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raymondlogan
new user
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 19
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hi,
I hope someone can help.
I have an AMD Athlon XP PC. Mainboard : Gigabyte 7VKMLS
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.01.2600 Service Pack 2
Physical Memory : 768 MB SDRAM
Drive C: (Hard Disk) : 70 GB available on 78 GB
I have encountered problems with starting my PC.
The problem would appear to be intermitent, in as much as, some times the PC freezes on boot or just after.
It can freeze before POST and will not connect to my monitor, the yellow power light does not change to green.
Or the boot will start, monitor power light will turn green, the windows xp welcome screen will show then pc freezes.
Some times the pc will start but as soon as I ask it to do something it freezes.
I originally thought this was a virus.
Norton/Kirspasky and numerous other scans have found nothing.
Ourwilly from this site has recommended that I now try hardware, after several months of trying to pin point what could be wrong.
Please, please help.
very frustrated with pc and about to through it out of a window.
Regards
raymondlogan
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RichieP
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 4738
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Can you take the side off and see the make of the hard drive?
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 OK OK I can't go any faster! aaaaaaaaaaaagh!
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raymondlogan
new user
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 19
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Hallo RichieP,
Thank you for your patience.
I have been unable to access a pc until now.
My home pc hard drive is a Seagate Technology ATA ST380022A
I hope this helps.
Thank you for taking the trouble to respond.
regards,
raymondlogan
be the change you want others to make!
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RichieP
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 4738
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Hi Ray.
Download Seatools for DOS and create a bootable floppy disk.
Leave the disk in the drive and change the boot order to floppy first.
When the program loads, run the Extended Test to check your hard drive for errors.
If it comes back OK, we'll try the RAM next.
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OK OK I can't go any faster! aaaaaaaaaaaagh!
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raymondlogan
new user
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 19
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Hi RichieP,
I do not possess any floppies.
There is a downloadable program for Seagate Tools, shall I use that instead?
Or should I buy some floppy disks?
Thanks
Raymond
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RichieP
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 4738
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These tests are usually done better in DOS, before the hard drive is in use. I know there's a toOl for Windows but get a floppy if you can, or create a bootable CD
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OK OK I can't go any faster! aaaaaaaaaaaagh!
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raymondlogan
new user
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 19
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Hallo RichieP,
I have booted from bootable cd and the short test and extended tests both came back as passes.
However, after rebooting back into system the POST test beeped 8 times.
I have heard that you can decode these.
But where would I start?
Does this mean system failure?
Thanks for your continued support.
regards
raymondlogan
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RichieP
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 4738
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There are some ideas here on beep codes. It depends on the motherboard.
The next thing to check is the RAM. If you have more than one stick, take one out and continue to use it as normal. If you still have a problem, swap them over and try again. If it's OK, you know which one is the culprit. If it's still freezing, it's not the RAM.
If you only have one stick, download and run Memtest for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
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OK OK I can't go any faster! aaaaaaaaaaaagh!
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raymondlogan
new user
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 19
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Hi RichieP,
I have run Memtest overnight and the memeory passed on all tests.
I also ran Microsoft Memory Diagnostic Utily which also passed.
Your continued support would be welcome.
Do you have any other ideas, please?
regards,
raymondlogan
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RichieP
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 4738
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Power supply is the next thing to check. The problem for you is that you probably don't possess a PSU tester. It's a bit of a gamble but you could pick up a new one for less than £20.
I'm suspecting hardware rather than software because you said it heppens before POST sometimes.
Another thing to try is remove all connected devices and boot it up. If it runs OK, connect them one at a time until it happens again.
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OK OK I can't go any faster! aaaaaaaaaaaagh!
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raymondlogan
new user
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 19
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Hallo RichieP,
I have disconnected all devices except keyboard, mouse and monitor, however still freezes.
How much would a new PSU cost?
How easily can they be replaced?
Did you mean £20 for a tester or £20 for a PSU?
Would I need to replace like for like or could I purchase a better / more powerful one?
How would I choose the best / cost effective ?
thanks for your help
raymondlogan
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RichieP
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 4738
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You can get a tester here The top one, (stock due on 12th Feb).
Any PSU with the same or above output will be OK. If it's higher it won't do any damage as the computer just takes what it needs.
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raymondlogan
new user
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 19
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Thanks again RichieP,
I will get a tester on order and once I have readings I will post them back on here.
regards,
raymondlogan
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raymondlogan
new user
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 19
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Hi RichieP,
update on my pc freezing issue.
Started PC this evening and appeared to start up fine until all programs loaded, then the monitor froze in rainbow like pattern.
Restarted pc and again froze, this time screen was very dark but could just make out desktop??????????????
thanks for your continued help.
regards,
raymondlogan
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RichieP
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 4738
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Perhaps it's the graphics card then. Do you have a seperate card? If it is the monitor cable will be connected horizontally.
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OK OK I can't go any faster! aaaaaaaaaaaagh!
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raymondlogan
new user
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 19
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Hi RichieP,
I have tested the psu and all ok.
I have an on board graphics chip, S3 Graphics ProSavage DDR.
Am I able to repair or replace this?
thanks for your help.
regards
raymondlogan
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RichieP
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 4738
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You can't replace it as such, but you can put in a dedicated graphics card instead.
First, try updating the drivers for your on-board graphics. It's best to get the motherboard drivers rather than the generic graphics drivers.
Download the VGA drivers for XP from here
Set a Sytem Restore point, then run the setup from the downloaded file.
See how you get on from there.
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OK OK I can't go any faster! aaaaaaaaaaaagh!
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raymondlogan
new user
Reg'd: Sun
Posts: 19
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Hi RichieP,
Have downloaded and updated drivers.
However, pc still freezing or refusing to boot.
regards,
raymondlogan
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RichieP
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 4738
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We're running out of options and it's looking like it may be a faulty motherboard.
It's unlikely to be software/operating system related because you say it sometimes happens before POST.
You've tested the RAM, PSU and hard drive. You've updated the graphics card drivers.
Have you checked all your USB ports? Are any of them damaged? I've seen faulty USB ports cause shorts on a motherboard.
Try running it with only the devices connected you need, ie remove the PCI modem etc if you have one.
If it still happens, it may be time to rebuild, unless anyone else can chip in with any suggestions.
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OK OK I can't go any faster! aaaaaaaaaaaagh!
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BurrWalnut
Chippendaler
Reg'd: Tue
Posts: 3458
Loc: London, England
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It can be difficult to diagnose hardware errors but you must test everything, don‘t assume it‘s the fault of a major component. Have a look at the mouse and keyboard, perhaps a ‘kink’ in a cable or a printer problem.
Also, have a look in Event Viewer. The exact error will not be there as the machine would have frozen before the error message could have been logged. However, there may be a pointer, perhaps a warning message, just before the time of the freeze(s).
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