Re: hardware Problem?
- From: "Anna" <myname@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 09:47:44 -0400
"elly" <elly@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4283800C-77EC-4FFA-8BE6-198CD5FB86C8@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi, I have been having trouble with my computer for sometime now reason
for
which I reformatted and clean installed XP Pro but the problem is still
there. My PC does the following at ramdom and quite frequently:
sometimes
it freezes, other times it just decides to re-boot while I am using it,
other
times it just turns off completely and will not start up again until I
remove
the power supply cable let it sit for a few minutes and replug the
cable,
other times at rebooting stops and will not complete boot up. I just
don't
know whether it might be a hardware problem and if so which component.
My
PC
is 6 years old pentium 4. Please does anyone have any idea as to what
it
might be or how to go about finding out the reason for this behavour.
Please help any advice is greatly appreciated
Thank you Elly
"peter" wrote:
Could you post some specs of your machine....otherwise we are just flying
blind.
But here are some suggestions.
Overheating can cause shutdown......when was the last time you cleaned
the
dust out?
Stop during cold boot but start after can designate a failing power
supply...not enough power to spin up all the devices.
When you reinstalled the OS did you also reinstall the motherboard
drivers
for your specific motherboard chipset?? the Video Drivers for your Video
Card??
peter
"elly" <elly@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:2A898559-1D8C-4F34-850F-CD3804C27125@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Peter, Thank you for your response. PC's specifications are
OS: XP Pro, SP2
Cpu: P4, 1600mhz
Motherboard : ECSP4S5A (5PCI, 1AGP, 1AMR, 2Dimm, 2 DDR DiMM, audio SiS645)
Memory: 512 MB (SDRAM)
BIOS: AMI (11/07/01)
Video Adapter NVIDIA
3D Accelerator Nvidia
HD 40GB
I have been having this problem for quite sometime, that is the reason why
I
decided to reinstall OS hoping that it will solve the problem but it has
made
no difference. The thing is that the problems I mentioned do not happen
on a
certain pattern, there are times when the computer behaves normally, boots
up
normally and does not freeze or turn off for a few hours, after a few
hours
it will eventually turn off by itself, the time expand till it turns off
varies from 1 hour up to about 5 hours or over. Also another weird
behavoir
is that sometimes the CPU usage seems to jump to a high 80 to 90% without
any
change of the usage of PC, it appears to be performing lots of processes
while I might just be using word, not downloading or anything extreme, and
sometimes this is the time when it turns off it seems to be overwhelmed by
all the processes it is performing. I have cleaned the computer inside
not
too long ago, so it will not be dust. Thank you for your help I really
appreciate it.
Elly
Elly:
First of all let me get this out of the way...
When you say "I have cleaned the computer inside not too long ago, so it
will not be dust", I assume you performed this "cleaning" *after* the
problem you describe arose, right? You didn't *first* encounter the problems
you describe *after* you performed this "cleaning", right? I raise this
question because we've come across so many problems that occurred following
a user's "cleaning" of his or her machine. Users must understand that this
is *not* an innocuous procedure - it is very easy to damage computer
components if one is not very careful in undertaking this "cleaning"
process. Frankly, sometimes I'm tempted to advise all users not to "clean"
their PCs - leave them be, dust & all. Or take the machine to a professional
should cleaning be necessary.
Anyway...
It's hard, if not impossible to tell at this distance what is causing the
problems you describe. It could be either hardware or software-based,
although it does initially sound like a hardware problem.
1. I assume you're currently backing up your important files & folders. Make
sure you're doing this. Better yet would be to use a disk imaging program to
clone the contents of your present HDD to another HDD, either internal or
external.
2. Download the HDD diagnostic utility from the manufacturer of your HDD and
check it out. Also, check out your RAM with a memory diagnostic such as the
one you can download from MS - see
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp#Top
3. Although it's something of a shot-in-the-dark, it might be wise at this
point to try a Repair install of the XP OS on the chance that the problem
results from a corrupted OS. While it really doesn't sound like this is the
case, it might be worth a try. Again, before undertaking a Repair install
back up your important data.
4. We're assuming that your system is malware-free and that you've checked
it out with your A-V and other malware-detecting programs.
5. As "peter" indicated the problem could result from a failing power
supply. The only practical way to tell would be to replace the current one
with a known working PS.
6. You've checked your graphics/video card & RAM modules and they all seem
to be seated properly? Ditto the heatsink on your processor? The CPU fan is
connected? All connections seem OK?
As I'm sure you're aware, assuming this is a hardware problem affecting one
or another major component in the PC, the only practical way for the
end-user (in most cases) to determine the cause of the problem is to
substitute known "good" components for one or more possible defective
components.
We can go on from here, but try the above first...
Anna
.
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