Can Someone Help Me Buy A New Desktop Computer?

About 6 months ago, I spent about $800 updating my computer with new RAM, video card, pci and pciex cards, Windows 10, and new hard drives. I've swapped out the data cables and daisy chains but it still constantly freezes and crashes. It's about 9-10 years old and I think it's had it. So I want to buy a new pc but I don't want to buy a lemon so I was wondering if people here can help me choose one that has a good reputation for durability.

Right now, my computer has 12 internal hard drives and 7 externals in JBOD configuration. Each is either 1Tb or 2Tb. I store video files on them. What I'm looking for is a computer that has the capacity to hold between 12Tb-16Tb (2-4 hdds) inside the computer cabinet. I don't do gaming. I copy my videos onto external hard drives and connect them to a Micca and watch them on my tv. The only other thing I do with my pc is go on-line to check my email and Google things, etc. I understand that today's computers can be connected to a tv, so that would be a great feature for me too. But, basically, I just want enough internal hdd space to store my video files.

Since I just spent $800 updating my existing computer, money is scarce, so cheaper is better but I don't want refurbished, just a new one. I bought my own Windows 10 Home disk during my updating so Windows doesn't have to be installed, I can do that myself, if that would make a pc cheaper.

I don't want to set up a RAID array with the new one.

Can someone give me some recommendations?

 

The capacity of the drives is not the issue. The issue is how many drives can the case hold. Most mid tower can support at least 6 drives.

It is not about the computer but the graphics solution and the inputs on the TV. Most video cards made during the last several years support HDMI. Most newer TVs support HDMI too.

Speaking of video cards, it is important to remember they are often the most power hungry devices inside our computers - often times, even more so than the CPU. When you upgraded your computer, did you make sure the power supply could support all those drives, the new RAM plus the new video card too? That could be your current problem.

It could but not sure you can easily find a factory build computer that does not already come with Windows installed that otherwise meets your needs.

Now if you are planning on building your own new computer (and if you installed all those new upgrade parts, I can build a computer too), then you can save money by using your current Windows license.

 

What's most important to me is a computer that can handle at least 12Tb or more. I've looked around on the internet and found computers that have 1Tb or 2Tb hard drives. I anticipate having to buy 4Tb, 6Tb or 8Tb hard drives to fill the bays but I haven't seen any that says that they contain more than 1 bay. I just don't know what to look for.

I built my last 2 computers and I don't want to build another one. I always wound up needing the help of a computer shop to get things the way they should be because I couldn't figure something out and they never really ran right, constantly needing repairs.

I just need to be pointed to a few computers that have good reviews that can handle 12Tb or more (JBOD), and I can look them over and decide which one I want to buy. I don't want to rely on a salesperson in a store who might steer me to what they need to sell. If a 12Tb computer isn't possible, maybe I can also buy something like a SATA box that can house several hdds and be connected to an external SATA port on the computer.

I know nothing about hooking a computer/video card to a tv. I just threw that in there because I heard about it. I don't really care if I can connect my computer to my tv. I have video files stored in my hdds, I copy a few files at a time to a portable hdd, connect it to a Micca and watch them on my tv, which is fine for me. Storage capacity is the most important thing to me.

 

Well, any new computer with a modern operating system can do that.

The documentation/specs may not say how many bays it has but rather how many 5.25" or 3.5" drives or devices it supports. Note this is function of the motherboard (for SATA ports), the case (for the number of bays), and the power supply (for the number of power connectors). However, for the power supply, you can use inexpensive splitters.

Do you trust that computer shop? I ask because many are willing to build one for you and even help you pick out the parts, then set it up for you. The advantage there, besides having someone local who knows your machine who you can yell at, is that your computer will NOT come preloaded with all kinds of junk you don't want or need.

The last computer I bought was way back in 1991. I have always built my own since then so not sure I can help you pick one out. As a repair person, I am not crazy about any of the major brands (Dell, HP, Acer, or Lenovo, for example) because they all like to use proprietary parts and settings. That's another advantage to have your local shop do it for you - they will use ATX Form Factor standard components.

