What IS wrong?

I have just RMA'd my motherboard and am in the process of RMA-ing my RAM and gfx card. The mobo's VGA had fried. My RAM has been having errors on memtest and the fan on the gfx card has stopped working.

All these were, i thought, causing random reboots on my computer. Not only during games but now increasingly when browsing the internet or even opening a file. The reason i say, i thought is because i am currently running my comp with replacemement compontents from a mate.

(I have one stick of RAM in (256 PC2100 - compatible with mobo) and a nVIDIA geforce3 gfx card.)

And my computer just restarted as b4 with the other components in!! Random reboot wen i was browsing the internet.

I am REALLY confused here....what IS the problem. I hear you all screaming, "what about the PSU" - but when i check the rails they are all fine! Could the HDD be causing this? I have the computer plugged in thro a surge protector so i dont think the electrics in my student dive of a house is to blame.

Sys temps are also within the correct operating ranges, so its not temperature related. Arrgh

Has anyone got any ideas? I really need some help here, its p*ssin' me off chronic!

My Rig:

Athlon XP2400+
MSI KT6V MOBO
256 RAM PC2100 (temp) Original 512 [2*256] PC2100
nVidia Geforce3 64mb (temp) Original Radeon 8500LE
WD 80GB HDD (WD800BB-00CAA1) 7,200rpm 2mb cache
Audigy S/c
2 optical drives
mobo diag. bracket
250W FSP PSU

erm, think thats it all.

Cheers guys - i know i've ranted a bit here

D/L


**EDIT - is the PSU too weedy perhaps? just a thought i had now.**

All these were, i thought, causing random reboots on my computer. Not only during games but now increasingly when browsing the internet or even opening a file. The reason i say, i thought is because i am currently running my comp with replacemement compontents from a mate.

Click to expand...

Is the replacement board you installed the same model as the one you RMA'd, and if not...did you do a clean install of Windows? If not, then that's more than likely your problem.

If you're running either XP or W2K, try running Event Viewer (in order to access the error logs, and check for any critical errors)...Start | Run | Type eventvwr.msc and click OK | Highlight "Application" and "System" independently in the LH pane | Right click any error message(s) (critical errors are in Red), and select "Properties" | Write down a couple of the latest critical error messages exactly as they appear (under the "Description" field), and post them in this thread.

Also, open the System Information tool by typing msinfo32 in the Run box | Expand "Components" | Highlight "Problem Devices", and look for any problems that might be listed there.

Yeah, sorry forgot to add that (doh!)...the MSI KT6V replaced the KT4V version (not a great mobo but the cheapest i cud buy in the time needed - long story). I did a full reinstall of windows after replacing because i originally thought it was a windows issue. I am running Windows XP SP1

D/L

ok, from eventviewer

Applications:

Faulting application iexplore.exe, version 6.0.2800.1106, faulting module iml32.dll, version 10.1.0.11, fault address 0x0006cba3.

Hanging application iexplore.exe, version 6.0.2800.1106, hang module hungapp, version 0.0.0.0, hang address 0x00000000.

Hanging application iexplore.exe, version 6.0.2800.1106, hang module hungapp, version 0.0.0.0, hang address 0x00000000.

Faulting application iexplore.exe, version 6.0.2800.1106, faulting module unknown, version 0.0.0.0, fault address 0x08096513.

Faulting application iexplore.exe, version 6.0.2800.1106, faulting module iml32.dll, version 10.1.0.11, fault address 0x0006d692.

From system

The master browser has received a server announcement from the computer NICK that believes that it is the master browser for the domain on transport NetBT_Tcpip_{E2969035-084F-4384-A41A. The master browser is stopping or an election is being forced.

The master browser has received a server announcement from the computer NICK that believes that it is the master browser for the domain on transport NetBT_Tcpip_{E2969035-084F-4384-A41A. The master browser is stopping or an election is being forced.

The master browser has received a server announcement from the computer NICK that believes that it is the master browser for the domain on transport NetBT_Tcpip_{E2969035-084F-4384-A41A. The master browser is stopping or an election is being forced.

right - NICK is my housemate, ie its his comp - dunno wot any of that means tho


RAID controller and 1394 net adapter show up in the componets bit


there is definately a link between IE and Nick - grrrr

**EDIT - i've also been having IP conflict messages every now and then - never seemed to coincide with any problems tho - i generally go into cmd and ip release/ renew/ ....is that shed any light? **

Start | Run | Type...msconfig, and click OK | In the System Configuration Utility, select the "Startup" tab | Check for the following startup items...RCMan, and SbDrvDet | If either is found, uncheck them, click OK and reboot. RCMan is the Remote Control Manager, and SbDrvDet is the Sound Blaster Driver Detector...both of which are installed when you perform a "Full" install of the Audigy 2 software.

If you're not using a remote, it's not necessary to have it checked in the Configuration Utility...in fact, you can choose to not install it during the software installation phase. Loading the Driver Detector on my system causes major havoc, especially when the Remote Control Manager is also being loaded. It took me quite a bit of troubleshooting to finally figure that one out.

