need help diagnosing what's wrong with my pc

[shadowslayer6578]

Here's the symptoms as best as I can remember them. My operating system was windows Vista

- about a month ago I started getting errors every once in a while where the screen would freeze, go blank, and reboot itself(not the computer, just the monitor display) and I'd get some kind of error about the graphics display or windows explorer getting corrupted and having to reload to fix the problem (obviously I don't remember exactly what the error said... it was a while ago and I probably should have written it down).

- my computer started freezing up about a week ago, but would seem fine after manually powering down and rebooting

- a few days after the random freezing started, it started happening more frequently and sometimes when I push the power button to turn it back on, the only think of to describe what happened was that it just stalled out on me, like a car or something. I could hear the fans inside the computer kick on and all the usual things that make a quick burst of noise as it power up, but then nothing happens. it just stays like that until I hold the power button down to turn it off and try again.

- I started having to reboot the computer 2-4 times a day, sometimes having it 'stall out' a bunch of times in a row before actually turning on. the next day it started doing it in an exact pattern. alternating between stalling out and turning on without a problem one right after the other each time I had to turn it on

- right after the pattern started, it became unusable in anything but safe mode. any time I started it up normally (when it did start) it would freeze up at the welcome screen or occasionally just after loading the desktop.

- I reformatted it after that back to my old copy of windows xp, and it worked except for the same 'stalling out' pattern. then I installed windows vista over it again (I have the upgrade version) and it started freezing at the startup screen again

- I unplugged everything, opened the case, and bought a can of compressed air to clean the dust out, thinking maybe that was doing something, but it didn't help. I replaced everything how it was, hooked it up, reinstalled xp when I saw it didn't help, and a few hours later everything on my screen was tinged blue on top of everything else

- now, it won't work at all in windows vista, works really slow in windows xp, and the screen flickers when I load a web page or any new information is loaded on the screen. the screen goes nuts if I try to play a video file or anything more graphically intensive than a web page. and it's still doing that weird 'stall out' pattern thing




my first guess is that there's something wrong with my video card, which seems like it would explain everything except why it would stall out on me in a precise pattern like it is when I boot it up. but I don't want to buy a new video card just to learn I need to replace the whole computer anyway... does anyone know what could cause all that stuff to happen simultaneously, or if installing a new video card would it run like it used to?

if anyone's able to help I'd really appreciate it. if more info is needed tell me what's missing and I'll post it if I can

[outlaw2001it]

Welcome to TechIMO. Could be one of your fans is starting to go (CPU, video card). Also check the fan on the power supply, or it could be that your power supply is the culprit. Start your system with the case open, and wait for the computer to freeze up. At that point check the fans (including the PSU), and see if any of them are not working. Replace as needed. If nothing freezes over time, you're probable not getting enough air throughout the system...invest in a system fan for better cooling. Let us know the results.

[nemowolf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by outlaw2001it

Welcome to TechIMO. Could be one of your fans is starting to go (CPU, video card). Also check the fan on the power supply, or it could be that your power supply is the culprit. Start your system with the case open, and wait for the computer to freeze up. At that point check the fans (including the PSU), and see if any of them are not working. Replace as needed. If nothing freezes over time, you're probable not getting enough air throughout the system...invest in a system fan for better cooling. Let us know the results.

Another thing, boot into your Bios and look for a system health option so you can get CPU temp readings. This will eliminate any temp issues with your CPU. If your brave, wait until it freezes then check the temp of the heat sinks using your fingernail first and then your finger. If they are hot enough to burn through your fingernail, you have temp issues for sure.

[shadowslayer6578]

Well first, thanks for the welcome and thanks to both of you for actually taking the time to read that and give me some suggestions. Much appreciated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nemowolf

Another thing, boot into your Bios and look for a system health option so you can get CPU temp readings.

I'm not sure how I'd boot into my Bios (actually I'm not even sure what Bios means...). Do I boot up with one of the function keys held down?

I'll check the fans like you said outlaw2001it and post what I find soon, and I'll check the Bios temp readings once I figure out how too

*EDIT* Opened it up again and all the fans in there look like they're working just fine, and I didn't notice any difference between running it with the side open and running it with everything closed up. Nothing's even a little hot as far as I can tell

[outlaw2001it]

To get into your BIOS...once the Boot screen comes on you're going to have to press either F2, Delete, F10, or another key. It should tell you on that screen - press ?? to enter setup, or BIOS. Don't change any settings within your BIOS because it could make your computer unbootable. There should be a tab for CPU Health Monitoring (or something like that) to show your temps. Let us know what you find out, or if you need more help.

[shadowslayer6578]

okay, here's what I found in the bios. wasn't sure what was important and what not, so I just wrote it all down. I'm not sure how to get the little circle symbol for degrees from a keyboard, so I'm replacing all those with * instead


Smart CPU fan target temperature : [55*C/131*F]
Smart CPU fan tolerance: [5*C]
Smart system fan target temperature: [45*C/113*F]
Smart system fan tolerance: [5*C]

System temperature: [35*C/95*F]
CPU temperature: [39*C/102*F]

(everything below here fluctuated somewhat, so I pick a middle number it seemed to stay close to)
CPU fan speed: 1800 rpm
system fan speed: 1100 rpm

CPU Vcore = 1.4 V
+12.0 V = 12.04 V
+5.0 V = 5.02 V
+3.3 V = 3.31 V
battery = 3.0 V


I think I got the right information you were talking about. let me know if I got it mixed up or anything

[outlaw2001it]

Everything looks fine there. Now do what I said earlier about opening the case, and see if any of the fans fail. You can also run another test within Windows to get a reading of temps/voltage while under load. Download Speed fan, and post your results.

Download SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer

[shadowslayer6578]

Yeah I opened the case and all the fans were working fine, and it didn't run any better or worse with it open. I'm not sure which readings you need from the speedfan program, so here's just what's on the "Readings" tab it starts up in



Win9x:NO 64Bit:NO GiveIO:YES SpeedFan:YES
I/O properly initialized
Linked ISA BUS at $0290
Linked nVidia nForce410 SMBUS at $5000
Linked nVidia nForce410 SMBUS at $6000
Scanning ISA BUS at $0290...
SuperIO Chip=Winbond W83627EHF
Linked ISA BUS at $0A10
Scanning nForce2 SMBus at $5000...
Address $31 appears to be WRITE ONLY...
Address $32 appears to be WRITE ONLY...
Scanning nForce2 SMBus at $6000...
Scanning ISA BUS at $0A10...
Winbond W83627EHG (ID=$A1) found on ISA at $A10
SMART Enabled for drive 0
Found ST3200826A (200.0GB)
End of detection


sys fan : 1090 rpm
CPU0 fan: 1815 rpm
AUX0 fan: 0 rpm
CPU1 fan: 0 rpm
AUX1 fan: 0 rpm


system: 39C
CPU: 40C
AUX: 42C
HD0: 39C
core: 40C


speed01: 40%
speed02: 40%
speed03: 100%
speed04: 100%

Vcore: 1.41V
+12V: 12.04V
AVcc: 3.31V

[outlaw2001it]

Speed01, and 02 are running at 40%. Go into Speed Fan, and make sure that they are set at 100%, if not change them.
Did the computer freeze when the case was left open?

[Bobbyd1156]

These syptoms are commom of a bad memory board. If you have two or more sticks of memory, remove all but one and see if the stalling stops. Go through each stick one at a time to rule out your memory. Remove memory with pc off and touch the case (grounf yourself) before touching the boards. Ground yourself before you touch any board.