Possible CPU problem???

Hi,

New geek with a problem here. Hoping someone can help me out. About two weeks ago, my computer started crashing occasionaly during graphic intense programs. The last few days it has gotten worse - seems worse the longer the computer has been running.

First thing i did was test the memory. I ran both Memtest and the windows memory testor and had no errors.

Second thing i did was swap out my video card with an old 16mb card i had laying around. I was able to run my game (very slowly) a little more stable, but still had a crash after 30 min or so. I put my 64mb card back in after I figured this didn't work.

Someone told me to run Prime 95 to check for errors. It detects hardware errors and stops after about 30 seconds initially and then about 10 seconds if I retest right away.

I removed my heatsink and reinstalled to make sure I have a good connection. The cpu temp runs between 51 and 55C, which seems okay.

Is there any way I can run a test to determine for sure if my CPU is bad? Anything else I forgot to check? Sorry if I'm rambling on, but I don't know what to do next.

System:
Athlon 1800
MSI K7T 266 pro
512mb ram (single stick)
ati radeon 9000 pro 64mb
running windows xp

Thanks for the help.

 

What about you ram it chould B your ram ya try relaxing its timings a bit to see if that helped ??????

 

If this is an older computer youo might try blowing the power supply out with compressed air it may be overheating also make sure the fan is working. Just a thought.

 

I tried relaxing the settings on the ram, but still had a crash just the same.


I'm pretty sure the power supply is clean - its a dual fan ps and both are working. I may try swapping out with another ps I have laying around here. My alternate ps is only 300w so I might have some issues but still worth a shot.

 

Well,

It looks like my problem may be RAM related after all. I took a closer look at my bios settings and someone had tweaked them. I reset the standards to setup default but still had a crashing issue. The crashes occured in just about any program, not just graphic intense programs. I knocked down the front side bus to 100 instead of 133 and it is running much more stable now.

I'm still getting some strange things happening when I reinstall windows - one installation the system couldn't find the network card no matter what i tried. After the next format and reinstall all was fine until my cd drives disappeared after loading my video driver. All of the devices had been living in harmony until I started having the crashing issue. Oh well, I'll wait till I toss in a new stick of memory and see what happens.

 

Maybe update your MB drivers? I had this happen with an Asus board once. I got all kinds of errors, crashes, bla bla bla. After reformatting I was still getting errors & crashes, so I was purty sure it wasn't software related. I swapped everything to another board & it all worked just fine, so I knew it had to be something with the MB. I put it all back together & reinstalled drivers for everything & wahlah it worked just fine.

Might not be the problem, but it's worth a shot right?

 

Funny you mentioned that, because I purchased a new MB before checking out your post. It was time for an upgrade, and I found a soyo sy-kt600 on newegg.com for $50 shipped. My current board doesn't have 8x AGP, so this will be a nice cheap upgrade.

I have to quit complaining about computer problems because I can use the problems to justify spending the addtional cash for upgrades to my wife

 

Hello stubborn,I have almost the same problem. I didn't had this until a few week ( two I think). My CPU is always working on 100%....even when its only Microsoft Word that is opened....Can anyone help me? I tried System Restore in Windows XP Home Edition, but it didn't helped. Combat Flight Simulator 3 is crashing always a few seconds after I've started my flight. I get a completely blue screen with no message. I can only restart my computer. And he's having again the same problem. If you can help me, please e-mail me soon at:
jorisvdbtomahawk@hotmail.com
jorisvdbtomahawk@yahoo.com
savingangel9845@aol.com
or post the solution on this forum

 

When was the last time you did a sys clean out, ripped off that side cover and sucked the crud out?

Do you have EVEREST? and what sort of temps, volts, mem% readings are you getting? Try to establish some baseline data! During idle, moderate and load sessions. This app can help you to make some inferences into where your prob may lay! Then you can begin some sort of analysis of your dillema.