Bad processor or MB?

[prophet621]

About a year and a half ago I built a 64bit computer and it ran great until late last year. Then I went out of town, left it on and we had a heat wave. When I came home the house was really hot and I went to check my PC and it was insanely slow so I rebooted. It took forever to come back up (it used to boot quick) and then was sluggish and very unresponsive.

Nothing looked wrong with the computer. Fans worked, power was good, MB looked fine (capasitors all appeared fine, no apparant physical problems anywhere on the board), replace memory with known working RAM, didn't try different video card as that one was still new and appeared to be working fine based on the fact that the monitor was working and I could see the OS and installation.

I was going to do a reinstall anyway so I started to reinstall. Every time I tried to reinstall it would fail but not always at the same spot. Sometimes it would fail at 'checking hardware' or other times it would fail after formatting and while installing files. MY first thought was possible HD issue so I replaced it with a known working HD (two different HDs) with the same result.

I also ran a few bootable diagnostic apps (can't remember which ones) and everything checked out fine. It passed every test they ran.

Is there anything else I can try to narrow the problem down? At this point I'm assuming it's MB or processor related and that one (or both) of them overheated. I really want that computer running again. I wiped my home network server computer to run as my primary desktop and it's much slower.

 

[evelmunkey]

You can usuallu have a processor checked at a local PC shop. The ones here usually do it for free or if you have another mobo try it out. I intially would think HD...maybe PSU....seems odd that install quits at random spots. Check the temps as the install happens to see if Processor is getting too hot.

 

[lt.wolfwood]

I dont know if this would help, but i remember when my windows reinstallation quit on my at random times just like it did to you. I just didnt have good enough thermal compound on my cpu, but that seems like an odd reason. Try to put more compound on it, you never know.

Also, do NOT let the computer shut down durring the installation of the OS, that will screw up the hard drive.

 

[prophet621]

I'll call around and see if anyone will test it, thanks for the tip.

I had thought HD at first also, that's why I tried a known working one from my other computer and tried on I had still unwrapped in the box. I may try to hook it back up tomorrow and check the temp, theoretically I guess that could be why it stops in different places. A few times it almost completed the install before stopping and other times it stopped durring the hardware check or somewhere in between.

I'm not really sure how to check the PSU. I want to say that during the install and when it stops it shuts off but I can't remember if it did that every time or not, it's been a month or two since I worked on it. I'll work on it tomorrow if I get a chance. So any ideas on checking the PSU?

 

[lt.wolfwood]

You can actually get a psu tester from new egg for pretty cheap, but you might as well try the other stuff first. Just so that you dont waste your money on a power supply tester.

 

[Stevo808]

Theres some programs that test out your psu if its fine or not, you just gotta look for it. Try back up your hdd and reformat it or use another psu.

 

[prophet621]

Ok I tried installing again.. 3 times. First time it locked at the screen where I choose what partition I want to install to.

Second time it locked at agreement menu after loading initial drivers. (press F8 if you agree)

Third time formatted entire HD (80 GB) was at estimated 33 minutes left during device install and stopped. But all the lights are still going (bottom right corner) and the 'info' screens continue to change (you know, the screens telling about the features of XP). It's been this way for almost an hour.

In the past I tried 2 different full XP disks and an old Beta 2 I still had around and an XP 64 and Win 2K along with at least 2 different Linux distros. Nothing will complete the install.

My temp guage on the tower doesn't seem to be working properly so I can't tell the CPU temp.

The only power supplies I have around are currently being used (my current desktop and my daughters computer). I did unplug everything that wasn't necessary to have pulling power. I switched the Graphics card to an older Geforce 5500 that doesn't need any additional power to run.

Any other thoughts? Could problems with the CPU or MB not get picked up on any diagnostic test and cause freezing in random spots during OS install?

Hmm, I'll give Knoppix a go. See if it boots and doesn't freeze while using it.

 

[lt.wolfwood]

I still vote for the overheating theory.

Anyone aggree?

 

[evelmunkey]

What about the cd drive....could it be bad?

 

[Stevo808]

I guess it could be the mobo and cpu. I suggest you to switch your moms mobo and cpu and put it in your case. If everything boots up fine then your old mobo and cpu its damaged from over heating.