How To Stress Test Certain Components?
DY357LX
Playing since day 1. Still can't Comm.England Join Date: 2002-10-27 Member: 1651Members, Constellation
Playing since day 1. Still can't Comm.England Join Date: 2002-10-27 Member: 1651Members, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">Keeps Restarting - Need To Know Why.</div> Over the past week or 2 my computer has decided to restart itself at (seemingly) random intervals. At first I thought it was the heat, friends of
mine have said a few times that overheated components can do that.
So I took the sides off my PC and ran it like that for a while. But after starting my comp one raining morning, the system restarted after just 20 minutes. It wasn't anywhere near hot, so overheating is out the question.
Then I thought it might be DirectX 9. So I used a DirectX killer and successfully rolled back to 8.1. Games ran fine, but the random restarts remained (ARGH!).
So I thought there maybe some sort of conflict in DirectX. Maybe the killer hadn't removed all the core components and reg entries properly.
The best way to be sure was the format the drive and go straight to 8.1.
Easy enough. 40 minutes later, Windows 98 is in, DirectX 8.1 is in, and i'm running a nice game on DoD against the bots.... until it crashes.
Very odd, its a 99% clean system, surely it should be fine.
So I stroke my chin for abit....... ATI Drivers! After trying versions
3.1 all the way through to the very recent 3.6's..... its still crashing!
Then I think.... maybe the ATI drivers are conflicting.... format number 2.
After the format I go straight to Catalyst 3.2 and their "control panel".
I've used the Cat~s 3.2's in the past and they're been great..... it still crashes!
I'm offered a friends Windows XP Pro disc... i've been fine with Win98 in
the past, but what the hell. Lets give it a go. I went with the "FULL" option
and NOT the "Upgrade". As soon as the essentials are in, I create the System
Restore Point (no ATI drivers etc.).
So i'm left with a few drastic options.
1: Remove soundcard (SoundBlaster Live 5.1) and run on onboard sound.
If there's no crash I replace the card.
2: Remove the Radeon 9000 and run with my very old GeForce 4 MX 440.
Luckily, i've made an XP System Restore Point right after XP went in so I can simply throw in the mx 440 and download some drivers.
If there's no crash I replace the card.
3: If neither of the above work....... motherboard?
The crash is bascially - the picture freezes and the sound loops. Other than
that the system simply restarts itself.
So I need some way of stress testing my cards. Ie there an application that
anyone knows of that can help?
Idea's, comments, things to hit my comp with, all welcome!
I'll post all my system specs and a DXDIAG when I get home.
mine have said a few times that overheated components can do that.
So I took the sides off my PC and ran it like that for a while. But after starting my comp one raining morning, the system restarted after just 20 minutes. It wasn't anywhere near hot, so overheating is out the question.
Then I thought it might be DirectX 9. So I used a DirectX killer and successfully rolled back to 8.1. Games ran fine, but the random restarts remained (ARGH!).
So I thought there maybe some sort of conflict in DirectX. Maybe the killer hadn't removed all the core components and reg entries properly.
The best way to be sure was the format the drive and go straight to 8.1.
Easy enough. 40 minutes later, Windows 98 is in, DirectX 8.1 is in, and i'm running a nice game on DoD against the bots.... until it crashes.
Very odd, its a 99% clean system, surely it should be fine.
So I stroke my chin for abit....... ATI Drivers! After trying versions
3.1 all the way through to the very recent 3.6's..... its still crashing!
Then I think.... maybe the ATI drivers are conflicting.... format number 2.
After the format I go straight to Catalyst 3.2 and their "control panel".
I've used the Cat~s 3.2's in the past and they're been great..... it still crashes!
I'm offered a friends Windows XP Pro disc... i've been fine with Win98 in
the past, but what the hell. Lets give it a go. I went with the "FULL" option
and NOT the "Upgrade". As soon as the essentials are in, I create the System
Restore Point (no ATI drivers etc.).
So i'm left with a few drastic options.
1: Remove soundcard (SoundBlaster Live 5.1) and run on onboard sound.
If there's no crash I replace the card.
2: Remove the Radeon 9000 and run with my very old GeForce 4 MX 440.
Luckily, i've made an XP System Restore Point right after XP went in so I can simply throw in the mx 440 and download some drivers.
If there's no crash I replace the card.
3: If neither of the above work....... motherboard?
The crash is bascially - the picture freezes and the sound loops. Other than
that the system simply restarts itself.
So I need some way of stress testing my cards. Ie there an application that
anyone knows of that can help?
Idea's, comments, things to hit my comp with, all welcome!
I'll post all my system specs and a DXDIAG when I get home.