Hopefully someone who buys pre-built will come along and offer some advice. But for sure, you first need to set your budget. Keep in mind what you will already be bringing to the table. These include things like the keyboard, mouse, monitor, and speakers. And perhaps your Windows license.

You certainly could go to Best Buy or OfficeDepot, tell them what you want and let them give you their pitch. At least then you can learn what you can get for your money.

There's nothing to it. As I said most support HDMI (the newest may be DisplayPort). Either way, one cable does it. Then you just tell your TV which input to use.

I will say this, you will not find a factory made computer with 12TB of disk space already in it.

 

Do you trust that computer shop?

Not really. I just moved to where I'm living now. My computer started freezing and crashing shortly after I installed Windows 10. I bought new RAM, video card, PCIex and PCIe cards, several new hard drives, swapped out the data cables and daisy chains and bought the Windows 10 disk, installed the parts and Windows and my computer has been freezing or crashing ever since. I brought my pc to the repair shop. He said that one of the daisy chain connectors was loose so he taped it up and charged me $350.00! but it didn't fix the problem. So I bought a new daisy chain to replace the one that he "repaired." It still freezes and crashes.

Right now, I have only 1 stick of RAM and my OS hdd connected and it hasn't frozen or crashed all day. I'm tired of trying to figure out what's wrong with it and spending good money after bad trying to fix it. When my computer starts, my mobo splash screen says that my RAM and CPU are "okay." Boot up then continues and lists all the hdds connected to my mobo, then it lists the hdds connected to my PCIex card, then the hdds connected to my PCIe card. It verifies DMI Pool Data or sometimes it freezes at that point. Sometimes it crashes when the Windows logo appears. Sometime, after I log in, my desk top appears and my computer freezes/crashes or as soon as I get on line or open a folder or file. Yesterday, I got a Stop Code WHEA and I also got a message from Windows that I need to either Repair Windows or reset, so I reset. I only re-installed Windows on a new hdd at the end of January. I've cleared CMOS, reset BIOS, prayed for it and have come close to kicking the darned thing. I've run the Intel CPU test and it passed except that it's an out of date model. I'm going to run a RAM test tomorrow if it'll boot up with 2 sticks of RAM installed. They should all be okay since all 4 sticks are less than a year old, but who knows, and that's the problem. I would just like to have a computer that runs for a few years without major problems. I have very few and trusted programs installed. I don't go to crazy sites on the internet, I don't do gaming, I'm not on Facebook, Twitter, etc, and I don't try out different programs. I just like to watch my .avi files. I just need a computer that doesn't completely break down every couple of weeks and has enough storage room. Simple, or so it would seem.

 

If it's working like this and is constantly stable, maybe it's the configuration you're trying to build it into. So many drives on one pc. A network attached storage device may be a better solution. I don't use one myself but I'm sure there are members here who do! A little research and maybe some questions asked here may provide a way forward. I can hear your pain in wanting to see your media as I have many music videos I play on this pc constantly and would miss if unavailable.

The power supply may be stressed with so many components as I think was already pointed out. A separate NAS with only a couple larger drives might be a more viable solution.

An article to start with to get an idea of what's available ----------

https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-use-a-nas-device-as-a-home-media-server

 

Thanks for replying and for the information you supplied. I'll look into network storage devices. I read through the information at the link you provided. I have a lot of questions but I'll open a new thread for that.

P.S. I have a Corsair CMPSU-850TX 850W. It's single rail design but I was told that it would be sufficient to handle 12 hdds. It's my 3rd PSU in the 9-10 years I've had this pc. It's a good possibility that it was never big/strong enough to handle my hardware.

 

I have a keyboard, mouse, monitor and speakers. All I need is the computer itself with at least 24Tb of storage space. (I misspoke earlier about needing only 12Tb. I have 12 hdds, most 2T and a couple 1T, so 24Tb is the minimum or I'll be running out of room in a year or two.) I took this screenshot on the 3/13, when my pc was freezing and crashing often, before it wouldn't boot up anymore with all my hdds connected. It all looked good. I don't know how much a computer would cost that has the storage space I need. I couldn't find one on-line, ergo this thread.

 

The last desktop pc I purchased was in 2001 (I have built them myself since then) so cannot really offer any recommendations as to which ready assembled desktop pc to recommend. Perhaps other members will be able to suggest something.

