, the system shuts down.

Any suggestions for either of these problems welcomed.

In addition to the advice you received, check the caps on the
motherboard and see if any are bulging or failing.

Bob

 

[noname]

Thanks for the input. I will check these out and advise.

 

[nomad]

In addition to the advice you received, check the caps on the
motherboard and see if any are bulging or failing.

Bob

Well after more hours than I care to admit to, this beast is fixed. It
turns out that it was a software problem. It seems that Zone Alarm was
the cause of my grief. Zone Alarm and Windows Defender are now out and
Spybot is back in. It was amazing the number of nasties that Windows
Defender let in that Spybot caught. Thanks everyone for the advice.