Western Digital Dont fail me now!

[adam02]

OK il get straight to it, now and again my computer will randomly freeze and i have to restart the comp. It does this everyday, at some point. You know that light that flashes to indicate its loading something and the noise the hard drive makes wen it loads something. Well that Light stays on constantly wen it freezes and i hear no noise.

I guess its the hard drive? i could be wrong.

Any input.

Itll happen at any point even at idle.

AMD 3700+ san diego
Win xp home
Corsair value select 512x2
DFI ultra-D
X1900XT (sapphire)
WD 250GB 16MB cache 7,200rpm

I dont think i have any heat issues. In fact its really stuffy in my room and this is after one of my freeze ups and im typin this out with a working comp (for now)

EDIT: Hiper 580watt type-R PSU.

 

[umybiatch2k6]

well, tell us how old the HD is, that would help a bit.

when it freezes, can you hear the spining stop too? when you turn on the PC, you'd hear the HD slowly get up to speed, do you hear that sound go out too when it freezes, or just a lack of the harddrive head moving sound?

 

[adam02]

Well i built the comp brand new in a couple of months ago.

Il observe wat happens the next time i get problems.

 

[Nitestick]

the fact that the hdd light stays on when it freezes doesn't really narrow it down to the hdd, this is a common symptom when freezing. try running memtest86 to test the memory.

 

[jeremy]

unlikely the ram , bad/unstable ram can only cause random restarts/bsods/file curruption

download sandra click here get into hardware-->mainboard scroll down til youll see temperature/voltage sensors and take a screenshot

check the mobo for bad capacitors , better use a flashlight cuz its kinda dark in there , see examples
http://home.earthlink.net/~doniteli/index27.htm
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=195

check the hd with dlg diagnostic
for cd, click here
or for floppy, click here

usage info:
# SELECT DRIVE - Always choose this option first, as it determines which drive you will be working on.
# QUICK TEST - This option tests your drive quickly for any major physical problems. (Please note: Although this option is safe and does not alter the data on your hard drive, Western Digital recommends that you have a current backup of your data).
# 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).
# WRITE ZEROS TO DRIVE - The Write Zeros option, wipes any and all data off your drive. This option used when your data is no longer usable or recoverable. If you no longer need any data from your drive and would like to start over, run this option to set your drive to an as new condition. NOTE: Please make sure that you have selected the correct drive to perform this function on as once ran, no data will be recoverable.
# VIEW TEST RESULTS - You can see the results of the test you just performed
# PRINT TEST RESULTS - Test results can be printed with this option. USB printers are not supported
# LOG FILE OPEN/CLOSE - You can access the log file which is generated automatically
# ENTER AND PRINT RMA INFORMATION - Information pertaining to each drive tested can be customized and printed with this option.
# HELP - Brief descriptions of each option in addition to explanations of error codes are available in this option.
# QUIT - Reboot your system once

 

[adam02]

Il do the HDD Diagnostic soon. And check capacitors. but its running fine now.

Screenshot of Sandra

 

[jeremy]

weird, from some reason sandra see 2 cpus , download prime95 & hwinfo32
http://mersenne.org/gimps/p95v2414.exe
http://www.hwinfo.sk/files/hw32_161.exe

run hwinfo32 and click the "sensors" button , leave it open and run prime95 click "just stress testing" and in menu goto options-->torture test select the 2nd one "in-place large ffts" and click "ok" to start , get into hwinfo32 and monitor the voltages/temps while its being stress tested , see how high the temps goes & how low the voltages go especially that +12v , write down on paper the temps & voltages (the highest/lowest they got to) and report back with em , let it run for 3-4 hours then in menu goto test-->stop