As some guidance in your quest, a cheap ready assembled pc will usually have a cheap PSU (but I guess you may be able to swap that out for your Corsair), the case with invariably suffer from poor airflow (again you may be able to swap it with you existing case if it is better), the graphics card will probably be low end.

This pc will have one 1 or 2TB HDD and you will have to buy more / larger HDDs for your needs.

If you are going to buy a ready built desktop will you be purchasing it with large capacity pre-installed or buying these yourself afterwards?

If the latter option then I would like to suggest the following.

The current set on your pc, in my opinion, is far too cluttered. You have all the native SATA port occupied and appear to also be running addon cards for more SATA HDD, if I understand this from what you have stated below. The likely hood is that this set up is likely to lead to issues eg freezes.

Also you state

I presume that it had the same HDD configuration prior to the o/s upgrade. Addon SATA controller chipsets / drivers can have issues with either the mobo's chipset or the o/s used.

So my suggestion is as follows.

Buy one large and cheap 12TB HDD, consolidate enough of the data on your existing HDDs (at least 6, preferably 8) such that you can remove any SATA expansion cards that may exist (again I presume that this is the case). So the end result is that you ONLY want to use the native SATA ports on the mobo.

Check whether this makes any difference. If the freezes issues still happen, then reinstall your old o/s (Win7?) and see it that sorts out the problem.

I understand that you are frustrated as there is nothing worse than having a pc that behaves like an unruly dog. I also understand that you have asked for a recommendation for a new pc and I have suggested another solution which may also frustrate you. I know that this is frustrating to me sometimes when I post online.

But what I have suggested would not be a waste of money as you could re-use the 12TB HDD that you purchased in your new pc. You would have wasted some time sure.

Good Luck with whatever you decide

 

One important rider that I forgot to mention is that your current motherboard must support / have a UEFI bios as you will have to initialise the HDD with GPT.

These are prerequisites for using HDDs >2TB as well as having Win7 as the min o/s

 

Wow! That's a ripoff.
Looking at your Speccy report, the motherboard, CPU and RAM (DDR2) are ancient.

You should definitely consider the above.

 

I have a GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DQ6 (Award Bios v F13a) motherboard. I'm not sure if it could handle a hdd larger than 2Tb. How could I find out if my motherboard can handle a hdd larger than 2Tb without buying one and trying it out? I don't want to spend my money on something that I can't use.

I once posted that question at the Gigabyte forum but nobody answered my question. The board has 12 SATA ports so I assumed it could handle 12 hdds. Unfortunately, 6 of the ports can only be used if setting up a RAID array, which I didn't want to do, so I had to use an adapter card. The PCIEx card I have has 8 ports on it but only 4 work. I returned it because I thought it was broken but the second one did the same thing. When reading more of the reviews on it, a number of people had this same issue. I could find no other 8-port PCIex adapter card that would be compatible with my motherboard. I was left with no other alternative than to buy a PCIe card so I could connect my last 2 hdds.

When I built this pc in 2009, I installed Windows XP x64. In order to update to Windows 10, I had to buy a new video card, adapter cards and RAM. My RAM may be ancient but it was brand new when I bought it in 2018 and it's what my motherboard needs. My CPU is the original from 2009. I have moved since I swapped out the parts for Windows 10 and the Windows XP x64 parts are in a box somewhere in my garage, mixed in with about 60 other boxes that I haven't gotten around to sorting through yet. It's been too cold to spend time out there so I'm waiting for the weather to warm up. So even if I wanted to switch back to XP x64, I would have to wait until I go through the boxes and find my old parts, which could take months. The reason I switched to Windows 10 was because XP was no longer compatible with the internet. All of the XP updates that I got from MS over the years are gone. I'd rather move forward than backward.

My hdd configuration is the same, it's always been JBOD. My video card needed new drivers and I think my adapter cards did as well but Windows did that automatically when I installed it. I was assured that the parts would be compatible with both my mobo and Windows 10.

I had to use AHCI bios when installing Windows 10. The only other alternative that was available wouldn't allow Windows 10 to install. I've been able to format hdds with GPT with no problems.

