freeze! put your hands in the air!

[crookid]

i think this is the right area to discuss my problem. i have a pretty reliable machine except when i boot up my games. what i experience is a total freeze. no audio, no mouse movement. nothing.

AMD athlon xp (2075mhz)2800+
2.07GHz
BIOSTAR M7VIZ mobo KM400
768mb RAM
EVGA 7800 GS video card

i had problems with the computer freezing before purchasing a video card, installing additional RAM and adding a beefier PSU (350w). i even reformatted my hard drive. still....tried running CIV4 and it would freeze. it used to freeze a lot in windows media player or when on line loading large pages. i added RAM after reformatting and upgrading the PSU plus an evga 7800gs gpu. it ran faster. but i still would freeze. it freezes now when i play BF2142. its a total random freeze.

can you suggest a starting point for troubleshooting?
i have the case opened for circulation. i don't know why, but i think its an overheating issue.

plus, is there a way to change the thermal shut off settings? or would this have nothing to do with the problem.

thanks.

what i have done:
dusted
swapped RAM to see if problem persists....it did.
reformatted computer and reinstalled windows xp
selected optimized bios setup in bios
running norton antivirus
installed newer PSU 350w

flash bios? any ideas?

thanks again.

[lasher511]

Could just be that your grapgics card still isnt getting enough juice for it to work properly i would suggest an even bigger psu at least 450w as from what i rember the 7800 is a bit of a power hog.

[Noni]

If still you are not getting out from yur problem what you need to do is to consult famous data recovery professionals... one i m recommending renowned all over the world
http://www.datarecoveryuk.co.uk

[crookid]

power supply? prior to running the new graphics card, i was still encountering freezes. i thought about the PSU as being the culprit, but thought i had enough juice. i was running a radeon x800gto with the PSU and it still froze. then i upgraded to the 7800gs and the same freeze action is happening.

[TT4Titans]

Sounds like a problem i had with a compaq a couple of years back.it would randomly freeze either running something or sitting didn't matter.i put a new PSU new CPU a heatsink and fan rated higher than the cpu a couple of case fans.ended up being the motherboard.i would say from all you have done either you have a motherboard or cpu problem.if you purchase a cpu or motherboard to try it would be just as cost effective to buy a bundle motherboard with cpu.

[crookid]

okay so i flashed my bios. now i'll have to wait and see if it happens again.

point taken on purchasing a mobo/cpu bundle. i looked into mobos for a SOCKET A computer. i still have to do some searching. any suggestions or recommendations?

[dcc]

Another possibility would be bad caps. This article will show you what to look for.

[TT4Titans]

If you do go with a mobo and cpu combo get a newer board.the newer amd's if you like them doesn't run as hot as a Pentium 4.

[digitalocksmith]

Its your PSU.....350W is not enough to run any new card effectively!

With those graphics, you should be aiming at 500W plus ;)

[TT4Titans]

Check out this board.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1943172&Tab=2&NoMapp=0

[crookid]

correction: PSU is 430w.

right now, all i can afford is the EL CHEAPO Socket A (462) mobo.

i haven't had any freezes since flashing my BIOS. yea for me!

thanks for the suggestions. eventually i will upgrade to a faster processor and a PCI-e mobo but can't financially do it. hey, i'm a teacher and we make pigeon feed!

[TT4Titans]

Keep us informed.

[crookid]

okay, so its back to the same old same old. its freezing once i'm on the battlefied in BF2142.

is 430w enough? i keep asking myself that.

i checked for burst capisitors and the like, but found nothing. good read though.

my processor heatsink isnt boiling when i surf the net or run itunes, but i remember i used to freeze a while back when i was using windows media player and the internet but it hasnt done that since i reformatted the HD.

i'm clueless. i'm half tempted to throw this Piece of Shiat out the window.

thanks for replies.

[TT4Titans]

That 430 is big enough.

I think it a CPU or motherboard issue.it did it before you replace the graphics and before you replaced the psu.now it is still doing the same.

you could do this as well but i doubt it will help could be bad clusters or sectors on the hdd.

go to start - run - type sfc /scannow

[crookid]

seriously. these probs were here before trying to beef up the PSU and video card.

it took me a while to figure out the sfc/scannow command. it had to have a space between sfc /scannow.

it prompted me to insert my windows xp CD....sheesh. now i need to find this.

i surfed the net for ways around inserting the disc. i'll try them and let you know.

thanks titan....you're adivce is so helpful.

[TT4Titans]

What you will need to do is take your XP disc and copy the i386 folder to the your root drive.

then let the computer know where it is.

Here's how: (type

regedit in the Run box on the start menu)

By navigating

to:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup

You will see various entries here on the right hand side.

The one we want is called: SourcePath

It probably has an entry pointing to your CD-ROM drive,(usually D:) and

that is why it is asking for the XP CD. All we need to do is change it

to: C: Now, double click the SourcePatch setting and a new box will pop

up allowing you to make the change to the drive letter of your root

drive, probably C:

Now restart your computer and try sfc /scannow again!

[crookid]

what i have is a system recovery disc that has the I386 file. followed your directions. i copied it to c:\, hanged the path, rebooted and did the sfc/ scannow thing. it prompted me to insert the disc again.

i'm heading to a friends to grab his cd.

truly appreciative for your help.

j

[crookid]

okay, it made it through the process of sfc/scannow. but when it finished it just closed. i rebooted and noticed nothing. i would think that if there were problems, it would have said something right?

pretty soon, i'll be opening a small computer repair shop with all the info i'm learning. thanks.

[jbennet]

No, the utility is silent. It doesnt say anything.

[crookid]

still having freeze problems. a shotgun blast might work the best.

[TT4Titans]

LOL felt that way many of times.

I still think it's either your CPU is breaking down or your mother board is going bad.

Have you tried running the machine with bare minumum hardware.

[jbennet]

and try running it with all the windows open in case its overheating

[crookid]

windows are already open. lol. i've been looking at getting a mobo and processor bundle. possibly with an AGP slot for my newly purchased video card.

what specs do you all recommend for a mobo/processor that's affordable? one that can run a video game....lol...without freezing?