Tony Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Hi allMy mate has dumped his pc here for me to have a look at.It keeps hanging approx 2 to 5 mins after boot up, every thing just stops. So you hit the power button so it can boot up again.It is an Athlon 1000 MHz663AS Ultra Motherboard with Via Chip set2x 128 MB 133 SD Ramon board sound3D Savage 4 32 MB Graphics cardRealteck NICWin 98The PC is not overheating according to his BIOS temp readings.I have unplugged everything and put it all back in making sure everything is seated correctly.I have changed the SD ram to a 256 MB 133 stick, and it still hangs.It is something that has got progressively worse over the last month or so (hanging more often)He says that he has not installed anything lately.I did install w2k on his pc a few months ago, but he said that it kept hanging ??? so he did a full format and install of w98 again.So before i go off to my work place (on my day off) to get a load of parts so i can do the trial & error thing, does any body have any ideas as to what the problem could be?I am pretty sure that it is hardware related & not software. But hey it is win98 so who knows.Thanks in advanceTony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moon Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Sure sounds like a heat problem, Tony. Just to check, run it with the case off and an external desk fan playing over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Hi I would agree with you.But the case is off, and a fan has been next to it all morning.Maybe the graphics chip is overheating?I will change the graphics card for a spare i have here, and see what happens.CheersTony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moon Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 OK. If that fails, run the tests at Pitstop Tests and use the 'Tech Express' feature to post the link to your tests back here. Somebody might spot a familiar problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent Smith Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Hello Tony, I've seen these type of symptoms before, and it turned out to be a failing hard disc. If you are unable to try a spare drive, you could try to "freeze" the current one. Thoroughly wrap and seal the disc in a plastic bag, then place in a freezer for about half an hour. Remove and try in the pc (being careful of condensation which may form), if the pc runs for a longer period before hanging then it's a pretty good pointer to the culprit.Hope this helps. Regards. Mr. Mouse.PS I am not jesting with the above suggestion, I have done this myself on a couple of occasions to recover data from a "dead" drive. However I really should point out that it is not a procedure to be done for fun, and for the benefit of other readers, should not be done unless you are proficient working with electrics and the inside of computers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 HiAt the moment i am defrgging his hdd from with in safe mode, then i will do a deep scan-disk on it.I do have a spare 20 gb drive here so i think i might ghost his drive and then see if it still hangs.I remember puting my car radio in my freezer in my youth to clear the pin code you had to enter in to it, when i forgot the code once.And it worked :D CheersTony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent Smith Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 I have to be honest, but I would have tried the clone route before a defrag. If it hangs in the middle of defragging, that can cause enough problems in their own right. Also a scandisc may not show any problems, if it is the controller on the disc which is faulty, as opposed to faults on the platters.Mr. M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 HiWell touch wood :blink: It will not hang, it has been going half an hour now and is upto 25%.As it is running in safe mode at the moment, it does lend it self to a hard ware problem. I hope. :unsure: Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark2 Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Weren't there problems with Via mobo drivers recently, or was that only with XP ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 HiI don't think that it would be that.As the Pc is about 2 years old and he just install the original drivers that came with it. so i can't see them just messing up now.But who knows :) Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Does the freezing trick kill off any bugs that may have been picked up? :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ellas Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 had a similar problem with a friends computer and it was the graphics card,of course you wont have problems in safe mode if it is the graphics card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 Hi AllAfter replacing every but the CPU & Motherboard and find it still hangs.He come over last night and we decided to do a bit of an upgrade. This morning i have gone out and bought a- AMD Athlon XP+ 2000 ECS K7S5A pro with LAN & sound mobo Arctic Cooler (Copper Silent) All for the grand total of € 114.00 I am giving him a twin fan 350w PSU in exchange for his old CPU & Mobo, which in time i will test to see what was exactly wrong.. I am installing w2k for him now so hopefully he Will not have anymore problems. Thanks for all your help Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted July 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2003 Well all is running fine now.all drivers and most of the software have been loaded back in, and noe hang ups yet. :) So it looks like it was either the CPU or MoboThanks allTony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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