Re: Time to fix my PC

On Sat, 26 Aug 2006 19:19:47 +0000, Jim Anderson wrote this:


I've had a PC for about 3 years that has never been stable. Here is the
description:

CPU: (754-pin) AMD ATHLON64 2800+ Processor [+0] MOTHERBOARD:
(754-pin Socket) GigaByte GA-K8NS Pro
nForce3 250 Chipset AGP8X w/LAN,USB2,IEEE,&Audio
VIDEO: nVidia GeForce FX 5700 256MB 8x AGP w/ TVO, & DVI MEMORY: 1024
MB PC3200 400MHz DDR MEMORY 2ND_USB: STANDARD 2 USB PORT CONNECTORS
CAS: ALUMINUM Z-ALIEN CASE W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature Display
450WATT CD: 56X CD-ROM
CDRW: SONY DWD-22A DUAL FORMAT 16X DVDR/RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 6in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer FAN: AMD ATHLON64
CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK + 3 EXTRA CASE FANS FLOPPY: 1.44 MB
FLOPPY DRIVE
HDD: IDE 40 Gigabyte
HDD2: IDE 40 Gigabyte
KEYBOARD: PS2 MULTIMEDIA INTERNET CONTROL KEYBOARD MOUSE: PS2
INTERNET MOUSE W/ WHEEL
NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
OS: NONE - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY - Linux installed by user SOUND:
Creative Labs SB LIVE 24.bit 7.1 PCI card: USB 1 and IEEE1394
PCI card: ethernet

It crashed during the installation of multiple versions of Linux. I ran a
CDROM version of Knoppix for about 2 years and it ran ok, but usually hung
up every week or so. In the spring, I managed to get a version of Kubuntu
(Debian) to install. I ran it for several months and the PC would hang up
every day or two. When I tried to upgrade the release, the installation
hung up about 30 times and I finally gave up.


I'd like to either fix the PC or scrap this one and move on.

I tried booting the PC to see if there are any hardware tests. I found a
set of memory tests. I ran them for 72 hours and got no errors, so it
looks like memory is probably ok.

I checked my copy of 'Upgrading and Repairing PCs' by Scott Mueller and
did find any pertinent information for debugging this type of problem. It
seems to me the general strategy would be:

1) test as much hardware with software as possible 2) swap out parts
starting with the cheapest parts to
the most expensive
3) give up :(

I have several questions.

First, is there any place I can get cheap or free software to test
hardware on the PC?


Lots of places, try downloading the ultimateCD lots of utils on that


Second, I'm planning to swap out parts in the following order to see if it
helps out:
- hard disk
- CDROM drive
- video board
- mother board
I'll pull out the audio and DVD drives while testing to simplify the
system. Is this a sane order for testing?

After you run hd disk utilities to verify the HDs are ok.
Can't do much with the video card or motherboard unless you can swap them
out.

But if you can boot a CD chances are it not the motherboard unless a
capacitator is going bad. Visual inspection of the motherboard.
Bios battery could be failing the system time would be incorrect.
An overheating the cpu or gpu or psu failures.

Is your PC connected to electricity through a UPS or surge protector?


Third, what are the chances that the problem is an interface problem
between systems or a power supply problem and not one of the components?
My belief is that by swapping out components, I will at least isolate the
problem to one subsystem. If someone with a lot of hardware knowledge can
comment on my assumption, I would appreciate the input. I would hate to
buy a new mother board only to find out there is a timing problem between
the subsystems.


Only if a component isn't properly seated. Normally the PC wouldn't boot.
You have fairly recent components, a lot of fairly recent components. So
many I can't think of any you don't have.

If you ran Knoppix for 2 yrs, I'd think the system was ok, and if you
had problems installing Linux that could be software related.

I assume you're not OC'ing the system so set all bios settings to default,
safest, most compatible or optimal default settings. Then try to install
a Linux system.

Thanks in advance for any advise or comments.

Jim Anderson

To be honest, I'm not sure if the previous Linux installs failed for
software or hardware, whether you're running Knoppix LiveCD with
2 unformatted HDs, or the type of errors you see when the system fails.

Like if you're running Knoppix LiveCD you won't have /var/log/messages to
look for errors.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Windows XP SP2 failed to load after hardware upgrade
    ... and my second installation of SP2 also went ... Will work on the Windows Server 2003 on this weekend:( ... > But many of them all complained one thing that MS did not give more> detailed instructions about the possible causes and instructions of> Windows regarding motherboard changes. ... >> Its strange how some people has problems when they change>> hardware on their XP systems. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: MOTHERBOARD CHANGE, XP RUNNING BUT ALL INSTALLS CORRUPT? EVEN FRESH XP INSTALL..
    ... within that profile deleted all hardware settings including ... Normally, and assuming a retail license (many factory-installed OEM installations are BIOS-locked to a specific chipset and therefore are *not* transferable to a new motherboard - check yours before starting), unless the new motherboard is virtually identical to the one on which the WinXP installation was originally performed, you'll need to perform a repair installation, at the very least: ... More likely, though, the "new" motherboard isn't compatibile with the old RAM. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Upgrading to a new computer
    ... therefore are *not* transferable to a new motherboard - check yours ... on which the WinXP installation was originally performed, ... You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the OS. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: Upgrading a P3 to a P4 - but the HD wont start up... Is this an SP2 Problem???
    ... > removed all components but the HD and graphics card ... and licenses are not transferable to a new motherboard - check yours ... one on which the WinXP installation was originally performed, ... You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Updating a P3 to a P4 computer - is this an XP2 problem?????
    ... > removed all components but the HD and graphics card ... and licenses are not transferable to a new motherboard - check yours ... one on which the WinXP installation was originally performed, ... You've pulled the proverbial hardware rug out from under the ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)
Loading