[MrZach]

I'm pretty sure my computer just started overheating for no apparent reason. I left it downloading some files this morning, and when I returned in the afternoon everything on the screen was frozen - including my mouse pointer. I reset and listen to that happy "crunching" sound of the computer processing information, but after a few short minutes it freezes again - and all I hear is the humming of fans... If I leave the computer off for an extended period of time, I can get a bit more life out of it before it freezes, so I'm pretty sure this is a classic overheating problem...

The trouble is, I've done all the normal troubleshooting and it still isn't getting better! I checked all the fans and they're operating just fine. I opened up the box and thoroughly cleaned out the dust (there was a LOT), including getting dust out of the fans, vents, heatsinks, and everywhere else - that baby is CLEAN... I put it back together and started it up, monitoring all the fans (which are all blowing fine)... but still it won't make it more than 5 minutes without going completely frozen.

Again - the longer its off, the longer it lasts. If I continuously reboot after a freeze, it lasts even shorter...

I tried running the PC in safe mode: Same result.

I run Windows Vista on an AMD 3800+, ASUS A8N-DLI Deluxe, 2GB mem, PC-cillin, etc.
I made no recent changes to my software or hardware configuration.
Upon one of my reboots, my audio drivers had been removed (PC-cillin informed me it reverted to last known good configuration).

I'm at my wit's end here trying to get my PC up and running again. Please let me know what else I can do, thank you so much!

[JSanguancheu]

Have you backed up your data recently?

Another possibilty is that your hard is failing. Some failing hard drives will work for a limited amount of time while they're cool, but once they warm up everything stops.

This is why when people have a failed HDD, we sometimes tell them to try placing it in a ziploc bag and sticking in the freezer for an hour or so. Hopefully it will run long enough for the user to get their data copied off.

[MrZach]

I swapped my HD out for a known good and booted off of that - same problem: computer froze within 15 minutes...

Next, I installed a PC diagnostics program to monitor temperatures and it froze at:
CPU/MB: 44c
HD: 23c
GFX Card: 63c

What next? Could it be faulty RAM? The RAM is a pair of Corsair 1GB's and I noticed the indicator bars on the side stop going up and down when it freezes... Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean its the RAM, but what next...? Replace my RAM?

Also - I have a little clock running on the desktop and that freezes as well, so I know it isn't just the input devices!

[blux]

Originally Posted by MrZach

I swapped my HD out for a known good and booted off of that - same problem: computer froze within 15 minutes...

Next, I installed a PC diagnostics program to monitor temperatures and it froze at:
CPU/MB: 44c
HD: 23c
GFX Card: 63c

What next? Could it be faulty RAM? The RAM is a pair of Corsair 1GB's and I noticed the indicator bars on the side stop going up and down when it freezes... Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean its the RAM, but what next...? Replace my RAM?

Also - I have a little clock running on the desktop and that freezes as well, so I know it isn't just the input devices!

63 degrees celsius is pretty damn hot.... about 145.4 degrees Fahrenheit. I dont know what the average temp for gfx cards are, but my cpu never gets above 40c or so... might look into swapping to a different gfx card and see what happens.

[MrZach]

*nod - the GFX card is kinda crap I think...

...but I think I may have stumbled across the source of my problem! The nForce4 SLI chip has a small heatsink and fan attached to it... As I *COMPLETELY* disassembled every last tiny piece of my computer that I could I discovered that this heatsink/fan was loose.

A bracket holding it in place had snapped off, AND the thermal compound was worn, corroded, not holding it down anymore... I carefully removed the heatsink/fan and cleaned the old TC off... I'm picking up some Arctic Silver 5 tomorrow to reattach the bad boy. I'm also going to have to retrofit some kind of makeshift plastic rod to hold it in place better, but I'll figure it out...

Hopefully this fixes it and all my tinkering hasn't damaged the motherboard too far beyond repair. I decided that after all this crap I'm just going to start upgrading - starting with the mother board - and putting all the old working components into a case for my little sister to have her own comp...

[JSanguancheu]

Sounds like a plan. Good luck.