My Computer STILL Locks up over and over, I need EVERYONES help on this

[JeffColeman]

So i have a couple threads going on on this forum, and 5 other forums, from a while ago and it seems as if NO ONE can figure this out, its really frustrating.

My computer freezes anywhere from 2 seconds after booting, to 8 hours after being on. Sometimes it will freeze before it even boots up into Windows XP. I have tested the Memory with Memtest86 and it didnt show any errors, i have tested everything, all my fans are running, everything is fine, the computer is relatively new.

Heres the wierd part of it, i currently have 1 512mb stick of Mushkin, when the computer freezes, i open the case, and move the stick from slot 1, to slot 2, this keeps the computer from freezing for a whole day at most. If i DONT move the stick around, once i restart it from being frozen, it will just keep freezing over and over.

I am pretty positive that it is NOT a software issue, because sometimes it will freeze before windows even starts to boot up, all my drivers are current, i can paste a DXDIAG if needed. CAN ANYONE PLEASE TRY TO HELP ME ? THANKYOU!

 

[Rockn]

Heat, PSU, bad cables on IDE controller. Could be any number of things. I would strt off with a base configuration of only the components you need to start Windows and take everything else out. No CD-ROM's connected or their cables, only the video card installed(no NIC or other cards)

DXDIAG is only for DirectX, useless for troubleshooting your issues. Is the memory compatible with this motherboard? Does the Power Supply have enough juice to run this MB(post the make, model and ratings). That is a place to start.

 

[JeffColeman]

The power supply is a ThermalTake Xaser 480W. Why would it be the power supply if when i switch the memor back and forth it affects the freezing time? Everything in my computer seems to get a constant supply of power

 

[Rockn]

That is also why I asked if the memory was compatible with the motherboard. Did you also try setting up the PC with the minimum number of components to see if that made any difference? What is the exact motherboard model??

 

[ohheck]

since nothing else has worked how bout buy, borrow, find, a different ram stick - use only that one and not your mushkin and see what happens

yeah i know you ran memtest but maybe it missed something

 

[JeffColeman]

That is also why I asked if the memory was compatible with the motherboard. Did you also try setting up the PC with the minimum number of components to see if that made any difference? What is the exact motherboard model??

This is the motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128259

 

[JeffColeman]

ttt

 

[JeffColeman]

ttt

 

[Rockn]

It's an Intel based MB, do you have the 12V connector connected to the motherboard? It seems like you are not the only person having trouble with this motherboard. They reccomend flashing the BIOS version to F9 and setting your BIOS up a certain way. Here is a thread on another forum.
http://forums.anandtech.com/message...yword=&STARTPAGE=27&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

You may even want to post in that thread and ask about your situation, seems very similar.

 

[JeffColeman]

It's an Intel based MB, do you have the 12V connector connected to the motherboard? It seems like you are not the only person having trouble with this motherboard. They reccomend flashing the BIOS version to F9 and setting your BIOS up a certain way. Here is a thread on another forum.
http://forums.anandtech.com/message...yword=&STARTPAGE=27&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

You may even want to post in that thread and ask about your situation, seems very similar.

What should my memory be set at in the BIOS? I remember i put it up a little bit when i built the computer a few months ago, could this be causing it to be unstable?

 

[bigbear]

I had a very similar problem to this, all the info I kept getting about it suggested bad Ram, so I bought new Ram eveything was fine for a while then the problem return.
I change hard drive, formmated and could not even load windows, I would get an error message pointing to Ram again. I decided ( in desperation ) to replace the motherboard, which is only just over twelve months old and now everthing works fine.
I'm not sure if this will work for you, but in light of nobody being able to come up with a solution its worth a try.
Good luck

 

[Rockn]

I believe Mushkin's web site has suggested settings for all of their memory. They have a troubleshooting guide with suggestions for gettig your memory configured correctly. Quote from Mushkin site:

" Check that your memory latency times are set properly for your product, you may have to manually configure these timings. Check our BIOS settings page for more info. Try increasing your DDR voltage. JEDEC Spec is 2.6V for PC3200 but Mushkin supports voltages up to 2.8V for our low latency high frequency memory. If you have an 865 or 875 based motherboard try disabling MAT and or PAT and disable "Legacy USB Support". On AMD based systems make sure you are using at least a 350watt, high-quality power supply. Also make sure that the DRAM ratio is set properly for your CPU. 266Mhz core CPUs should run at a 4:6 ratio, 333MHz core CPUs should run at a 5:6 ratio and only 400MHz core CPUs are guaranteed at 1:1. CPU modifications, unlocked multipliers and water cooling do not effect our guarantee. Try going to our support page and check out our troubleshooting tips and other support resources."

 

[qldit]

G'day everyone, these kinds of problems can be a real pain, when all else fails remove the case cover and carefully examine all the electrolytic capacitors and the way they are mounted on the motherboard.
There was a series of these capacitors which had an imprinted cross in their top ends, these were really designed to pop out overpressure rather than explode.
If any swelling or bulging or chemical leakage is evident on any of these capacitors don't waste any more time, just get another motherboard.
I don't know why, but the only two cases I have experienced with this problem were Asis boards, is it because they use cruddy components or because they are a common board goodness knows, but the problem most certainly causes headaches!
These components can be replaced, but it is difficult working on doublesided boards with flush surface mounted components, so "scrap" is the best route.
The only other problem I have seen similar to yours was fixed by getting some decent matched ram, the cheap stuff commonly plays tricks with the higher efficiency boards.
I prefer to use this "twinmos" it is expensive but reliable, avoids pitfalls!
Remember any socket is only good for a limited amount of useage cycles so try to overcome the need for reseating or repositioning.
With power supplies the five volt rail is very susceptible to being involved with these kinds of problems also. If you try using the everest program, monitor the sensors > voltage and temperature page, especially looking at the five volts.
Anything less than 4.95 volts is likely to cause odd problems, it will also cause the machine to hang without post, no boot at all, often an intermittent problem, often has a symptom where holding the "on" button pressed does not switch the macine off after five seconds etc...
Everest is a free download, and a terrific tool. Google it, Everest home 200 is the latest program as far far as I know.
Cheers, qldit.

 

[dustyjay]

It's an Intel based MB, do you have the 12V connector connected to the motherboard? It seems like you are not the only person having trouble with this motherboard. They reccomend flashing the BIOS version to F9 and setting your BIOS up a certain way. Here is a thread on another forum.
http://forums.anandtech.com/message...yword=&STARTPAGE=27&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

You may even want to post in that thread and ask about your situation, seems very similar.

sorry but I am having difficulty here understanding ho a K8N Mobo is an intel based Mobo.