AFA the Master Browser errors...try disabling the Computer Browser Service (Start | Run | Type services.msc, and click OK | Scroll down to "Computer Browser", right click and select "Properties" | In the "Startup type" field, select "Disabled" then Apply | If the Service is running, click the "Stop" button...either way, make sure to reboot after performing the Service change and unchecking the Audigy startup settings in the configuration utility.

Something to check, that might not be so obvious, but is still with the PSU. Is the fan on it working still? A friend of mine had his computer randomly restart, and we were not sure why. The rails on it were fine, but it turns out the fan just stopped working completely, so it was overheating.

redduc900 said:

Start | Run | Type...msconfig, and click OK | In the System Configuration Utility, select the "Startup" tab | Check for the following startup items...RCMan, and SbDrvDet | If either is found, uncheck them, click OK and reboot. RCMan is the Remote Control Manager, and SbDrvDet is the Sound Blaster Driver Detector...both of which are installed when you perform a "Full" install of the Audigy 2 software.

If you're not using a remote, it's not necessary to have it checked in the Configuration Utility...in fact, you can choose to not install it during the software installation phase. Loading the Driver Detector on my system causes major havoc, especially when the Remote Control Manager is also being loaded. It took me quite a bit of troubleshooting to finally figure that one out.

AFA the Master Browser errors...try disabling the Computer Browser Service (Start | Run | Type services.msc, and click OK | Scroll down to "Computer Browser", right click and select "Properties" | In the "Startup type" field, select "Disabled" then Apply | If the Service is running, click the "Stop" button...either way, make sure to reboot after performing the Service change and unchecking the Audigy startup settings in the configuration utility.

Click to expand...

Right. RCMan and SbDrvDet werent in the SysConfigUtility. I did disable the Computer browser and stop the service. ---> what do these do?

Also, the errors i posted, what did/do they tell you? Is my comp reacting badly to nicks presence?? hehe. (thanks btw)

Midnight Dream said:

Something to check, that might not be so obvious, but is still with the PSU. Is the fan on it working still? A friend of mine had his computer randomly restart, and we were not sure why. The rails on it were fine, but it turns out the fan just stopped working completely, so it was overheating..

Click to expand...

The fan is still spinning - kinda hot air coming out but not scorching. Thanks for the tip - mite give it a hoover to try and remove any dust/gunk.

I noticed you have an Audigy sound card listed in your sig...is the card installed in the system now? Was a full or partial install of the Audigy software performed? Is there anything in the MS ConfigUtility related to the Audigy listed?...check the paths under the "Command" column. Also, do you have the latest VIA 4in1 chipset drivers installed for your board?

redduc900 said:

I noticed you have an Audigy sound card listed in your sig...is the card installed in the system now? Was a full or partial install of the Audigy software performed??

Click to expand...

From memory it was only a partial install of the audigy components.

redduc900 said:

Is there anything in the MS ConfigUtility related to the Audigy listed?...check the paths under the "Command" column.

Click to expand...

Sorry, i cant find that column in the MS ConfigUtility (msconfig, right?)

redduc900 said:

do you have the latest VIA 4in1 chipset drivers installed for your board?

Click to expand...

Nope, i will get those off thier website.

Could you elxplain what the errors i posted mean?

Also, when i turn my computer of, and then back on...windows seems to think it has recovered from a serious error - it just happened. The error details taken from eventvwr are:

Error code 1000008e, parameter1 c0000005, parameter2 bf8076d2, parameter3 f4bdbdcc, parameter4 00000000.

Could you elxplain what the errors i posted mean?

Click to expand...

The iexplore.exe errors don't mean much to me other than the fact IE crashed trying to access a particular memory address, which could be caused by any number of things...in particular; not enough Vcore or Vddq, faulty RAM etc. (basically, the system isn't stable for one reason or another). AFA the Master Browser errors, I can't positively say one way or the other what the definitive cause is...but I believe the Computer Browser Service might possibly be the culprit, which is why I recommended disabling it.

dAvies.lOcker said:

I did disable the Computer browser and stop the service. ---> what do these do?

Click to expand...

Maintains an updated list of computers on the network and supplies this list to computers designated as browsers.

Click to expand...

Now afa the Error code 1000008e exception error, I can tell you for a fact that 99% of the time it's related to either faulty hardware and/or a driver issue. "Faulty hardware" meaning not necessarily "bad" hardware, but possibly a voltage issue (ie the PSU which you and Midnight Dream thought might be a problem), a BIOS setting, low Vddq, etc. It can also be caused by running an outdated BIOS...so check to make sure you're running the latest version. You might also want to try loading either "Load Failsafe Defaults" or "Load Optimized Defaults" in the BIOS (your particular BIOS may list something different, but the setting name should be similar)...usually located in one of the last two menus. Hit F10 and Save your BIOS cofiguration, exit and re-enter the BIOS...only make enough in the way of settings changes that will enable a clean boot into Windows, nothing more.

