PC Problem. Help!!!

[Atomic Marshmallow]

Hi


I am going nuts (again).

My 3.0 PIV machine keeps crashing and I don't know why.

I suspect either a faulty motherboard (ASUS P4P 800 Deluxe) or faulty RAM (2GB), but let's face it, it could be anything (hopefully not a faulty Pulsar card - 2 x 6 DSP + 1 x 4 DSP).

The system starts up normally most of the time, occassionally it doesn't start and all I hear is a beep sound and nothing else except the power supply fan runnning.

When it does start, it works fine for about 5 - 10 minutes, then the system just freezes. Not even the mouse or keyboard works.

I have opened my case to see if there was anything obvious like power supply or fan on motherboard not spinning, but they seem ok.

Can anyone give me a clue as to what I should be doing? I thought perhaps a diagnostic tool, preferably free that could give me an idea. If so, what would you recommend?

Please help. This problem is really frustrating. I have 3 Pulsar cards that I haven't used for the past 6 years because of this problem. Even though I am making music on a laptop, I would rather have my Scope setup running. It's such a waste not to use it.

Thanks

[netguyjoel]

try getting Hiren's Boot CD, boot from that and then running memtest, or other MB utils on the CD

[astroman]

you might check if any of the mobo electrolytic caps leak or have become bulky.
Like these - the upper 5 are bad, the bottom one is ok.

cheers, Tom

[Neutron]

usually it is something as simple as just cleaning the dust from the heatsink, those p4 ran hot, and the coolers were not so great.

otherwise it might just be a matter of unplugging and replugging all the connectores. maybe one of the psu connectors got hot some time and has oxidized and is no longer providing power, the design of th molex connector will give you a fresh connection if you unplug and replug it

if that still does not fix it look at he most likely thing to fail, besides optical drives (which wont usually crash your system when they die) it is the power supply. can you try a different one?

[valis]

Power supply and checking the motherboard's capacitors are certainly the first things I would try. You can check the PSU voltages in the BIOS, but since the machine is idling below the level of what even Windows would present as a load you might want to use a utility under Windows or a Linux LiveCD. After that, check the cpu temps as well...

[Atomic Marshmallow]

Hello,

Thank you for the response's so far. The only one I have tried so far is running memtest, suggested by netguyjoel. I ran it from a floppy and it detected errors in RAM. I systematically removed each RAM stick until I found the culprit. Since removing the problem RAM it hasn't crashed once in the last couple of days of almost non-stop use. The first time in 6 years!!!

But a couple of things:

1) I read somewhere once that RAM works best in pairs. Now that I have 1.5 GB of RAM instead of two, should I go back to 1GB for efficiency?

2) Is there any point of putting more than 2GB of RAM seeing that XP can only adresss 2GB (something I remember reading)?


I am so shocked that my last 6 years of trying to get a stable Scope system basically boiled down to faulty RAM that was installed when the PC was first built. No doubt a computer geek probably would have spent no longer than a weekend solving what took me six years (on and off). I am not a technician, but a musician. As a result I have instead been making music on a laptop in all this time and it has made me think, should I bother with Scope? Has it become obsolete?

Firstly, there is the issue of it getting harder to find motherboards with PCI slots. Sure they are still around, but if you want to run 3 cards it is not so easy.
Maybe a blasphemous thing to say, but I find my soft synths far more versatile and easier to use than the synths I purchased with Scope. What is the point of using something like STS 5000 (which has a cumbersome interface in my opinion), when Kontakt is far more flexible and easier to use? CPU wise my 1.8 Centrino laptop outperforms my 3.06 Ghz desktop which houses my Pulsar cards. I have got so used to the simplicity of using my laptop that I find the desktop/Scope not so straightforward.

Should I give up on Scope or persist with it now that it is finally running?


Thanks

[netguyjoel]

A some years ago...RAM in pairs was essential...now days you can even sometimes use RAM that runs at different speeds...the faster one will just run at the slower speed (depending on the motherboard and it's CMOS settings).
As far as Scope becoming obsolete...I would say no way...
With the recent releases of XITE-1, Version 5.0, Win 7 drivers, new developers on board, and a new SDK and 64 bit OS...these guys are just getting warmed up...
Back to the RAM...more is all ways better...but keep in mind, Windows 32 bit versions will only see 3.6 GB of RAM...
Glad you figured it out...

[astroman]

... I am so shocked that my last 6 years of trying to get a stable Scope system basically boiled down to faulty RAM that was installed when the PC was first built. No doubt a computer geek probably would have spent no longer than a weekend solving what took me six years (on and off). ...

faulty or even non-matching RAM can produce some really wierd errors - I remember a case that I could only solve because I had a couple of machines that were running image copies.
You'd never think of a memory fault, if it tells you 'Database driver not installed properly'.
But that image ran the database perfectly from another machine
Since a memory upgrade was the only difference between the boxes it was an easy guess, but without a 2nd machine I probably would have installed it up and down to no end...

If the error in your case has been persisting from the beginning on, then it's indeed most likely the RAM.
Otherwise the afforementioned buffering caps produce errors that are hard to tell from memory or disk failure.
Glad you solved it after all

cheers and merry xmas, Tom

[JoPo]

Beep at boot is often a ram problem...

Why didn't you come to ask for help earlier ? There is very good computer technicians on Z ! 6 years !

Now , take advantage of your gear !

[Atomic Marshmallow]

Beep at boot is often a ram problem...

Why didn't you come to ask for help earlier ? There is very good computer technicians on Z ! 6 years !

Now , take advantage of your gear !

Yes, I should have asked for help earlier. There are many helpful and knowledgeable people here. Plus out of all the music forums I belong to, PlanetZ is still the friendliest and most helpful. I don't post a lot but I often frequent theses pages.

My only real explanation for not asking earlier is that essentially I want to create music, not solve problems. My laptop allowed me to do that. 6 years though, is leaving it a bit too long.

Thanks for all the responses