A NAS sounds good but I'll have to look into it further to understand what it is and how it works. Do I connect it to a computer? Is it a huge hdd where my files would be stored or is it more like the Cloud? What would I need in order to access my files on it? Would I be able to copy files from it onto a hdd if I wanted to? I'm of the Windows 95 generation who still has a land line and I haven't kept up with newer technology. I'm going to start a new thread for this.

I thought that newer computers would come with larger hdds, at least 6Tb, with additional bays to install additional hdds. Since I need a minimum of 24Tb, I would need a computer that has enough bays/ability to handle 24Tb. I would need the mobo, PSU, CPU to be able to handle a minimum of 24Tb as well, either four 6Tb hdds, three 8Tb hdds, or two 12Tb hdds.

QUOTE="risk_reversal, post: 2025882, member: 28571"]As some guidance in your quest, a cheap ready assembled pc will usually have a cheap PSU (but I guess you may be able to swap that out for your Corsair), the case with invariably suffer from poor airflow (again you may be able to swap it with you existing case if it is better), the graphics card will probably be low end.[/QUOTE]Again, I thought that newer pc's would be made better than you suggest. My reason for buying a new pc is so that I would have a pc that has everything I need without me having to go inside and fix/swap things. My existing case is a LIAN-LI PC-201A. It's beautiful but huge and is extremely heavy with all the hdds in it. When I built it, I didn't consider the weight when completed. I can't lift it, I can just barely slide it out from where it's placed on the floor to open it up when I have problems with it. This was the second pc that I built and both times, I had to take it to a pc shop because I couldn't figure some things out. The first time, the mobo needed to be placed on something like a pedestal in the case but the instructions weren't clear and I didn't use it. The second time, I used the pedestal but it wasn't supposed to be used, it had to be taken out. That's just an example. I had multiple more problems. The thought of going through that again sends chills down my spine. I don't trust that last pc repairman that charged me $350 to tape up the wire that didn't fix my pc to help me build a new pc. I could try a different repair shop but how do I know that they'll be any better?

It looks like I'm in a quandary.

Yesterday, with only 1 stick of RAM installed and just my OS hdd, my computer didn't freeze/crash even once. This morning, I added the second of one set of RAM sticks and so far, it hasn't frozen/crashed yet either. I'm going to try to connect hdds to the ports on my mobo and see what happens. I know that there's no long term solution for this pc and I'm going to have to do something else. I just have to figure out what that is.

 

I had a look on the Gigabyte website and it does not mention UEFI anywhere so I must assume that this board will not support HDDs >2TB. Look under bios specs in link below. I thought that it might have just squeezed in.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-EP45-DQ6-rev-10#sp

So can scrub what I said above about trying a 12TB HDD.

I know that Eldon mentioned getting a NAS drive. Have no direct experience with those but the principle is fairly simple.

Other than the options above, regrettably not many other choices to suggest other than a new pc or trying to simplify the internal HDD arrangement on your pc and possibly go for a very large external drive. However even that avenue is somewhat limited, one reason being that your mobo only natively has very slow USB2.0 ports.

Good Luck

 

Thanks for checking that for me.

I have all of my files backed up on external hdds so I have about 24Tb of externals.

My choices seem limited: Buy a pc that won't have what I need and fix it up to meet my needs, causing me to have a nervous breakdown; build a pc that meets my needs, causing me to have a nervous breakdown; or try something like NAS. Hmmmm.

Thanks for your help, everybody. I appreciate it.

 

Put that way i'd be skeptical as well. Perhaps other users may have different / other ideas

Good luck

 

I'm not skeptical about the advice I received here. I think it was good advice and reality-based. My options just don't meet what I was hoping for. I was hoping that there would be computers out there that would meet my needs, with only needing for me to add a few hdds at the most. But NAS might be a good option. I just don't understand it yet.

 

Today, I put in the second stick of one set of twin sticks of RAM and connected 5 hdds to ports on my motherboard and my pc has frozen/crashed all day. Tomorrow, I'm going to re-install the second set of twin sticks of RAM. If no problems, it'll eliminate my RAM as the culprit.

