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 Jan 30 2007, 02:38 PM
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Member  Group: Members Posts: 26 Joined: 16-October 06 Member No.: 90,539  |
To get whoever may be able to help caught up, I built a computer some months ago. It had some weird motherboard problems, that appear to be solved one-by-one by adjusting motherboard screws. I ended up with random memory errors popping up every now and then. It would find up to 10,000 errors at a time, and they changed, constantly. After a while, I thought I had it worked out. Memory problems disappeared, and everything else was working fine. It would pop up every couple weeks, but not enough to be a problem. Now it's back, and this time, it's personal. For the past few days, it's been crashing upward of five times a day. Just like it was before, but not on quite a large scale. Memtest finds errors, and then disappear by the third pass. It makes no sense to me. I would think I had bad RAM, but I've never heard of the places that produce problems changing constantly. So, I'm currently assuming it to be the motherboard. I don't know for sure, though. Everything seems to point to it. From the original problems I had with the IDE channel at first, to the problem I'm having now. But I'd really like to be 100% sure before taking any action. I was gonna send the motherboard for repair, but that does me no good if it's the RAM or otherwise. The other odd one that popped up was the possibility of it being related to the power supply. I doubt this one, but it's still possible. I'm using the power supply that came with the case. I hear that can often be a problem on its own. I don't know anything about it, aside from it being 500w. So, I figure it'll either be the motherboard, RAM or power supply. My current situation is random BSoDs, followed by Memtest finding errors, which then disappear on the third or so pass, then reappear shortly after, but in a different place. That's where you guys come in. As odd as the problem is, I'm hoping someone may be able to help. I'm absolutely clueless. I've never seen something like this before. If it has happened to someone, and there's a way to fix it, that'd be great. But I'm thinking a return is my only hope at this point. Thanks for all the help. |
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Jan 30 2007, 05:19 PM
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 Forum Regular Group: Members Posts: 304 Joined: 29-January 07 Member No.: 109,004 |
I really think this points more to the power supply than anything. First of all, it was fine for awhile. If ram or mobo's go bad (as far as I know) they don't get better. Power supplies can fluctuate, and it will affect any or all of the parts in your computer.
Is there any way to grab an extra ps from a friend or something to test with? Also, what all do you have in this rig? 500 watts is fine usually, but if you have watercooling, sli video cards and the works it won't be. You may want to check out software to check what your rails are outputting, or if you really want to get your hands dirty (or electricuted =/ watch out) check out the link. http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/show...ad.php?t=137886 Hope this helps! --------------------  |
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Jan 30 2007, 06:59 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 26 Joined: 16-October 06 Member No.: 90,539 |
It wasn't exactly a case of it working well for a while. It just wasn't often enough to be a problem.
There's not a whole lot running in my PC. Just the basic stuff. Motherboard, RAM, CPU, SATA hard drive, GeForce 6600 video card, and my lit case fan. Nothing extra to eat up a lot of power. I'm doubting that it's the PSU, just because of the way it seems to change depending on how my motherboard is sitting. Adjusting the screws solved the problem originally. Since then, I've figured it to be the motherboard. I'm not about to try that method to check my rail power. A little bit too involved for me. I don't care to do anything too risky. :x Thanks, though. It does give me a few things to look into on PSU voltage. |
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Jan 30 2007, 07:06 PM
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Forum Regular Group: Members Posts: 304 Joined: 29-January 07 Member No.: 109,004 |
No problem, I had missed that part about the mobo screws
 You tried any other sort of tests? I'd try out some stuff out of SANDRA. . .But these are some weird problems =/ -------------------- |
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Jan 31 2007, 11:42 AM
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 Bleepin' Night Watchman Group: BC Advisor Posts: 1,762 Joined: 5-December 05 From: The City of Saint Francis, by the western sea Member No.: 43,307 |
Gremlins. You need bug spray them them nasties... strong bug spray.
Seriously, though. I agree with you, it sounds like the MB is wacked out on some sort of crack for computers (introducing Microsoft® Crack Professional® for Windows®, version 2.0). I'd contact the manufacturer for repair/replacement. This post has been edited by Amazing Andrew: Jan 31 2007, 11:44 AM --------------------  |
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Feb 3 2007, 08:20 AM
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 Visually handicapped, hence the avatar :0) Group: Moderator Posts: 14,526 Joined: 2-October 05 From: Southeastern CT, USA Member No.: 35,824 |
Try assembling the components outside of the case on a rubber mat. Be really careful to avoid static discharge. See how it runs there. The reason I suggest this is your statement about having to adjust the motherboard screws - this seems to indicate that the mobo may be shorting out on the mobo tray.
-------------------- - John
**If you need a more detailed explanation, please ask for it. I have the Knack. ** |
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Feb 4 2007, 03:40 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 26 Joined: 16-October 06 Member No.: 90,539 |
Thanks for the suggestion, usasma. I'll try that.
On another note, I may have found something contributing to the problem. When I built the PC, I never really took cooling into thought. Yes, I realize how stupid that is now. >_> Whatever the case, I decided to check on my temps with SpeedFan. Let me put it this way. The little fire icon next to my hard drive temp probably isn't a good thing. My hard drive was fairly idle, and holding at 50C. After reading on it, I saw that it's not good to go over 40C on average. That got my checking into other things. It doesn't appear that I have any temps in a particularly low range. My CPU (Core 2 Duo E6300, no overclock) idles at about 38C, goes up to 45C or so under 50% load. My GPU temp is...scary. GeForce 6600. Idle at 55C, up to 75C playing World of Warcraft. ...Yeah, that can't be good. :x At the moment, I only have my stock CPU fan, and the fan that came with my case. Probably best to get some more. I ordered 10 from Newegg yesterday. Can't beat the price buying them 10+ at a time, so I went ahead and did so. At least I know I have enough fans to keep my computer as cool as necessary. In the best case situation, this will solve the problem completely, but I'm not counting on it. |
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Feb 4 2007, 04:47 PM
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New Member Group: Members Posts: 3 Joined: 4-February 07 Member No.: 109,948 |
as for the temps.. other then your HDD they seem okay, GPU's often run fairly high temps when fully loaded, nothing to worry about there, if i were you i would take a very close look at the underside of your motherboard, all the installing and uninstalling of the screw pegs might have scratched the underside of your motherboard and could be causing a short on the board.
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Feb 5 2007, 08:05 AM
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Visually handicapped, hence the avatar :0) Group: Moderator Posts: 14,526 Joined: 2-October 05 From: Southeastern CT, USA Member No.: 35,824 |
A couple of things to consider with the 10 fans!
1) Balance the fans blowing in with the fans blowing out. 2) Heat rises, so put exhaust fans at the top and intake fans at the bottom. 3) Organize the inside of the case for free air flow, then get the intake fans to blow on the hot components (CPU, RAM, Vid Card, chipset, Hard Drive). This post has been edited by usasma: Feb 5 2007, 08:05 AM -------------------- - John
**If you need a more detailed explanation, please ask for it. I have the Knack. ** |
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