Any of you people are comp whizes?

Well, there I was writing you a response and my comp shut off..and then loaded up again...

So here is what i was gunna say:

I knew that one of you would say something like that Jar, but I am asking if anyone is willing to help or knows something about computers at all... if you have some time ill provide more info...tomorra cuz im tired today... itll help if u tell me what specs do u need...

 

• What are your system specs (OS, Vid card, RAM, sound, proc, HDD, CD, DVD, etc)
• List the last 5 times it has crahsed, including: what application you were in; what you were doing; what the last action you took (eg. "pressed submit") before the crash.
• What alterations have you made to your system (new/removed hardware/software) since the last time you remember your system working correctly? If you can't remember when it stopped working, just list the last few things you have put on your system.
• In particular, have you updated any drivers recently?

If you provide all of the above information clearly, you stand the best chance of getting some meaningful advice.

 

I want driver dates! I want card manufacturers! I want power supply information! I want state laws! I WANT YOUR CONSTITUTION!

Um, yeah...what the Fatman said sounds good. More details and information you provide, the easier it is to provide a fix.

 

Well I got a problem with crashing/freezing/reseting... mostly does it in 3D games... sometimes randomly... I'm not gonna write anythin else unless someone here might have a few advices... sorry, tired because I already posted this on other forums...

 

That's like going up to someone and saying "I have a problem, can you help me fix it?" and then refusing to provide them with the details of how you've actually managed to block the toilet with used condoms, and how the girl across the street doesn't appreciate your cooking because you don't use clean pots and pans.

You also want to know why food goes off, and what star signs really mean. Of course, you don't tell them this - they should know this already, because you said "I have a problem, can you help me fix it?"

 

OK, lets count then. :smile:

I'm running Win2k Prof. I have PIII 550Mhz not overclocked 440BX chipset. Video card: PNY Verto GeForce3 Ti 200. Sound: Monster Sound MX400. 40 Gig HD from IBM I think, it's pretty fast. CD: Some 48x Atapi thing. Motherboard: IWILL BD 100 PLUS. RAM 448mg, I think they're all DIMM. I have 3 chips. I got an Ehternet PCI II network card or something... connected to a hub and hub is connected to DSL.

Don't remember when it crashed, but it does that alot, or freeze. Lately I've been running some tests during which it freezed more, especially when it came to graphics... Or maybe that's cuz I tested graphics more than anything else. I'm gonna run a memory test in a few minutes. It crahsed/freezes in just about any program. Though ones that take up more graphics and resources are more likely to be the victims. Also IE crashes more than it should for some reason.

The changes are... when we moved we got rid of our server and LAN, but we'll be getting a new LAN soon. I got a GeForce 3 instead of my RIVA TNT 2 ULTRA, which froze too but that was a cooling problem easily fixed by an extra vent. I bought 256 more DIMM RAM. And I got a new HD, formatted it in the NTFS and installed win2k prof instead of 98 which I had before.

I got latest drivers for my video card that I could find the date is... 2001 december I think... before that I had september's from the CD. Card is pretty new itself. Got new drivers for my cpu, but when I install them it says that mine are already good enough and an update is not needed. Got new bios for my motherboard but didn't install them yet. It says that I need to go to DOS to install the BIOS, but I hear there is no DOS in win2k. at least on the ntfs. I don't have drivers for my sound card, it's old and no new drivers came out in a while according to a few articles I read and searches I've made. It also doesn't seem to be supported by win2k/ntfs. When I try to install the drivers from the CD I got when I bought it it says the hardware is not installed... so it doesn't see it basically. I got a new mouse but that was before it started going bad... I didn't install drivers for the mouse too... but i did bfore I reinstaled windows a coupla days ago and they didn't help.

There, anything else?

Here is my comp:
uke:
:minigun:

 

Go download adaware. Run it, then go about your stuff, report back if you crash again.