 

Have you thought of something like 3.5 inch 5 Bay Magnetic-type USB 3.0 Hard Drive Enclosure (I believe these would be backwards compatible for usb 2)- we would need to check.
This type will take up to 10gb per bay- or, 50gb total...... But your old motherboard may not support that much -maybe , - because these have their own power source,- it may be possible-worth looking at.

 

My computer can take USB 3.0. I have two WD Elements 8Tb Hard Drive (external) that I use to back up my files that're 3.0 and they have no problems (except that they have to be disconnected for my pc to boot to Windows). It's a good solution and the one I found (the only one I found), OricoDS500U3, isn't expensive. Thanks.

 

Personally and I know that solving problems on pcs can be hugely irritating and time consuming, I would go a bit more slowly in reconnecting components.

At least now you have a base line for what does work without crashes / freezes.

Good Luck

 

Good to see you back, and good luck-

Yes-That is the one- I did not give a link, because I thought your President was having trade words with China......
if yours takes usb 3, then this would probably be an answer.
With the extra cards you have installed,it may be draining power too much, with too many usb connections.-The 12volt supply Rail inside may have been pulling too much amperage (Although it seems your 12v rail can take 70amps), when so many are connected. One connection with its own power supply might just work, as it is storage only, not operating system.
I have a Lenova G70-70 , with core i7, and 16gb ram, and Windows 10 can, and does, freeze on it, mostly if I use Edge brouser, I noticed- So it may not be your system , itself, but Windows 10.
To be honest, I am not 100% happy with W10,and have revamped in various ways,and with my laptop,
I have one 1tb hard drive with triple boot,and this includes W7 Ultimate, W8.1 pro, and W10 pro. I have also made Virtual Machines in all, just to see how it compares.
My second 1tb hard drive,at present, I have tried W7 ultimate,with Virtual Machines for XP, W7, and W10.
Next I will try W8.1 , again.......
My overall preference is the triple boot, with all three- I use Wsus to get the updates ,and save an iso of the updates (a little future proof) https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/wsus_offline_update.html
Your power supply should have come with a 5 year warranty, incidentally.
It may just be W10 thats causing the problems-
otherwise a fault coming in the psu, as it froze when you connected a hard drive, I see.
Trial and error- try all ram, first, and test each step with a hard drive connection, and see if it freezes-
Look in Event Manager to see what might have caused the freeze-- Just type in 'event manager' , and click on it when it comes up.
Corsair show your psu ......

http://pcper.com/images/reviews/690/8-Nameplate.jpg
http://pcper.com/images/reviews/690/9-Specs-table.jpg

 

+ he's not my president, just a con man and crook that Russia helped install in the White House.

Last night, I connected a second hard drive to my motherboard. No hard drives were connected to the adapter cards. After a few hours, my computer crashed. Today, I removed the adapter cards and reseated the other two sticks of twin RAM. My computer's been up and running for a couple of hours and it hasn't crashed but it took about 8 hours for it to crash with only 2 hard drives connected to the motherboard yesterday. Maybe removing the adapter cards will help but since no hard drives were connected to them, I'm not sure.

I bought my PSU in 2009 and did an RMA on it in 2012. When I was having problems with the second one a few years later, it was out of warranty so I bought a new one, but I don't remember what year that was and I have no documents in my computer for it for some reason. I usually keep a record of everything I buy but I can't find it.

If I knew what was causing my computer to crash (PSU, RAM, Adapter Cards), I'd buy new ones. But I don't want to spend the money to buy a larger PSU and larger RAM if they're not going to fix the problem. It would cost me $hundreds to no avail and I could use those $hundreds to put into a new computer. If my computer can't handle 2 hard drives connected to the motherboard now, something is seriously wrong with it.

 

I just ran a Windows diagnostic test on my RAM and both sets of twin sticks passed. The event log says "The Windows Memory Diagnostic tested the computer's memory and detected no errors." So I know that my RAM is good.

 

Well, it should be noted while software-based RAM diagnostic tools are good, none are 100% conclusive. If they report any errors, even one, the RAM is bad. But it is not uncommon for them to report no problems, yet the RAM still fails in use, and/or when paired with other RAM. So, swapping in all new RAM is often the best test - but of course, not everyone has a bunch of spare RAM laying around so you might try running with just a single RAM stick to see if it fails. Repeat process with remaining modules, hopefully identifying the bad stick, if any, through a process of elimination. Just be sure to unplug the computer from the wall and touch bare metal of the case interior BEFORE reaching for the RAM to discharge any destructive static in your body.

