Computer suddenly locking up

MintCrisp · Jan 17, 2007, 07:36 PM

Ok guys i need help, 4 days ago my computer randomly started locking up, the screen just freezes, i cant cntrl, alt, delete, the cursor is just stuck and there is no acctivity from the hard drive, the only way to get out is to reset the computer, it has done it a few times whilst browsing the internet, but i cannot play any games as it locks up straight away.

Here are the things i have tried,

Run anti virus and spyware scans
Reinstalled windows
Run memtest, no errors reported
Run the seagate hard drive diagnostic program, no errors reported
Updated chipset and bios
Cleaned cpu heatsink and all fans

None of the above have worked, but i think i have tracked it down to either a faulty graphics card or a faulty psu.

If i swop the graphics card to the original nvidia 6800gt that came with the system it doesnt lock up.

So here lies my quandry, is it the card or the psu ?

A year ago i purchased a new Gainward Bliss 7800gs and it has been running perfectly up until now, but the power requirement is for a 400watt psu, my psu is 480 watts.

The 6800gt power requirement is for a 350 watt psu, it's not much difference i know but it could be that my psu is failing and doesnt have enough juice to power the 7800gs.

Heres the weird thing if i look in my bios there is no 12v rail reading anywhere, so i tried everest and again there is no 12v rail reading, also speedfan shows no 12v rail reading, could this be my problem ?

I need to know if it is indeed the psu before purchasing a new one, i have another computer that i could try the 7800gs in but the psu is only 350 watt so i dont think it would work anyway.

I purchased this rig 3 years ago and it has been running fine untill now, here are the specs

ALIENWARE AURORA-FX
ABIT AV8 SOCKET 939 MOTHERBOARD
AMD ATHLON FX55 CPU
2GB DDR PC3200 RAM
120GB SEAGATE BARRACUDA HARD DRIVE
AUDIGY 2 ZS SOUND CARD
LITE ON CD-RW DRIVE
16X DVD-ROM
480 WATT ALIENWARE PSU
GAINWARD BLISS 700GS OR NVIDIA 6800GT

So any ideas what is at fault the psu or gpu, and why is there no 12v rail reading anywhere ?

Many thanks.

Jimmy 2004 · Jan 17, 2007, 07:47 PM

Don't have a clue why there is no 12V, but I would also suspect the PSU - first of all ensure that all the power connections are nice and firm.

I recommend that you try running Prime95 for a couple of hours with the 6800GT installed. If you get errors your CPU could be on the way out. Have you been overclocking at all? If you have a friend you can borrow parts off that would be useful so you can swap them into your system, but at the moment it looks most like PSU, possibly graphics but it could still be the CPU.

ktr · Jan 17, 2007, 07:47 PM

My comp been doing the same while gaming. I thought is was memory, but memtest said it was clean. So I reinstalled XP and my unit is working flawless. I have a hunch on one of M$ updates...hmm...

but you have already reinstalled everything, it seems to be the psu then...

JC316 · Jan 17, 2007, 07:53 PM

It really seems like you did your homework on this one and I commend you for that.

I also say it's the power supply, you have narrowed everything down and since it's an off brand, I would say the PS is cheap. I would pick up another power supply. The Antec Smart Power 2.0 500W is a damn nice unit and it's only about $69 bucks from newegg these days.

MintCrisp · Jan 19, 2007, 04:06 PM

I have finaly found out what was causing the lockups, it was indeed my psu and not the graphics card.

The lockups started to get more frequent, so i started removing things from my system one at a time until i was left with just a bare bones setup, and still the lockups persisted, i then removed the psu and found out that 2 of the pins on the molex connector to the motherboard were badly burnt, infact the plastic coating crumbled when i removed it.

So i have replaced it with a new 700watt psu, probably overkill but better to be safe than sorry.

One thing puzzles me though, there is no reading from the 12v rail anywhere, not in the bios, not in speedfan and not in everest ?

