Hanging PC

Finally got this machine working and now it hangs randomly

DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2000 MHz (10 x 200) 3800+
Abit AN8
2GB Crucial PC3200 3-3-3-8 2T
Seasonic 600W
250GB WD drive
eVGA Geforce 6800GS
antec p180 case

Had a problem before with the PC turning off when installing drivers
or booting windows.

Solved it by setting memory timing to 2T.

Now it hangs randomly. Sometimes while playing a game
or surfing the web so its not an intensity thing.

Did get a BSOD once, MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION
Disable BIOS memory options such as shodowing or caching

temps are good for cpu, system and graphics
26C CPU at idle, ran prime95 for a few hours,only got to 40
system 32C at idle
GPU 44C idle, about 48 under load

the one thing i did notice is the HD temp is at 52.
I moved it around the case and put a 80mm fan blowing
directly across it. no change...52C while typing this
and nothing running. (these temps are from EVEREST and speedfan).

installed latest nforce drivers. DID NOT install nvidia IDE drivers or nvidia firewall crap. so those can't be causing it. heard the nvidia IDE causes hangs.

I am NOT using cool and quiet either (heard this causes hangs).

Ran memtest for 23 hours, no errors

ran with 1 stick of memory, then the other. both froze, so they're either both bad or something else is causing the freezes.

tried with 1 stick of ram (tried both individually), froze both times.

speedfan temp is 49C at idle. so temps are the same. 5V = 5.12 12 = 12.11. used online analysis and it said it was very good in all things.

The average temperature for this hard disk is 46C (MIN=27C MAX=64C) and yours is 50C.

other voltages: HTV - 1.21, VCORE - 1.33, DDRVDD - 2.67 (raised this from 2.6 in BIOS), 3.3 - 3.32, nforceSB 1.51, nforce4 1.59, DDRVTT - 1.34, COU VDDA - 2.56

I bought everything a few weeks ago, so what should i be returning to newegg? memory, hard drive, MB?

newegg reviews of this HD have a lot of neg. reviews about temps and DOA's. Also, the MB has a lot of complaints. wish i read all the reviews before buying

Please help if you can

i have very limited knowledge for you.. but here goes.
memtest both of your sticks.
update your HD's firmware.
keep in mind you are only 4 degrees off average
HD temp for your drive.. IF you cannot stand it,
either get a HD cooler or slap a huge metal heatstink onto its flat side
and position a good quiet fan near it.
barring that, watercool the sucker.
if youre just terribly unahppy with all of it, RMA the lot of it
because it sounds like you have everything new, so that may
make you happiest in the end.
also i personally distrust ANY software readings that i cannot verify
with a laser heatgun or using my own thermal diodes.
IF it all runs smooth and stable, screw what the temps say, and be happy
with it.

if you DO rma, rma the mem and mb
peace

i wouldnt care about the temps, but it is hanging. i really don't think the memory is an issue since i ran memtest already.

i think its the board or the HD. How do I upgrade the firmware? I searched WD's site for info, but found none.

also, can I RMA something if I'm not sure it is really broken?

Oh man I freaked first time I saw a HDD hit 40C :lol: Having one running hotter then the CPU would bug me too.

Anyway, something to consider is if you have installed any games. I ran into a similar problem last week. I thought it was the dual core drivers cuz not installing them fixed the problem... however then I learned about Starforce. This is known to cause all of those issues.

So check that out..

You can also go to WD and download there HDDtool and diagnose the harddrive.

no starforce.
ran utility, but it kept hanging while running.

no one else has any ideas? just ran wd diagnostic in DOS, but it found no errors. every time I run speed fan test though, the seek time gets worse. i'm going to rma the board and HD and maybe the memory, unless someone has a better idea

no one else has any ideas? just ran wd diagnostic in DOS, but it found no errors. every time I run speed fan test though, the seek time gets worse. i'm going to rma the board and HD and maybe the memory, unless someone has a better idea

ooops double post

try running two instances of Prime if you haven't already. Perhaps only one core is unstable for some unknown reason.

hmn... well.. the cheapest and easiest solution would be to RMA the HD only.. try that first, because it doesnt sound like anything else will solve your problems..

IF you want to try updating your firmware for that particular drive first
(MAYBE it will fix the issue, but probably not)
load up: speedfan, OR systool.. youre going to be looking for an ID string that
tells you what firmware your drive has, then google it for any updates..
granted, its a longshot but it might fix it, can't say im hopeful though.
and lastly, you might try just clicking "search" on the drives website
(its parent vendor) and typing in it "firmware + (your drive)"

good luck, i know these type's of problems can be very frustrating

yeah, I rma'd the drive, but i can only get a replacement which will probably have the same problem.

also rma'd the board. never really liked abit, was always an MSI fan. I hear they have their share of problems, but I've had luck with them.

i think it's the nforce chipset that is causing all the problems. if you look at newegg, you can't find an X2 board that doesn't have serious set up or stability issues

hmn.. thats odd ive always had great luck with abit, but on the intel side.
for amd and nforce, i had a nice shuttle once, and abits supposed to be good there too.
oh well, live and (hopefully) learn from this.
i think those baords benefit from work on the northbridg heatsink and some xtra voltage, but i cant remember
good luck