*Very Important*-->Like I noted above, make sure you're running the latest VIA Hyperion drivers (Version - 455vp1) for your chipset...which you can download from viaarena here:

http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=2

Also download the latest version of the Data Lifeguard Diagnostic utility from Western Digital...available here:

http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp?cxml=n&pid=999&swid=2 ...and check the health of your HDD. Download the latest version of Memtest86+ v1.51 from here...

http://www.memtest.org ...and check the status of your RAM, unless you know for a fact the RAM you borrowed from your friend, and have installed in your system is free from errors. Set everything to default clock...no OC on the chip or the VC. If you've flashed the VC with a modded BIOS, reflash it to the original version...everything should be at default while you're troubleshooting.

Firstly i like to say thanks for your help on this redduc and secondly can i ask what AFA stands for..."as for..."?

I'm not too sure what BIOS version it is that im running, do i check in BIOS?
I havnt selected, "LOad Failsafe defaults" because im not sure whether i need to, since the BIOS has remained practically unchanged. All the voltages are at the default setting as i havnt tried any overclocking. I havnt flashed, modded the BIOS either.

I have loaded the VIA drivers, but the problem still remains....my comp just rebooted practically seconds after i logged on. It happened when i tried to launch IE (to write a reply to ur post ). This time the error was:

Error code 0000004e, parameter1 00000099, parameter2 00014068, parameter3 00000001, parameter4 00000000.


If that means anything to you, or anyone!

I ran Memtest (latest version) on my mates memory before i posted, and i had no errors.

I am goin to install the lifegaurd tools now and try and run it, i'll post the results later.

Now afa the Error code 1000008e exception error, I can tell you for a fact that 99% of the time it's related to either faulty hardware and/or a driver issue

Click to expand...

lol - well lets see, on the hardware front, the only bits i havnt had RMA'd are the PSU, HDD, floppy and optical and the Audigy...hehe. If its going to be a hardware problem surely it has to be the HDD or PSU. I won't jump the gun though, i'll run the WD Diag. tool and then see what happens

Thanks again.

D/L

can i ask what AFA stands for..."as for..."?

Click to expand...

AFA--> As Far As

The Error code 0000004e again points to a hardware/driver issue, although afa hardware goes...this is more directed towards a memory related problem. It's hard to say for sure what the problem is, although I'm leaning more towards an underpowered system...resulting from the 250W PSU you have installed. I'd probably remove the Audigy, and disconnect the two optical drives...plus anything like lights that aren't necessary for the system to run. Take as much of a load off the PSU as possible, in order to rule that out as a cause...although the damage could already be done.

Do i need to use the DOS version of the WD Diag tools??

AFA the PSU goes, (just had to use it) these problems hadnt occured b4 xmas, and the comp had run steadily then. Maybe the PSU is on its way out.

...although the damage could already be done.

Click to expand...

-

I hope not! I have been looking into a new PSU whilst all this has been going on....i'll make a new one my priority.

I will take out the non essential bits and leave the bare minimum to try and rule the PSU out.

D.L

Do i need to use the DOS version of the WD Diag tools??

Click to expand...

Yes...A quote from the WD D/L's page:

EXTENDED TEST - This option checks your drive thoroughly and it can repair any correctable errors. (Please note: Although this option is safe and does not alter the data on your hard drive, some data loss may occur, depending on the errors found and the errors corrected. Western Digital recommends that you have a current backup of your data).

Click to expand...

This is the test I would recommend running, but like WD suggests...backup any important data you don't want to lose beforehand.

yeah - "quick test comes up ok" - i havnt really the means to back-up my HDD at the moment, any loss of data wud be a PITA. Will get the main stuff moved off later in the week using the same mates external HDD.....will have to get back to u then

Thanx

**EDIT - gona see how the sys runs now, with some of the hardware removed...then take it from there**

Right - im backing up this weekend and will run the extended test then.

Also, i have just remembered and tried again that whenever i try and unpack a big .rar file (Black&White - irrelevant i know) the computer will restart before it finishes.....generally after 20% complete.....would this be a sign of a dodgy HDD?????

D.L

It could very well be. It could also be a problem with the voltage being supplied to the HDD and/or the amperage draw of the HDD...in that the PSU can't maintain a constant voltage.

If i'm not mistaken, you're RAM is part of the unpacking process...so my absolute best guess....


RAM.

Can the BIOS be altered then to provide more voltage on that line then?

How probable could this be:

Seeing as i have now RMA'd my orignal mobo - and it came back as faulty and was usbsequently replaced. My gfx card is in the process of RMA - the fan is kaputt, and the RAM too is in the process of RMA - lots of memtest errors (the gfx card and RAM still waiting on manufacturers inspection for errors/faults) and maybe, my HDD is f*cked.......is this just coinsidence or does this sound fairly positively that the PSU has managed to damage my components in some fashion. I dont want to jump the gun, mainly because i dont know whether this is even a probable cause, but it seems to me unlikely that all these components cud just break within 2months of each other. I havnt oc'd any of the components or dropped the comp down the stairs, something is suspect.

What do you think? possible? or is there another factor i have missed out?

D.L