Even with the original psu there were never any readings for the 12v rail, has anyone come across this before ? is it a quirk of the motherboard, i have asked a few people and they dont know.

Jimmy 2004 · Jan 19, 2007, 09:57 PM

Must be the motherboard - it's either a minor fault or a missing feature, a BIOS upgrade could help it. Glad you've got your system working again, I wouldn't worry about there being no 12V reading if you've got a good PSU. What make/model is it?

Jan 17, 2007, 07:36 PM	#1
MintCrisp Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 2 (0.00/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Computer suddenly locking up Ok guys i need help, 4 days ago my computer randomly started locking up, the screen just freezes, i cant cntrl, alt, delete, the cursor is just stuck and there is no acctivity from the hard drive, the only way to get out is to reset the computer, it has done it a few times whilst browsing the internet, but i cannot play any games as it locks up straight away. Here are the things i have tried, Run anti virus and spyware scans Reinstalled windows Run memtest, no errors reported Run the seagate hard drive diagnostic program, no errors reported Updated chipset and bios Cleaned cpu heatsink and all fans None of the above have worked, but i think i have tracked it down to either a faulty graphics card or a faulty psu. If i swop the graphics card to the original nvidia 6800gt that came with the system it doesnt lock up. So here lies my quandry, is it the card or the psu ? A year ago i purchased a new Gainward Bliss 7800gs and it has been running perfectly up until now, but the power requirement is for a 400watt psu, my psu is 480 watts. The 6800gt power requirement is for a 350 watt psu, it's not much difference i know but it could be that my psu is failing and doesnt have enough juice to power the 7800gs. Heres the weird thing if i look in my bios there is no 12v rail reading anywhere, so i tried everest and again there is no 12v rail reading, also speedfan shows no 12v rail reading, could this be my problem ? I need to know if it is indeed the psu before purchasing a new one, i have another computer that i could try the 7800gs in but the psu is only 350 watt so i dont think it would work anyway. I purchased this rig 3 years ago and it has been running fine untill now, here are the specs ALIENWARE AURORA-FX ABIT AV8 SOCKET 939 MOTHERBOARD AMD ATHLON FX55 CPU 2GB DDR PC3200 RAM 120GB SEAGATE BARRACUDA HARD DRIVE AUDIGY 2 ZS SOUND CARD LITE ON CD-RW DRIVE 16X DVD-ROM 480 WATT ALIENWARE PSU GAINWARD BLISS 700GS OR NVIDIA 6800GT So any ideas what is at fault the psu or gpu, and why is there no 12v rail reading anywhere ? Many thanks.

System Name:	Jimmy 2004's PC
Processor:	S754 AMD Athlon64 3200+ @ 2640MHz
Motherboard:	ASUS K8N
Cooling:	AC Freezer 64 Pro + Zalman VF1000 + 5x120mm Antec TriCool Case Fans
Memory:	1GB Kingston PC3200 (2x512MB)
Video Card:	Saphire 256MB X800 GTO @ 450MHz/560MHz (Core/Memory)
Hard Disk:	500GB Western Digital SATA II + 80GB Maxtor DiamondMax SATA
Optical Drive:	LiteOn DVD & NEC DVD+/-RW DL
CRT/LCD Model:	Digimate 17" TFT (1280x1024)
Case:	Antec P182
Sound Card:	Audigy 4 + Creative Inspire T7900 7.1 Speakers
PSU:	Corsair HX520W
Software:	Windows XP Home

System Name:	Gateway P7811FX (laptop)
Processor:	Intel Centrino2 C2D T9600 sktP 2.8Ghz 6mb Cache
Motherboard:	Foxconn made systemboard w/ Intel PM45 "Montevina" Chipset
Cooling:	Two Laptop Fans (one for GPU, other for CPU)
Memory:	SuperTalent Micron 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-8500 DDR3
Video Card:	Nvidia 9800M GTS 512MB discrete (1750mb shared) PCI-E
Hard Disk:	WD Scorpio Black 500GB Sata2 16MB 7200 & Samsung 830 series 128GB SSD
Optical Drive:	Optiarc 8x Multi-Format Dual Layer DVDRAM
CRT/LCD Model:	17.0" AUO WUXGA Ultrabright 1920x1200 Wide Screen Glossy
Case:	Laptop Chassis Orange and Black w/ Brushed Metal
Sound Card:	Creative X-FI Notebook ExpressCard
PSU:	120watt AC Adapter & 9cell Battery 86WHr
Software:	Windows 7 Professional 64Bit

