PC Boot/Runtime Problems

[SebCachia]

Hey. Over the past week my pc has began to deteriorate. It is just over 1 year old...

It started when the pc began to freeze at the login prompt. This happened most often after the pc was booted up after a long time shut down (like in the morning).

Eventualy this freezing process also began to occur at boot time, either before the bios boots (vga no signal and power button doesnt work) or before Windows boots.

Finally, this freezing also began to occur while using the system. The whole screen just freezes and i generaly have to resort to turning off the system from the psu. By the time of writing this i am unable to uses the system for anything longer than a few minutes before reboot...

All this occurs when the system should be under no load, as i currently only use the system for web-surfing, word processing and mp3s. Below are some of the system specs incase they are of use...

CPU: Prescott 3Ghz P4
Ram: 1Gig DDR400
Mobo: Soltek 915P-G
HD: 2x 120Gig SATA
PSU: 400Watt
OS: XP Pro

[goldeagle2005]

The Prescott based processors are notorious for overheating. The symptoms you describe are also consistent with over heating. Make sure that all fans in your system are turning rapidly. Also, make sure no vents are obstructed and that there's no dust on the CPU heatsink. Check your BIOS and see what your current CPU temperature is, and report back. We'll go from there.

[SebCachia]

Well the bios as well as Speedfan indicate CPU temps ranging between 29-35 degrees celcius.

UPDATE: It has also frozen in bios, with no apparent prior rise in temp...

[goldeagle2005]

Well, if heating's not the problem, try getting another set of RAM sticks. Also, try clearing the CMOS by removing the battery and/or shorting the CMOS clear jumpers.

[SebCachia]

Is the PSU a possible factor?

[goldeagle2005]

it can be. lets go one step a time.

[SebCachia]

Ive just tried removing the battery but it seems to have been no help...

[goldeagle2005]

Allright, first off, striop the machine down to the basics: CPU, MoBO, graphics card (only if you dont have one onboard) and a single RAM stick. Power it up and see. Does it still hang?

If it does, I'd try to get replacement RAM sticks. Before that, try cleaning the sticks and the slot. Sometimes, bad connections can cause problems. Also, check to see that the RAM is firmly seated.

Finally, as you suggested, the PSU could be faulty. See if you can get another known, working unit and go from there.

[Cerebral Assasi]

what are the humidity conditions liek in ur area ? there might be IRQ interrupt conflicts or something.... did u install a new video card or sometingto that effect ? my guess wuld be RAm but still one step at a time..... and no offense but i dont think u made a good choice by going for a soltek mobo...

[SebCachia]

on a bare system, i was able to run the bios without problems. However as soon as i attached my boot hard disk to see if it was also stable, the system froze, it was however a little more stable than previous attempts.

I tried switching my ram, with no noticible difference...

Humidity shouldnt be a problem where the pc is situated.

None taken about the mobo.

[goldeagle2005]

Okay. Try a different hard drive and see if the problem recurs. If not, reconnect all components except the suspect hard disk and try running the computer.

Also, try the suspect hard drive on another computer to see if the problem recurs.

[SebCachia]

Hey guys. I believe that ive fixed it. I tried flashing the BIOS and it seems to be working, Ill leave it running to make sure its stable but so far so good!

Curious how it got corrupted as its been seeing only realy light use the past few weeks.

Thanks all for the input, especialy goldeagle2005. Cu all around...

[SebCachia]

Seems i spoke to soon. I powered down to re-install my 2nd ram and it froze before even starting as i had often done before...
I removed the battery and tried running like that and its running smooth. It seems to be a BIOS related problem therefore..

Any ideas?

[goldeagle2005]

Well, if it had been a problem like a corrupt BIOS, flashing it would have solved it. However, let's try the hard disk thingie again. Can you check if the computer runs fine without the hard disk?

[SebCachia]

Im afraid that it still caused problems with both hd removed :(

If i boot without the battery it runs fine. As soon as i try booting with the battery connected problems start....

[goldeagle2005]

I suspect your motherboard is defective. If it's still under warranty, try to get an RMA on it. If not, consider getting a new one.

[SebCachia]

Realy? Any idea what could be causing something like that? Its been just over a year and ive had 2 mobos...

[goldeagle2005]

Although before you do, test another processor on your board and test your processor on another board. That way, you can isolate which component is defective.

[SebCachia]

Is some kind of Virus a possibility? Ive just found out that a friend is having the same problems...

Is this just a coincidence or perhaps is the similarity due to some viral infection?