New computer keeps freezing 1

[bobbiedigital]

Hi i bought a new pc which i put together myself (yep i hear everyone saying uh oh), ive installed windows xp on it, and it seems to be randomly freezing, the specs are

Intel pentium d cpu 2.66
1024 mb ram
radeon 9550 256 video card
using onboard sound intel 82801eb ich5
wdc wd800jd-75msa1 80gb hd
asus drw-1608p3s optical drive
ob3127q izx005s scsi cdrom device
netgear wg311v3 802.11g wireless pci adapter

ive also got a 500 watt ezcool power supply,

i thought the cpu was over heating so i installed a new case fan, and also a new cpu cooler, an artic freezer 7.0 or similar, it was running at about 80 degrees now its running at about 40 and its still freezing.

does anyone know what it could be or whether i can do anything to find out what it is??

Cheers for your help!

Bobbie

 

[bobbiedigital]

Hi just want to add, now that i think about it, its not so random, it seems to happen in times of high cpu usage, i.e. ive got winamp open with a browser and another program, or running a processing intensive game.

Cheers again

Bobbie

 

[G0AOZ]

Try running a RAM test. Memtest86 will give it a good going over, but will take a little while with 1Gb to check.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[bobbiedigital]

Hi

I ran the test and got two errors

tst|pass|failing address|good|bad|errbits|count|
5 | 1 | 556.1 | 44 | 40| 4 | 1 |
5 | 1 | 572.1 | 44 | 40| 4 | 1 |


does this mean one of me memory sticks is bad?? can i just take it out and replace it??

cheers
Bob

 

[G0AOZ]

If you are getting errors, then that's a good indication one or more pieces of memory are bad! This still may or may not be the cause of your problems, but it's a fairly good bet it is. You should first try removing and carefully but firmly reseating these strips of memory, just to ensure that they are connecting properly in their sockets on the motherboard. Then run the test again. If you are still getting errors, then assuming your system will run ok with just one stick of memory in place, remove then one at a time to identify which is the faulty one. The only other thing to check is that the memory isn't overheating. Check to ensure there's a reasonable passage of air around the strips, and that they aren't completely covered up, by cables for instance.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[wahnula]

now that i think about it, its not so random, it seems to happen in times of high cpu usage

Hmmm...that could be heat-related. Try running with your PC case open and a room fan blowing into it, and give it a load. Better? It may not be the CPU, could be the north or southbridge or GPU overheating. Other than that, bad RAM is the most likely cuplrit.

Tony

 

[bobbiedigital]

Hi
thanks very much for the help, ive taken out a stick of ram and replaced it with another, it hasnt frozen on me yet and its been about a night, but when i took the ram out it was verrrrrrrrry hot, i think it might be my crummy power supply thats over heating everything, could that be the case???

ive got a 500 watt power supply but i think a 400 would be sufficient for my needs, i might try to replace it?

Thanks again
Bobbie

 

[G0AOZ]

Generally speaking it's better to have more power available than being tight on the limit. In other words, if the 500W PSU is a good one, then don't change it. But a good 400 is possible better than a cr*p 500...

If the memory strip was very hot, then that suggests airflow over that particular part of the motherboard is poor. Do you have a rear case fan? What about an additional front case fan to blow air over the memory.

Again, make sure power and data cables are not obstructing airflow.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[bobbiedigital]

Yep i have a back case fan, and a spare hole at the front where a cd rom drive used to be, i might have to find space for a front fan, sounds like good advice.

cheers mate,

Bobbie