im new please help!!

hey guys i came here hoping to get some answers. help a girl out please
i recently built my own system for the first time here are the specs:
intel mobo d865gbfl i believe w/ built in audio and video
1 gb kingston dimm ddrsd400
p4 3.0 w/hyperthreading
350w antec psu
160gb sata seagate barracuda hard drive

ok i built the system and everything worked out fine. for about 2 weeks...
then something happened like i deleted something or software conflict and i had to reformat and reinstall my os (win xp sp2)
after that everything seemed fine. i think there might have been another software conflict or something cause it ran at or near 100% sometimes and took long to stabilize at startup. my friend and i figured out that spyware doctor had something to do with it so i uninstalled it(it was running 50%). then for some reason firefox was running at 50%. that problem went away on its own somehow. idk...then symantec was causing problems so i uninstalled that too.
then my comp started to randomly freeze(before it only froze when running high in performance ). sometimes 5 min into startup sometimes a lot later. then sometimes programs are forced to quit and id send error report and stuff then after that, the computer would seriously lag. i could try and launch firefox, ms word, even win task manager and it wouldnt open till a lot later.
so today i had it with this freezing and after some advice from some somewhat computer literate friends i tried to reformat my hard drive and reinstall the os. so i reformatted and began install. went through everything in the install and right at the end ( it said like 9 min left or somethin) it froze!! i didnt know something can freeze during an os install. so i tried again. then it said it cant launch the os setup. so i tried again and it froze on the screen where you pick time zones or whatever. so i just turned it off via psu switch and wanted so badly to kick it or something...but i didnt
i dont know im so stressed out. i have a headache from staring at screens for forever and im starting to think its more than the hard drive since it froze during the install. could it be the mobo or processor or even the ram or psu??? not to mention im pretty broke right now since all my bills come at the beginning of the month
another thing i should mention is sometimes when i slammed my desk drawer or kicked my desk accidentally it would freeze. i checked the connections and stuff. nothing seemed loose...
idk what to do...any input would be greatly appreciated
thanks so much
jamie

 

I would try switching out your RAM.
Grab some from your friend before you go out and buy new stuff.

Bad RAM causes all sorts of wierd problems. Could also try re-seating the RAM.

Good luck!

 

As you built the system yourself you are obviously familiar with the insides of your PC so as elreaver suggested check the RAM is seated correctly and also check all the cables are correctly fitted. Also check that all the cooling fans are running correctly.

 

Have you considered this could be a cooling issue? If your PC is running hot freezing is par for the course. (I haven't a clue how it freezing when you kick it factors into this, though. )

In any event, try opening up the case and running the PC with a home fan pointed inside. It might not work, but it's hell of a lot cheaper than replacing RAM DIMMs.

 

i downloaded the intel monitor thing from the intel site to monitor the cooling cause i thought of that too but on the default settings it seemed to be at normal temperatures. i have the boxed hsf from the intel retail processor and i do not overclock or anything. however i did get a chance to go intot he bios and look at the temperatures.
heres what it read.
processor zone 55 c
system sone 1 38 c
system zone 2 49 c
processor fan 2525 rpm
rear fan 1529 rpm

hope this helps
i appreciate all your replys

 

Those numbers are fine. But can you confirm that you have checked all the cables and reseated the RAM as previously suggested.

 

jaime,
Kingston uses ram chips from major manufacturers that failed final testing.
That's probably the worse RAM you could put into your computer.

If you want the best ram, get original ram from Micron or Samsung.
That's all I will use in my own PC and I NEVER have memory problems.

Cheers,
Dr Roms

 

Complete and utter rubbish.

 

I agree its either rubbish or its the biggest scoop to hit the memory industry in the last couple of years ,Any evidence of this drroms? as alot of member here use and recommend kingston memory,for our benefit and so we dont continue recommending bad memory

anyway best to start narrowing the problem down,try to eliminate things,first before you go and throw your memory away try a memory tester,mem test or such available at MG/memory .

next eliminate cpu heat and voltage check the bios for your cpu voltage,then download toast again available here at MG in the processor section,run toast for an hour while keeping an eye on your cpu temp,post the max temp under load after an hour,if your comp locks up time for some more cooling

I would then look at the power supply,after using your computer for a while how hot does the top of the case get above the power supply,even though its an antec I think its underpowered for a 3.0 p4 system also is it new? can you post the specs for it

If it locks up sometimes when you kick it it most definitely sounds like a loose connection,so not only check the connections but remove everything from the case and in essence build it again

 

ok i went through my comp and essentially reseated ram and checked all other connections. although i left disconnected the optical drives. i was advised to run memtest ont he ram...how does this mem test thing work. i clicked on the program and it automatically started to run. i ran it and it seemed to take forever so i closed it it got to about 40 or so. does it display results saying memtest passed or failed or something? good news it it didnt freeze while i was running memtest...

 

thanks for the ehlp. reseating the ram seemed to ehlp. it doesnt freeze anymore. although i didnt plug in the dvdrom drive yet or reload my programs but i just gotta be careful not to load conflicting software.

oh any recommmendations for a hard drive enclosure to make an internal one an external one? also for sata pci cards...should i connect my sata hd through those pci cards or do you recommend judt getting a usb or firewire external

thanks
jamie