Possible motherboard failure? Maybe? Any help is appreciated.

[EricB]

a good testing tool

http://www.techist.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=577554#post577554

 

[o29]

Ok, well things aren't going very well. I just installed a new motherboard, and things aren't any better. Same problem.

PSU is 400W, so I can't imagine it being a lack of power.

What else is there?

 

[o29]

I hate to keep reviving this thread, but I'm getting desperate. I tried a completely fresh XP install on the 250GB with the 150GB not connected at all, and it continued to stutter. I'm thinking of getting a new power supply, but I don't want to spend any more money unless I have to.

However, I did discover that since I got the new motherboard, my DVD and CD burner are working, so I guess it wasn't a complete waste.

Is there any posibility at all that this could be a heat-related problem? I don't have any real reason to believe that it is, but heat seems to cause a lot of unexpected problems. While using firefox, AIM, and Winamp, the temp. is around 38C.

Also, I bought a slightly updated version of my old motherboard, but it's basically the same. Is it possible that some motherboards just don't like 250GB hdd's? I still might format my 150GB and do a fresh XP install on that one to see if it will do it for the 150GB too. I'm just getting tired of formatting and doing XP installs.

And finally, when I run off a livecd (Knoppix), I don't seem to have any stuttering problems. However, I can't be sure because there's nothing really CPU-intensive that I could think of to do in Knoppix. However, I ran music, web pages, and played one of the little games on there all at the same time, and it didn't seem to stutter at all. So that would lead me to believe it's hard drive related, but then you'd think a fresh format would fix the problem...

Any help is appreciated. Again, I'm getting desperate.

 

[EricB]

a good testing tool

http://www.techist.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=577554#post577554

I gave you this link to test your hardware.

 

[905it]

Instead of buying all new hardware, don't you have a friend who you can take parts out of their machines to test in yours to see if it solves the problem?

For example, video card, memory, make sure all PCI cards are pulled, etc.

Rule out all possibilities before you go spending a fortune.

 

[o29]

I wish. Most of my friends don't have the slightest idea about anything computer-related.

I do have another computer that I could experiment with (Dell, unfortunately), but using its motherboard wouldn't work because it has a Pentium 4, and the motherboard isn't AMD friendly. I could use the other computer's PSU, however, I think the PSU in the Dell is something like 250W. Maybe just leaving the video card out might work.

It's a good idea, and definitely worth a shot.