Comments
I'm hoping a friend of mine will let me 'borrow' the sound card from his old computer so I can see if that's the problem.
For me, the system never restarts, just sound loop and picture freeze. Usually with Star-Trek Elite Force 2 (I AM NOT A TREKKIE, IM A HUMAN BEING!), but sometimes with DoD and NS (far less often).
Methinks this is because in DoD and NS, the only sounds being played are for bullets firing, voice commands, death sounds e.t.c, but with STEF2 you have a plot and hence people speaking which loads lots of different sound files.
I made a test and didn't start Winamp or any other sound using program. I have all sounds disabled on all programs, including Windows and it STILL freezed after 30 minutes or so... Now running for an hour without a freeze, thanks god... <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo-->
I put £5 (not really but there you go) that you have Direct X 9
Direct X 9 and ATI cards are known to be a little volitile
-EDIT- READ YOU CRETIN!!!!
OK in that case could it be DX9 haunting you? -EDIT-
^_^ j/k...
i wouldn't know what to tell ya, my friend's computer does the same thing even though it's fairly brand new. the answer to his dilemma though was to leave the case off and stick a giant fan beside the cpu..etc. but seeing that's not the case.. it's beyond me! <!--emo&::nerdy::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/nerd.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='nerd.gif'><!--endemo-->
1 of which is 512 SDR, the other is 128 SDR, They're both the
same speed.
Its not DirectX issues because i've gone to DirectX 8.1 from a
fresh format.
It's not a virus because i'm very careful about what I download
and the more obvious fact that i've formated 3 times.
EDIT: Nukethepalce go ask your dad what it was.. please <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
1 of which is 512 SDR, the other is 128 SDR, They're both the
same speed.
Its not DirectX issues because i've gone to DirectX 8.1 from a
fresh format.
It's not a virus because i'm very careful about what I download
and the more obvious fact that i've formated 3 times.
EDIT: Nukethepalce go ask your dad what it was.. please <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
1. Have you tried running the system with only 1 of the RAM sticks? Try it with one, then try the other. That would narrow down a bad stick.
2. You say you're using DirectX8.1, but the DXDiag report you posted shows 9.0. Hmm. Your first post was confusing also-are you using Win98 or XP?
1 of which is 512 SDR, the other is 128 SDR, They're both the
same speed.
Its not DirectX issues because i've gone to DirectX 8.1 from a
fresh format.
It's not a virus because i'm very careful about what I download
and the more obvious fact that i've formated 3 times.
EDIT: Nukethepalce go ask your dad what it was.. please <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
1. Have you tried running the system with only 1 of the RAM sticks? Try it with one, then try the other. That would narrow down a bad stick.
2. You say you're using DirectX8.1, but the DXDiag report you posted shows 9.0. Hmm. Your first post was confusing also-are you using Win98 or XP? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
1: Yes I've tried running my 128 stick and my 512 stick.
Individually, and even with their positions swapped.
2: My DxDiag reads DirectX 9.0 because this morning I updated it
and the ATI Drivers (The Catalysts 3.6's will ONLY run with DX9.)
in order to narrow down the possibilites.
It would run fine then it would lockup for a few seconds the sound would loop or and either continue as normal or reboot. I cheked that all fans where running and that there where no severe dust buildups. I used sisoft sandra and tested all sorts of things, no luck on finding any clues. I reaseated all hard ware and tried again. I tested the RAM to see that it would function properly with a memory checker from DOS (no problems, I did not note at the time, but there where no freezes and lockups in when booting to DOS from a start diskette). I try reinstalling drivers, running a different virus checker, runing ad-aware etc. I restart with minumum components inside the computer(I did not bother to disconnect the keyboard or mouse), no luck. I format and re-install everything, no luck. I test replacing the graphics card with an older one, I try replacing the processor with a slower, older one(from another computer that), nothing. I rip out my hair for a while and bite my fingernails for a bit <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo--> , then I ignore the problem for a few days(seeing as how it only crashes randomly but would often go for 2-5 hours before crashing).
Suddenly my mouse stops working, and I replace it. Everything is absolutely peachy, no crashes any more. Turns out the cord was broken and randomly shorting out as I moved the mouse or something.
Never ever ever(evEr EVeR eveR!!!!11) avoid testing the peripherals when trying to determine the cause of a possible hardware problem, ever. It would have been easy to just swap out the mouse for another one and that would have saved me about ~15 hours and a few head aches. I mean I had another mouse and keyboard around, I could have just tried, I even had another monitor(albeit crappy one).
Check what things are assigned to in control panel, system device manager and let us know.
Umm... maybe a bit more info as to the motherboard and if you got the PC from a know retailer (eg.Dell etc.), that could as it could be a know problem with that hardware config.
