Is there a free program to test your PC and all the hardware?

[TommyHolly]

Hi Guys,
I used to go to www.pchealth.com and they had a great website that would take about 10 minutes and test your PC for trouble. They are no longer around.

I have my P4 3.06, 512Mb RDRam, ATI 9700 Pro PC. For some reason it has video lock up problems once in a while. When I am playing a song, the Windows Media Player funky graphics will lock up for a few seconds sometimes. When I play games, it locks up for a few seconds. When I try to go into full screen mode in most games, it shows up full screen and then boots it back to the desktop sometimes. Even the screensaver fish in Windows XP Plus act choppy like you slowed down the frame rate?? Do you think it is because of the fact that I am using that rare RDRam which is no longer used I heard?

By the way, I have also tried the latest drivers, (As far as I know, I just went to the ATI website and it said I have the most current version) And I go to windows updates a few times a week to get the most up to date patches. There is no major programs (Besides Folding) that run in the background and I went to MSCONFIG on the run menu to make sure nothing in the backgro8und is running at all. I shut off folding@home and I still have the problem by the way.

Anyway, I have a Laptop that is at least 3 times less powerfull than my main PC and it does not have that problem at all. I think there is a problem with either my Video Card, or my Ram? I want to test them out but I can't find a website that ofers a free test or free program... Everyone want to charge $20 or so dollars.

Is there anywhere I could go to test this stuff out for free?

[stopdrpnro]

pc makers are notorious for building computers that have too small a power supply and inaddquate cooling. either of those or both of those could be causing ur problems esp with " a ton of other accessories". try running the games with the side case off w/ cool air blowin , that would help u elimante heat as a problem

[pik4chu]

generally ive found cooling to be the problem before lack of power.

[JigPu]

I doubt it's RDRAM since my best friend has one box with that stuff, and it's just fine.

Since you say your video is stuttering, I would run DXDiag (just go to "run" and type that in) and check to make sure it says that everything is kosher first. Go into each tab and make sure it says everything is fine, and run all the tests it has.

JigPu

[lennytiger]

U can try free programs like AmiDiag, they test all system hardware although i think this proggy is mainly for hardware only, it doesn't test the interfacing with the software drivers etc...

do a search on google for it.

[Matthias99]

memtest86 (www.memtest86.com :) ) will diagnose most memory issues. Try a video benchmark like 3DMark01 and see if your score is appropriate for your hardware (and if it runs properly!)

[Tebore]

Did you check for adware? Try scanning with Spybot S&D and Adaware.

[fhanderson]

Probably that Dell 250W powersupply. You can pay a fortune for a pc power&cooling or mod the back of your case to accept a standard ATX powersupply. Usually the On/Off button needs an opening cut.

[TommyHolly]

OK I went and ran the DXDiag and everything looked fine.

I also tried to run the Memtest86 thing and even made the CDs for boot up but I never got the program to run. Also it seems that its mostly for Linux?

I checked my start up for any kind of Spywear and I am free of all that.

My Dell powersupply would be the problem? Wouldn't they know about something like that for warranty issues of the power dupply was a prob?

Is there any other tests that are free out there that tests the interface between the hardware and the PC?

Edit: By the way, When I got this PC it scored 17,400 out of the box on the Mad Onion 3DMark2000SE and when I ran it again, (With my Htper Threading turned on too because it wasnt before) I just got a score of 15,100!!! ALOT lower score and I noticed it would hang up during some of the screens??

Should I ask for a new video card?

[fhanderson]

The Dell powersupply is borderline. Run your computer under load and use a multimeter to check the voltage at one of the molex connectors. If your voltages are good, you can run the Dell diagnostics to check all your hardware. They should be on one of the Dell CDS or you can download a floppy drive version from Dell Downloads.

[The Mad Onion]

try sisoft sandra

[OSUmaxx]

Originally posted by TommyHolly
OK I went and ran the DXDiag and everything looked fine.

I also tried to run the Memtest86 thing and even made the CDs for boot up but I never got the program to run. Also it seems that its mostly for Linux?

Make sure to enter the BIOS and set it to boot from the CD before your hard drive. You need to burn the memtest iso to CD with a program (like Nero) that will burn an ISO. You can't just put the file directly onto the CD.

It isn't in any way linux related, it just starts up a program and tests your memory.

[TommyHolly]

OSUmaxx, I actually tried that...still didnt work. (I must have downloaded the wrong file or something?)

Anyway, I called Dell (again) and as usual at this time of night some Indian guy actually in India aswered the phone. We had me insert the Re-Installing Windows XP disk and go to some special menu screen I have never seen before. I chose option 4 and it went into some sort of DOS screen much like a command prompt.

He told me that I was going to have Windows check itself for missing files and automatically have them get replaced if they are missing or not working. (I remember typing in C /chkdsk or something like that?) It took about 30 minutes and the PC kept jumping from 50% completed to 88% completed and back to 40% all over the place. (He said that was normal)

You know what? That fixed it!!!! :) :) :) :)

That was what was wrong with my PC! It also fixed a TON of other problems I have been having too. Other things it fixed were:
-Slow start up (The PC was useless for the first 1 or 2 minutes even after the desktop screen was showing)
-laggy games or games that went into a loop for a few seconds
-Screen Savers stopping or booting back to desktop or being laggy
-Things that used to boot me back to desktop when going from Full Screen mode are now working 100% of the time as far as I can tell
-General overall speed of the PC is slightly faster