 

I don't have spare RAM. I can test one stick at a time, though. Right now, I'm running a WD Data LifeGuard Diagnostic Extended test on one of my hdds. It has a remaining time of over 4hrs. I want to do an Extended test of my C drive as well today. The both passed the quick test.

 

Even if you had a faulty HDD it would not cause the pc to freeze / crash. I have never ever read any post about such a situation.

Up to you how you proceed with your trial and error tests but I would do the following.

Run your pc with one ram stick only. Physically remove all the add-on card to which you connect some of your hard drives.

Then add on hard drive after another on the SATA ports on the motherboard. If / when all those ports are full with the pc stable, then reconnect one add on card and continue to add HDD.

Do not replace the other ram stick until all of the HDDs are reconnected and your system is stable.

Good Luck

 

Sorry, Denise_M
I meant for you to look in 'event viewer', not event manager - and I still would like you to look there as it could well give us a reason, or, reasons for the freezes.
By all means do the slow checks, and additions to the system, as has been suggested
If you looked in event viewer, now, it should show a cause for the last freeze.

 

These are three parts of event viewer. What they're supposed to tell me is Chinese to me.

 

Last night, I had 1 set of twin sticks of RAM installed, both adapter cards, my OS hard drive and one other hdd connected and my computer crashed a few times. This morning, I removed the adapter cards, re-seated the second set of twin sticks of RAM, kept both hard drives connected and my computer hasn't frozen/crashed in over 9 hours, which is good, considering that it was freezing/crashing several times a day. The RAM test said that my RAM is good. At this point, is it safe to say that my RAM is okay but one of the adapter cards was causing the problem? Tomorrow I'm going to connect 1 hard drive at a time, let my computer run for a few hours, shut down and connect another, etc. Without the adapter cards, I can only connect 4 more hard drives.

 

Too early to tell yet. Personally, I have would have conducted your testing with 1 ram module only just to reduce the possibilities.

As regards RAM issues, a few years ago someone having pc issues eventually discovered that his ram was the culprit. He ran memtest86+ for 5 straight days before errors developed. An extreme case but it highlighted that when testing one should use the least components in order to rule them out.....

However, at this stage and from what your are reporting it is my hunch also that it's either one or both add-on cards (favourite) or the ram. Time will tell if either of those suspicions are correct...

Good Luck with the rest of the testing

 

I'm starting to give this some thought. If I could keep my case and PSU, I could save money there. I can buy the mobo, CPU, RAM and video card and that's all I'd need. I'd reduce the number of hdds to four 6Tb but have the extra bays if I wanted to add a hdd or 2 in the future. The motherboard would have to have 6 SATA ports. I'm thinking about it. Would anyone be willing to help me with picking out the parts? Don't go looking for them yet. I'm just thinking about it.

 

I'll let you know how it goes. I'll be out most of the day tomorrow and I want to add 1 hdd at a time and give it at least 4 hours before I add another. So it'll take me a day to get the 4 connected. If my computer starts freezing/crashing again, I'll test the RAM one stick at a time.

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb...1-error-the-system-has-rebooted-without-clean
Symptoms
Home users: This article is intended for use by support agents and IT professionals. If you're looking for more information about blue screen error messages, please visit the following Windows website: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/14238/windows-10-troubleshoot-blue-screen-errors.
In Windows, your computer restarts, and a critical error message that resembles the following is recorded in the event log:
Event ID: 41
Description: The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first.
Information icon Note The values for the Stop error BugcheckCode and the BugcheckParameters can vary.
More Information
<The kernel power event ID 41 error occurs when the computer is shut down, or it restarts unexpectedly. When a computer that is running Windows starts, a check is performed to determine whether the computer was shut down cleanly. If the computer was not shut down cleanly, a Kernel Power Event 41 message is generated.
An event 41 is used to report that something unexpected happened that prevented Windows from shutting down correctly. There may be insufficient information to explicitly define what happened. To determine what may have happened and to identify a potential resolution, it is important to know what the computer was doing at the time just before the event occurred.
If event 41 is logged because power to the computer was interrupted, consider obtaining an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) such as a battery backup power supply. An underpowered or failing power supply may cause this behavior. For example, if you added RAM or additional devices or hard disks when this problem began, the power supply may cause the problem.>