Jan 17, 2007, 07:53 PM	#4
JC316 Knows what makes you tick Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: DFW/ Texas Posts: 6,047 (2.26/day) Thanks: 714 Thanked 912 Times in 696 Posts System Specs	It really seems like you did your homework on this one and I commend you for that. I also say it's the power supply, you have narrowed everything down and since it's an off brand, I would say the PS is cheap. I would pick up another power supply. The Antec Smart Power 2.0 500W is a damn nice unit and it's only about $69 bucks from newegg these days. __________________ Core 2 Duo Overclocking guide Athlon 64 overclocking guide “If I were to do this, it'd be my luck that the door would rip off the hinges, burst into flames, and rape my face with fiery hot death.” -El Fiendo

System Name:	Budget Gaming
Processor:	AMD FX6300
Motherboard:	Gigabyte 880GMA-USB3
Cooling:	Coolermaster Hyper 212+
Memory:	8GB Ripjaws DDR3 1600
Video Card:	HD7850 1GB
Hard Disk:	1TB Sata2
Optical Drive:	DVD RM
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer 19"
Case:	Generic black
Sound Card:	Stock onboard
PSU:	Lepa 500W
Software:	Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit

Jan 17, 2007, 07:47 PM	#2
Jimmy 2004 Eligible for custom title Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: England Posts: 5,047 (1.66/day) Thanks: 134 Thanked 276 Times in 185 Posts System Specs	Don't have a clue why there is no 12V, but I would also suspect the PSU - first of all ensure that all the power connections are nice and firm. I recommend that you try running Prime95 for a couple of hours with the 6800GT installed. If you get errors your CPU could be on the way out. Have you been overclocking at all? If you have a friend you can borrow parts off that would be useful so you can swap them into your system, but at the moment it looks most like PSU, possibly graphics but it could still be the CPU.

Jan 17, 2007, 07:47 PM	#3
ktr Eligible for custom title Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Bay Area, California, USA, Earth Posts: 6,158 (2.37/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 708 Times in 595 Posts System Specs	My comp been doing the same while gaming. I thought is was memory, but memtest said it was clean. So I reinstalled XP and my unit is working flawless. I have a hunch on one of M$ updates...hmm... but you have already reinstalled everything, it seems to be the psu then...

Jan 19, 2007, 04:06 PM	#5
MintCrisp Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 2 (0.00/day) Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I have finaly found out what was causing the lockups, it was indeed my psu and not the graphics card. The lockups started to get more frequent, so i started removing things from my system one at a time until i was left with just a bare bones setup, and still the lockups persisted, i then removed the psu and found out that 2 of the pins on the molex connector to the motherboard were badly burnt, infact the plastic coating crumbled when i removed it. So i have replaced it with a new 700watt psu, probably overkill but better to be safe than sorry. One thing puzzles me though, there is no reading from the 12v rail anywhere, not in the bios, not in speedfan and not in everest ? Even with the original psu there were never any readings for the 12v rail, has anyone come across this before ? is it a quirk of the motherboard, i have asked a few people and they dont know.

Jan 19, 2007, 09:57 PM	#6
Jimmy 2004 Eligible for custom title Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: England Posts: 5,047 (1.66/day) Thanks: 134 Thanked 276 Times in 185 Posts System Specs	Must be the motherboard - it's either a minor fault or a missing feature, a BIOS upgrade could help it. Glad you've got your system working again, I wouldn't worry about there being no 12V reading if you've got a good PSU. What make/model is it?

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