Computer Freezes/restarts and Memtest freezes

[sirkamran32]

Hey, My computer ALWAYS freezes when i do memory intensive stuff. (i.e. games and installing windows) This is a bad thing...so the other day i tried the memtest86, and in THE MIDDLE (abt 20%) of the test my COMPUTER RESTARTED without warning!!! I think this means that i fail the memtest, and now i do not know what to do. Do i need new RAM? is this faulty ram, or is there anything else i can do to avoid buying new ram? I'm pretty sure that my computer is ventilated and cool(even the cpu).
Here are the specs of my computer:
Windows XP Home (SP2)
Intel Pentium 4 HT (3.06ghz, 2mb level 2 cache)
1 GB RAM (pc 4200, brand: pqi (i think))
ABIT AL8 mother board
NVIDIA geforce 7600 gt
linksys wireless adapter
DVD read-write
150 gb hdd

ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED, I WANT MY COMPUTER TO STOP FREEZING!!!!

[vicec64]

Right click on my/comp/properties/advanced/startup&recovery/settings. Uncheck "automatically restart". Also go into your 7600GT properties/troubleshoot tab and uncheck "enable write combining". If you still have freezing issues try pulling one of your stick of memory and see if you can narrow it down to a bad stick.

[sirkamran32]

THanks for the advice. The "auto restart" box was ALREADy unchecked. HOwever i DID uncheck the "enable write combining". I only have 1 stick of 1GB ram, so i cant narrow it down, i pretty much know its that stick if it is the ram which is the problem. I still get freezing even after i unchecked that box. thanks though, any other suggestions?

[sirkamran32]

Hi I got new RAM but nothing has changed, it still freezes up on me!!
what is the problem??? Memtest fails on both of the pieces of ram i have!! It just freezes!!! ARGH.

I NEED SOME HELP!! THANKS!!!

[Gary335]

Is the RAM compatible with your motherboard? If it isn't it won't work.

[sirkamran32]

It think so. It fits in to my mother board, and i'm pretty sure that it takes corsair 1gb 667mhz ddr2. my old memory is pqi pc4200 1 gb

[Gary335]

All 184 pin RAM will fit-you have to make sure that the motherboard is compatible with the RAM you put in. Do you know what kind of motherboard you have?

[sirkamran32]

i dont know what is wrong. why would my memtest fail on NEW ram?? I mean it just freezes after a minute or so...
HELP ME, lol. i just want my comp working....thanks

[sirkamran32]

i have a motherboard of ABIT AL8

[sirkamran32]

i mean the new ram and my old one worked for everyday things. just for intense things like games and installing windows and memtest, does the comp freeze...

[Gary335]

Maybe it isn't your RAM then. If your computer only locks up when you do things like play games then it could be that your CPU is overheating. Not only are those things you do memory intensive, they are also CPU intensive, which makes the CPU heat up. The next time yourcomputer crashes, go into BIOS and see what your CPU temperature is.

[sirkamran32]

hmm makes sense. I didnt know freezing was caused by cpu overheating...so if that is the problem...i pretty much need a new cpu right??

[Gary335]

Yes if the CPU overheats, it will freeze. and, no, it doesn't need to be replaced. You just need to replace the CPU fan.

[sirkamran32]

THank you very very much. I think this actually might be the problem...because only after 10-15 mins of playing games or part of the way through windows installation or at random times throughout the memtest does the computer freeze. The time between freezes varies and is not always at the same time. This could be because my computer is hot. thanks again. i dunno why my cpu fan is messed up, it spins properly and is properley secured... and btw, when my comp freezes i cant go check the temperature...so how do i do that?

[Gary335]

Your welcome, and good luck!

When the system freezes, restart it. On the first screen that comes up after restarting, it will tell you to press a particular key to enter setup. Press that key, and once in setup, there should be a listing for PC Health. Go in there, and it will tell you the temperature of the CPU, as well as how fast the fan is spinning.

[sirkamran32]

ok, will do!! i will get back to you with my temperature when it freezes. If its abnormally high then we know its my cpu. otherwise it must be my motherboard i think. anyways thanks, talk to you later.

[sirkamran32]

Hey again! lol, sorry to bother you YET again. however, my temperature was not abnormally high... it was way within the limits. However i turned on the "beeping feature" for my voltage stuff, and now my computer constantly beeps. why would my voltages be out of whack???

[sirkamran32]

hey so, when i enable "beep" on DDR voltage, my computer beeps non stop. what does that mean??