 

I don't see, at all, how that is gonna help me. I had a bunch of those system cleaners/tweakers/tune-up things. None of them fixed it. I also am SURE that it's not the junk that I got in my computer because as I think I said before - I REINSTALLED windows and FORMATTED my hard drive just a few days ago. Any other advices?

 

Well, there I was scrolling through the general forum and it froze... I had another Ie window open at the time and it was on some other forum.

 

To test your memory get Doctor Memory

http://www.simmtester.com/PAGE/products/doc/docinfo.asp

I got a bad stick of RAM when I built this computer . It went from unstable to unusable over the period of a few months. I was getting random crashes, BSOD, illegal ops and all kinds of other wierdness like the computer just restarting on its own. I wasn't able to diagnose it til part of the stick finally burned out and it kicked out a memory error message when it couldn't boot.

If it is a memory problem it sounds like its still intermittent so it'll be very hard to spot. You should download the bootdisk version of Doctor Memory and let it run overnight at least.

Oh yeah, if you haven't already pop your case and make sure the memory is in secure and clean. I believe it may be possible for dust/lint to short it.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Otto Krupp on 2002-02-18 22:11 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Otto Krupp on 2002-02-18 22:16 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Otto Krupp on 2002-02-18 22:33 ]</font>

 

Thanx, I already got that advice from another forum, and got another mem tester, ran it and then accidently hit ESC on 90%...instead of hitting C which was the real shortcut to Menu... however I took a look at error log and 30 was in test 5... does that mean anything? I removed 2 of my sticks and got stick left - 128... I forgot if its dimm or simm. Doesn't matter right now. Gonna run a few apps that useda crash before... Maybe that new RAM I bought is bad...

 

To be honest, Ioo, I was thinking it sounded most likely to be bad RAM, so I dunno how much more help I could give you.

Since the Geforce is new, and the RIVA crashing problems were heat dissipation, that would be my next thing to check out if your memory turns out to be okay.

If your memory pans out okay, check out the NVidia site and your motherboard OEM site, to see if the combo has known issues. Also, make sure your driver versions are MS certified - this may mean not using the latest ones. Drivers don't seem likely to me, given your symptoms, but it's always worth a check.

The only other thing would be heat dissipation. Since you put your extra vent in before the Geforce3, it is possible you once again have a overheating problem. If the memory and vid card turn out to be okay, get a big secondary fan and put it on a thermostat, if you can afford to do that.

 

Yay I'm happy :smile:

It was a bad RAM, after a mem test and few suggestions from others, too. I took out 2 RAM sticks and have 128MB left, but it works... I tried taking one stick out before but I don't think that helped... Anyway whichever one of the 2 out is broken it's good news...if it's the new one I can return it, if it's the old one - it's only 64MB...but it better be that new one cuz I wanna buy another RAM. :smile: 192MB isn't gonna cut it. :smile: :smile: :

Gonna do some more mem tests... Maybe I'll do one of those burn in test things... I need to find a good one though, because alot of those are beta versions or just messed up...any suggestions there?

 

Well, you should be able to tell with 100% accuracy, by putting ONE of the sticks back in and using your comp for a while, then taking it back out and putting the other one in. Whichever one has the bad RAM will cause your comp the same symptoms you had before while it is in.

If you still have trouble telling, here's a test: when your comp next freezes, check which RAM is sitting on your desk instead of inside your comp. It's probably NOT that one causing the problem :razz:

 

Maybe it's because you also bought a shitty GF3 :smile:.

 

Thanx Sheriff, never would have guessed... And Jar, no I don't think so... everyone says GF3 Ti 200 is one of the best cards out there... and I don't think my particular one is messed up.

 

Graphics problems

The most over looked display setting is the screen refresh rate and it can wreak havoc in 3D apps. Try setting it to adapter default or specify a set freq that you know your monitor can support. Without knowing more about your problem, this is about the best I can reccommend.