computer experts need a little help

[thepushercg]

i am good on fixing and repairing a computer but this one has me ,

my desk computer,
2 weeks ago i done a new install of xp, the computer then started to sometimes freeze, then black screen, then reboot. i reinstalled windows again, formating first to wipe the hd clean.
the same thing again. i then go and do a vista install, then i would get a display driver failure ever now and then. i unistalled the nvida driver, reinstalled it, i thought well i have fortmated the hd done a clean install of vista, so it must be the video card. so i buy a new one today, ati
i install it, install the software, now no more driver failure but a flicker when it loads a web page, very annoying. so i am at this point now.

1.format and new install windows
2. new video card and drivers
3. cables are tight/ dust blowed out of computer.
i was thinking all along this was a hardware problem, can it be some software problem ? nothing new added to vista other than nortons 360

 

[thebbbusa]

Could be bad RAM, I had a machine that would mysteriously reboot, turned out to be bad RAM. If the computer has more than one stick in it, try taking one out and running on one or the other to check.

 

[outtahand]

Wipe
Install XP pro

 

[thebbbusa]

Wipe
Install XP pro

I think he's done XP twice and Vista once from what I read.

 

[flybybusa]

Could be bad RAM, I had a machine that would mysteriously reboot, turned out to be bad RAM. If the computer has more than one stick in it, try taking one out and running on one or the other to check.

+1 Very likely a bad memory stick and easy to eliminate as a possible culprit

 

[thrasherfox]

Here are some options, take your pic

1) Clean you CD/DVD drive. If need be replaced it and see if that fixes it

2) Go into your bios setup and see if you can see what the temp of your processor is reading.

If you have to leave the computer on for about an hour in the bios screen.

Check your CPU temp. Make sure it is where it is supposed to be.


Also look at your CPU fan speed in your BIOS and see what the RPM's are. Make sure the FAN is spinning at the opitimum RPM's

for reference I am running a Pentium 4. When it is overclocked 20% the CPU is running arounf 160 degrees and the CPU fan is running at about 3400 rpm's

When I don't have it overclocked it is running around 141 degrees


I have experienced problems loading OS's and installing software when I had problems with either of the above. CPU getting too hot or bad or dirty cd/dvd drive

 

[thebbbusa]

Here are some options, take your pic

1) Clean you CD/DVD drive. If need be replaced it and see if that fixes it

2) Go into your bios setup and see if you can see what the temp of your processor is reading.

If you have to leave the computer on for about an hour in the bios screen.

Check your CPU temp. Make sure it is where it is supposed to be.


Also look at your CPU fan speed in your BIOS and see what the RPM's are. Make sure the FAN is spinning at the opitimum RPM's

for reference I am running a Pentium 4. When it is overclocked 20% the CPU is running arounf 160 degrees and the CPU fan is running at about 3400 rpm's

When I don't have it overclocked it is running around 141 degrees


I have experienced problems loading OS's and installing software when I had problems with either of the above. CPU getting too hot or bad or dirty cd/dvd drive

Good call. Had the temp problem too.

 

[outtahand]

I think he's done XP twice and Vista once from what I read.

You're right.
I'm sorry, I was being flippant.
I have a kneejerk response to vista. ???

 

[Bosshound]

It's Either a BAD Power Supply, Memory, or an Over Heated CPU..........

 

[lavinrac]

The CPU temp and the memory is a good call.. If you have a spare PCI vid card I would also try that as the AGP,PCI-E or PCI slot could be heading out..... I've seen that plenty of times.



On a Side note... DANG thrasher... that is one HIGH temp... Q6600 no OC I run around 110 full load (stock fan) and with my Asus coolmaster I only run 83 degrees full load. Currently hovers around 60 plus or minus a couple degrees idle...

You might start looking into a new cooling solution. just a suggestion.

 

[thrasherfox]

The CPU temp and the memory is a good call.. If you have a spare PCI vid card I would also try that as the AGP,PCI-E or PCI slot could be heading out..... I've seen that plenty of times.



On a Side note... DANG thrasher... that is one HIGH temp... Q6600 no OC I run around 110 full load (stock fan) and with my Asus coolmaster I only run 83 degrees full load. Currently hovers around 60 plus or minus a couple degrees idle...

You might start looking into a new cooling solution. just a suggestion.

Yeah, to be honest I havent checked it in awhile, I checked it tonight so I could give accurate numbers and was a little surprised.

When I saw the temp I turned the over clocking off.

I thought my CPU normally ran around 130 degrees. I will probably check to see what cooling options are out there

 

[Strife]

Just a quick thought. You mentioned installing a new Video card and its driver,but you didn't mention uninstalling the old video driver.

Flicker can be conflict in video driver.

Rule to installing a new video card is...

Uninstall old driver
Use a driver cleaner program
turn off PC
install new video card
install new driver(updated one from ATI/nvidia website)

Good luck!

 

[thepushercg]

ill try these ideas, i did uninstall the old drivers before installing the new video card and drivers for it. this came on all of a sudden, i think it could be from what i have read on here , the memory or the slot going bad, this computer is a year old its a hp pcm7350n, it is actually doing much better in vista than xp media and or xp pro, if its the video card slot , how do you replace that thing ? this computer uses the pci style slot, only one on it.

 

[Acehole]

Bad mobo.

 

[Mr Bogus]

I read this right?
2 weeks ago you did a clean install of WXP..

is this when the problem started? or did you do the install to fix a problem..

 

[HRJR]

I agree with the majority of those that have already responded (hardware related problem).

Mark Minasi has stated that his research (sources at MS Research and others) into Windows-related freezes and crashes shows that 85-90% were memory related.

The heat theory should be relatively easy to test. Verify that all fans are running correctly, then from a cold system, power her up. If she runs fine for a while then starts acting up, it could be heat related.

If it isn't heat, try to run a hardware diagnostic on the box. You should have something on a CD that came with your box (or, mobo).

Good luck.

 

[Strife]

Maybe this link will help?

Microsoft Online Crash Analysis

I've run memtest before to check my memory. Don't have a link for it. It's now a feature of my motherboard BIOS.

Speaking of BIOS have you checked the settings for memory and such?

Good Luck!