Scroll down summary page events- and this shows
Critical- DriverFramework-User mode ......User mode driver problems
So that indicates a driver issue , especially if you just added a card, or, hard drive, at 10-11
DistributedCom -10016 Not considered a problem in W10
https://www.tenforums.com/performan...hy-certain-dcom-10016-events-dont-matter.html
Error 7023 - https://social.technet.microsoft.co...rvice-control-manager?forum=win10itprogeneral
Known problem is a conflict between services. Fix with cmd (as Administrator):
Sc config ualsvc type= own
Sc config dssvc type= own
Perhaps someone else might add to this, but I feel that one of the cards, or, hard drives are causing the crashes , or, a driver- are all drivers updated? I use driver booster, myself
https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/iobit_driver_booster.html

 

PCPartPicker is a great place to help you select and price out your parts. Note it will only suggest compatible parts. So if you pick an Intel based motherboard, it will only suggest compatible RAM and it will not suggest an AMD processor. Or if you need a 500W PSU, it will not suggest a 350W.

 

Where did you see Error 7023? I don't see it in the Event Viewer pictures that I posted.

I was gone most of today and I just checked Event Viewer. It looks much better than yesterday. Today, I had 4 sticks of RAM installed and I added a third hdd and it looks like there were no critical errors or warnings. I had removed the adapter cards yesterday morning and my computer hasn't crashed/frozen since then. I'm going to be connecting another hdd in a few minutes to see how a fourth hdd connected to my mobo works out and will post to this thread.

 

You asked "Where did you see Error 7023? I don't see it in the Event Viewer pictures that I posted."
Admin events 3-19-19
Anyway- as you have found, it does look like one of the cards could be the culprit.
I would keep checking event viewer, after each, and any additional hardware, to see if that hardware has a driver problem, too-

 

I don't know how tight you are for money, but your motherboard, cpu and ram are very ancient. You can probably buy any PC for $500 and it would last longer and be 3x better than what you have currently. It could or could not solve your hard drive issue. Even if it doesn't solve it, I still think it's worth it at $500...

Even better you could find any $500 computer, buy the parts separately, and then import your graphic card in there. Which may save you money you would have to do the math on buying the CPU, MB, and RAM. The $500 PC might actually be cheaper than buying the parts separately.

Anyway i'm not an expert of the forums.

 

From https://www.sybausa.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=160 , I downloaded "Windows Manual Driver Installation" and driver "Windows 7, 8, 10." I unzipped the driver package, shut down re-seated the adapter card, booted up and went into Device Manager and told it to find new hardware. I updated the drivers for the adapter card with the drivers that I downloaded and unzipped and I now have 6 hard drives connected to the adapter card and my computer hasn't frozen or crashed in 2 days. So I think my whole problem was that I had the wrong driver installed for the adapter card (IO Crest 8-port SATA III PCIe 2.0 x2 Controller Card Green, SI-PEX40071).

I know that my computer is getting very old but SS doesn't go very far. I don't know how much longer it'll run but I'll wait until it completely dies before I buy a new one. I built this one and the one I had before it and their builds were nightmares for me, having to take it to a pc repair shop to get things straightened out in the end. At this point, I just want to buy a pre-built. For right now, though, I'm all set.

Thanks to everybody who gave their time and helped me with this.

 

Post #11.

 

My motherboard and CPU are ancient. I purchased new RAM, video card and adapter card in 2018 (and a Windows 10 disk). None of my hard drives are older than 3 years, some are only a few months old. As long as my computer stays up and running, I'll use it. If my motherboard starts to fail/fails, which I thought was the case when I created this thread, then I'll buy a new computer. I just put over $800 into it in the past 6 months. I'd like to get as much use out of it as possible.

 

Denise_M You did the checks, and that shows you still have it -
Card +driver problem solved- Well done.

 

thanks.