Computer freezes

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MrData

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I just put together a system with an AMD XP2000+ processor. After installing Win XP everything worked fine for a few days. But now the system keeps freezing. I log on and even if I don't start any programs this happens. The CPU activity goes up to around 100% for a while, then down, and up again. Sometimes it seems to work fine for a while, then suddenly it freezes again. It usually stays frozen for maybe 20-30 seconds at a time.

If I reboot and check the BIOS settings, it says that the CPU temperature is around 55 degrees C. Can it be that the processor is overheating, or would I get a message if that happens? When putting the system together I accidentaly touched the paste at the bottom of the CPU fan, and some of it rubbed off, but not very much.

I have not yet set up an Internet connection. Could this be part of the problem? I've tried disabling some of the network stuff.
 
if not much of the paste rubbed off i don't think that would be enough to make the CPU overheat this badly, but it's still possible.

click start>> run and type "dxdiag" into the run box or go to MS system information and tell me what your CPU speed is being reconized at: for example "XP2000+ at 1520mhz".

55 degrees is a bit too hot for that processor, are you using the stock heatsink/ fan that came with the CPU or and aftermarket one? this is not software related so the internet connection setup has nothing to do with your problem.

please list your systems specs including motherboard, heatsink/ fan make & model, CPU multiplier & CPU front side bus reported in the cmos setup (i.e. 133mhz), memory size/ speed/ make / model, ect
 
CPU: AMD Athlon XP2000+ 1.66 GHz 266 MHz
CPU fan: Spire (http://www.needit.nu/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=3308)
Motherboard: ASROCK K7VT4-4X
RAM: TwinMOS Original 256 Mb DDR 333 MHz
Graphics card: PALIT Daytona GF4 MX440 64 Mb AGP 8x/4x
Hard drive: Maxtor DiamondMax Plus9 7200 rpm

Except for the one at the power supply, I have no case fan (and there isn't room for any.

I got so upset after a while that I formatted the hard drive, in order to try another OS, so at the moment I can't check the settings in XP, but the BIOS settings confirm the numbers. (I have 133 MHz bus speed for the processor, and 166 MHz for the RAM, the CPU clock is correctly 1.66 GHz).
 
oh, that answers your question; you have no case fans. all of your settings are right where it should be for the processor.

i think i overstated that your processor is too hot. while 55 degrees celsius is a bit warm, it isn't anything to really worry about. your only running only about 5-10 degrees celsius warmer than typical, but given you have no case fans thats understandable.

don't worry about it too much as you are still well within normal operating temperatures. the only thing that would cool that computer down is getting a case with room for 2-5 case fans with at least 1 fan sucking into the case at the side panel and another fan blowing air out the back.

while getting a new case and some fans would be nice, you really don't have to. your processor can handle up to 80-90 degrees celcius before it is toast. as long as your running 45-60 degrees celsius under full load it's still ok.
 
Ok, thanks for the input. I will consider getting a bigger case and some fans.

So, my computer freezing up is probably not due to overheating then (assuming the CPU is actually at 55 C)?
 
oh what was i thinking? i must have skimmed through your topic too quickly i had thought you were just asking if your computer was too hot. i hadn't understood that it was freezing.

since i now understand your problem better, hold off a sec before you buy that case & fans. system freezing is being caused most likely by a hardware problem since you have recently installed an OS.

i would suspect you motherboard or video card first. is it possible to test with another video card? can you try disabling the agp 8x?

also try resetting your CMOS, make sure to unplug the power cord from the case before you clear it. leave it in the cleared position for at least 5 minutes. look in the manual it should show you where those jumpers are.

if none of that works i would assume the motherboard is incompatible with your hardware or that is is defective. i would suggest finding a different motherboard instead of just exchanging it.
 
really i should have read your topic better, now i'm coming off as sounding like an a$$ who doesn't know what he's talking about. to tell you the truth i would have never replied because i honestly don't know how to fix your problem without testing out your computer myself. i'll try to give you some general troubleshooting advice.

i still think you have a hardware conflict or failure cause by one or a combination of the three things: the motherboard being defective or incompatible, the video card which could be the source of your incompatability, or the most obvious is the CPU is defective.

even though your CPU isn't overheating it can still be defective. you should test those 3 components methodically seeing where the problem is coming from whether its the CPU, mobo, or video.

some boards don't get along well with the newer 8x video cards, you could try testing with an 1x\ 2x\ or 4x video card. maybe by setting the video card to 4x instead of 8x in the BIOS would fix it.

by testing i mean try the parts on another computer to see if they work. with the cpu you need to test for a while to see if it still freezes on another computer.

the first test you should do is resetting the CMOS. it could be as easy as that, but rarely is.

the problem with all of this testing is that i very much doubt you have extra parts to test any of these things. if you can, i would test what parts you are able to and exchange what parts you suspect is bad\ incompatible.

thats about as much as i can think of, sorry about the misunderstanding :(
 
If I where you. You said that the computer worked fine for a couple of days. I would think back if I Installed Anything Printer, Scanner, etc. Any drivers. If you remember of something you can try a system restore. You also said you when you booted to windows it would lock up even if you didnt do anything. You can try to boot to safe mode and see if it locks up there. If it doesnt lock up in safe mode you may have a software/driver issue. OR maybe even boot in the bios or dos and let it sit there and see if it locks up.
If all else fails you can strip the system down to only the essentals ie un-plug cdroms, second harddrives. Everything off the back of the computer(except monitor mouse, keyboard): If your computer has onboard video or sound and you have added acard take those out and use the onboard. Check the memory by moving it to a different slot (im not sure what kinda memory you have but it can be different if you have rambus), Unplug floopy, zip, Pull all pci cards (unless onlyvideo card you have it pci in that case move it to a different slot.

Those are some things i might try being the situation
 
It seems this problem needs some work to be fixed. I'll try as much as possible of your suggestions.

Also I'd like to clarify one thing. First, the computer ran without freezing for a couple of days. Then it started freezing for short periods of time (up to around 20 seconds). But not all the time, sometimes it seems to operate fine. And I don't have to reboot after the freeze, since it comes back to normal by itself. Then the freezing continues to appear randomly.

Today I installed Win Me instead to see if that works better. The installation was troublefree, and so far everything is ok.

Could it still be a hardware problem when it sometimes works fine? Especiallly since it took some time for the trouble to appear?
 
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