it's going out the window!!!!

don't know if this is the correct forum to post... i just joined hoping for some help... i have window xp .. Keeps freezing .. (so i am typing fast)... i am thinking video card issues... but really don't know .. i checked the memory unless they are both not working .. and i reinstalled windows completely .. wiping the drive soooo not a virus or anything issue.. i have a slight feeling also it may be bios .. which i am clueless on how to fix ... i will post the info i got on the compi if needed.. desperate attempt to find help!!! (this is my mom's computer ..i am home in the states (detroit) trying to help her fix it..


SPECS:

Processor
Model : AMD Athlon(tm) Processor
Speed : 1.05GHz
Model Number : 1190 (estimated)
Performance Rating : PR1515 (estimated)
Type : Standard
L2 On-board Cache : 256kB ECC Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way set, 64 byte line size

Mainboard
Bus(es) : ISA AGP PCI USB i2c/SMBus
MP Support : No
MP APIC : No
System BIOS : American Megatrends Inc. 062710
Total Memory : 240MB SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) SiS730 CPU to PCI Bridge
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 100MHz (200MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 256MB SDRAM
Shared Memory : 16MB

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Plug and Play Monitor
Adapter : SiS 300/305/630/540/730

Physical Storage Devices
Hard Disk : WDC WD400BB-32CLB0 (37GB)
CD-ROM/DVD : LITE-ON LTR-40125S (CD 159X Rd, 40X Wr)

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C : 37GB (33GB, 88% Free Space) (NTFS)
CD-ROM/DVD (D : N/A

MultiMedia Device(s)
Device : MPU-401 Compatible MIDI Device
Device : Standard Game Port
Device : SiS 7018 Audio Driver

Power Management
AC Line Status : On-Line

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Professional (Win32 x86) 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 1)

Network Services
Adapter : SiS 900 PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter

 

Could be that your CPU fan is not working - it could be clogged with dust. Given your symptoms its nearly always overheating that is causing the problem. Open up the case and have a look and see if, when the PC is on, the fan is spinning freely. If not carefully clean out the gunk to allow it to spin.

Hope its as simple as that

 

the fans are all working. .. sometimes it freezes after having it on for 3 seconds .. and sometimes it won't freeze for 20 minutes .. and i am noticing sometimes the monitor graphics distort a bit .. also, the date and some settings i save are not saving at all. Thanks for responding..

 

Could be a flat CMOS battery.

 

What would a flat CMOS battery have to do with the PC locking up?

And if the CMOS battery is going flat normally the first indication is a wrong time and date.

The PC is obviously not THAT old and if overheating is not the problem then then the video card would be my next suspect in line.

 

i just took out and cleaned the cpu fan and what not .. it was disgusting... waiting to see what happens... i am not getting a cmos error .. so i am a lil weary about going to get a battery... i am thinking video card also .. but ohh how i am wishing it isn't...

 

k.. it froze .. it lasted a hour though after i cleaned the heatsink and fan .. the fan is running .. the only thing i see in bios is that the system fan speed is 0rpm .. don't know if that meens anything of concern though .. ugh... don't know what to do honestly.

 

Try turning down the hardware acceleration for the graphics to see if that helps any.

 

k... but, i don't know how..

 

k did that .. waiting to see if it helps now..

 

Sorry I should have said how. But glad to see you workd it out yourself.

Post back with your results.

 

still freezing.. the window is looking awfully good rite now.

 

Sorry to hear that!!

I take it you knocked off the hardware acceleration to "none"?

Just as a matter of interest, how many colours (colors ) are you set up to use? And what refresh rate on the monitor?

And just in case you don't know how - Right click anywhere on the desktop - then click Properties at the bottom of the menu list that appears. Then click on the settings tab. This will tell you the number of colours. Then click on the Advanced button and then the adapter tab to see the refresh rate.

Hope that was clear enough.

 

k hardware acceleration set it to none .. than i think i checked my colors rite.. not toooo positive though.. this is what i saw.. res 800/600 pixels quality 32 bit.. sis 630/730 and 85 hertz it didn't really say .. This is your refresh rate though so i am assuming the one that was highlighted out of the billion listed was the correct one .. thanks again for being so helpful

 

one more thing i may have forgoten under other devices in my device manager.. it is showing a question mark for PCI Modem .. i can't even find out what the bloody thing is ... ugh .. it says that i may or may not need a driver installed...but, i know question marks in device manager are not good.

 

A missing device drive for a pci modem is not the cause of your troubles. Since you just reformatted the drive, I don't think you have a software problem. Sounds to me like this is a hardware issue - I think you have a failing or improperly installed component somewhere. From your symptoms, it could be almost anything at this point. I had a similar problem once upon a time with my pc when the RAM was not seated properly. Now, I have to ask you a question, do you know anything about PC hardware? Do you know where your RAM, CPU, video card, etc... is located? I need to know this to gauge your expertise level in a way.

BTW... nice website!

 

thanks ... yup i know where my ram is and i am almost dead possative i know where the video card is .. CPU, bios .. battery .. duh .. . i was around when it was being built and watched the whole thing .. so i have a pretty good idea i think.... i figured it was hardware.. it froze anyways again after adjusting the settings ..i had taken out and tested my ram .. unless they both went bad i don't think it is that .. but i could be wrong ...i did test that everything was in correctly .. but you know .. i have that "afraid to push to hard" fear .. which sometimes has to be done.. I appreciate the help ...(ahhh the damn time keeps going backwards to.. but i checked time in dos and it isn't out of sink their .. battery?) how annoying!

 

Do you have two RAM sticks fitted? If so you could try taking one out and see if the PC still locks up. If it does then try it with the other RAM stick. If it doesn't still try it with the other RAM stick to see if it then does. And while you're in there make sure that your video card is seated properly - you could take it out and put it back again to really make sure.

Oh and if your video card is the type with a fan make sure that is working.

Keep the window shut for a while yet!!

 

I would almost bet it is something with the Ram I had a problem just like this when I built my computer a year ago.
I tried everything video cards, network cards, soundcards...it finaly came down to the Ram.
and that was the problem