error messege on startup + computer freezing

hey guys .. i was told by TimW on the malware removal forum to post here
since he thinks my probs aren't malware related.. as i've done all teh steps
on the malware pages and my logs seem clean...

in the last few days i've been getting "freezes" on my comp.. and
i'm unable to do anything. on a few occasions this has been accompanied by strange yellow lines on the screen, and a couple of times the comp restarted
for no apperent reason.
most of the times it just freezes on me... and this is totaly random.. 5 minutes or a few hours!

i have an AM/ athlon 64 3000 proccessor (939 venice)
with a MSI RSM-IL X300 939 board
and windows XP sp2 operating system
untill recently i had 2 ceon 256MB DDR 400 mhz memory cards.
and a 80mb hard drive

recently i've bought a 1 GB DDR 400 mhz ceon card which replaced my
previous memorey
as well as a LG DVD sata burner
and a new wester digital 160GB sata2 hard drive.
since about then i've been getting these computer freezes which
have been doing my head in

the socond problem has been occuring for a long time now..
and it's an error messege that i get everytime i start the computer
and windows start..
the messege is that "windows cannot find"c:\docume~..... taskmgr.exe"

any help would be really really appreciated..

beer in Tel Aviv, Israel if you're around is on me

 

A few things to try. First, clean all the dust out of the heat sinks on the CPU and video card. Make sure all the fans are spinning when it boots up. If you still have the same problem, you may have a bad/weak PSU (power supply). Unplug any extra devices (extra hard drives, DC/DVD drives...) and see if you get the freezes.

Post back with how dirty the sinks were, and how it is doing.

E

 

hey fred.. first of all thanks for your help..
i cleaned the heat sinks.. and the rest of the comp .. the video card is ATI
and it's onboard...
anyways there wasn't much dust at all .. i used a toothbrush as well
as compressed air..

the comp still freezes..

following that i disconnected the dvd burner - but this hasn't helped either

i'm about to go crazy... or kill my comp.. wichever comes first...
i'd really appreciate some more help if you can...
thanks again..

 

What PSU do you have?

You might also want to run this program to test your RAM http://majorgeeks.com/Memtest86_d4226.html

E

 

i'm not entirely sure i know what you mean by psu..
but if its power suply..the recipt on for my comp says real 350W amd 4
which i guess is for the processor (since i dont really see anything with that label inside my comp)

and the box (sorry i'm so bad at this) which the big fan is in (and the power line connects to it..)
says codegen 400W model:200X -
hope that makes sense...

i was sure this was memory related.. so a few days ago i asked the store
to replace my new mem card with the same model and they did..
they tested my mem and it came out ok..
and just to be safe i ran the mem program yesterday and it said "pass"
and didnt find any errors.



mmm well i hope i answered your question regarding the psu...

waiting for some more instructions..

and thanks for replying so quickly...

 

PSU = power supply. So you have a 400W codegen PSU?

E

 

yep..
codegen 400w..

 

I did a quick Google on Codegen PSUs. Not a high quality unit, you might look into testing yours, or getting something better.

Never skimp on the PSU. It powers all and can kill all. And it can cause the devil of all diagnostic problems. I vote bad PSU, but I am a person on the net that has not touched your computer, so all I can give you is my opinion. Take it for what it is worth!

Something like this would be the minimum I would use: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=316504

And perhaps some other Geeks here may have other suggestions.

E

 

thanks..
any idea how i test the psu?

 

There are software programs like Everest http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html But I use a Digital Multi Meter. Handy little gadget, I get some use out of mine. I have never seen this site before, found them on the Google, but they seem to have a variety of them... http://www.multimeterwarehouse.com/digitalmultimeter.htm

But if it is a cheap PSU, in my opinion, it is suspect, and will most likely cause you problems now or in the future.

E

 

thanks fred
so you think me adding a new HD and burner as well as extra memory hav caused my psu to fail causing the freeze of the comp?

no other explanation is possible?

 

Well, I suspect you have overtaxed your PSU. Or perhaps it is on it's way out. There are other possibilities. Hard to say without the computer in front of me. But a cheap PSU is a big red flag to me. I have had very bad experiences with them in the past.

Just my thoughts.

E

 

thanks fred.. i'll get a new psu and post back...
hopefully that'll solve it.