It sounds like either a Ram (although that seems to counted out though) or soundcard issue though.
1. Go to a friends house and download Redhat Linux or buy a veresion of Linux from a store.
2. Format hardrive install Linux.
3. Wait for the crash.
If it does not crash obviously the problem was Windows.
Ok, a lot of problems can go wrong with mismatched components, like if you have an AGP 8.0 card on a AGP 4.0 mobo with 8.0 switched on and etc or if you have mismatched ram or faulty ram sinks.
Premature aging and ESD can cause that, so check all components.
"Semiconductors do wear out! Contrary to the beliefs of many, integrated circuits grow old and die, or become intermittent. How they do that varies; modern "chips" as used in computers, have literally millions of transistors printed on a small "chip" of silicon no bigger than your fingernail. Each microscopically small transistor is connected to the others, on the surface of the chip, with even smaller aluminum or copper wires. These wires are only a few thousand atoms wide. Over the years, the thermal stress of turning the computer on and off can cause tiny cracks in the wires. As the computer warms up the wires can part and cause the computer to stop working. Even a few seconds of off-time can cool the system enough to allow the wires to re-connect, so your computer may work just fine for a few minutes, or hours, then after it warms up, it may fail, letting it cool off can bring it back to life for a few minutes or more. "
Drivers, make sure your drivers are not beta, put authenticated versions...I think you have tried this already, but check again?
Make sure your cmos settings in the bootup sequence (press del) are not overclocked...maybe put them to default..
One time I overclocked my DDR333 to DDR400 and it restarted all the time...
Also, check your powersupply and make sure it isn't a shi*ty no name brand...I use to have a powersupply that came with the case of my computer and had issues, bought an enermax, no prob there...Make sure the dc output is over 20 amps/3.3v
Check your monitor, is it an old piece of shiat? time to buy a new one..
Sometimes even on a rainy day, your comp can still heat up..check your temp settings and make sure there not over somewhere around 58 degrees...
Anyways thats all I could think of right now and follow monsey's advice about the soundcard, because you said there was a sound loop for each crash..so that might be the problem also.
good luck!
i ahve a memory stresstester on a bootable floppy (cpu and chipset versions too) that goes through all of the motions and makes sure everything works 100 times over (i work at a pc service shop and we need to kno if that old ladies old compaq's old ram is bad)
if i knew how to make a floppy disk image, i would post it!
If so, there is a little option you should check out called 'Automatically restart after a serious error occurs'. This is enabled by default in Win2k and WinXP.
You should try disabling this option. Then, instead of a random restart, you'll most likely get a BSOD (blue screen of death) which will give you at least a hint as to what exactly is failing (it may be nv4disp.dll for example, which would indicate a display driver issue if you were using an Nvidia card). Using the filename that the error throws up at you as a guide, you can then proceed to try and eliminate the problem that way (eg. If it throws up an error relating to your soundcard driver, you could try updating sound drivers/testing your soundcard in another machine. Another thing you might want to test is remove your soundcard from the machine and just use onboard sound, if you haven't done so already.)
(You can get to this option by holding down the Windows key on your keyboard and pressing Pause/Break {this will take you to system properties} -> Advanced tab -> the Settings button next to Startup and Recovery -> untick 'Automatically restart if your machine sh!ts itself.)
This is all of course, if you indeed do get a bluescreen. If it's a hard reset, this usually tends to indicate a hardware issue. Easiest way to test hardware components, is to swap them out into another machine and stress test that machine for at least the maximum amount of time it usually takes for your machine to restart. Obviously swapping out the CPU or motherboard is going to be a pain in the ****, but at least you've narrowed it down somewhat if it comes to that.
*Edit*
I just realised that you included the audio diags I listed in your original post. Let us know how you went with them.
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This is the biggest load of crap I've heard. Currently I'm running on a NEC MultiSync 5D 21 Inch monitor thats probably about 10 years old (Started using it on a 50 mhz 486). Just before I got my DSL hooked up I was running on a 20 inch Viewsonic, but alas it died for no friggin reason at all, and its already been in the repair shop before for dying. Old monitors > New monitors.
In which case, I suggest you evacuate the immediate area <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
I'm running a 20" Phillips, it must be at least 10 years old.
It pwns (well not really, but its big <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo--> )
i know, it will take ages, but, by the end of it, you should have isolated your problem
EDIT: ps, i am not claiming to be a comp genius....and yea, who wants to run their comp at 80 degrees...
Obviously no one wants to run their comp at 80 degrees, but the fact is if your comp crashes when the cpu reaches around 55C there's obviously something wrong other than overheating. Like a faulty cpu/tempmonitor/hsf.