bluerabbit
asked on
Windows ME - Frequent System Crashes
Two weeks ago I purchased a new PC installed with Windows ME - AMD Athlon 1400/512MD RAM.
I copied across all my data from my old PC and installed all my software. However since then I have been
getting very frequent system crashes.What happens is that all of a sudden although the mouse still moves
the pointer around the screen I cannot click on anything and any programs running or downloading stop
working. I can reset the PC by hit CTRL/ALT/DEL several times.
The problem doesnt seem to follow any pattern
it can happen whilst surfing, whilst typing an email or simply running a virus check. In fact the only time it hasnt happpend is when playing a PC game
I have tried everything I can think of to rectify this problem.....
-Reduced graphic accelerator to very low
-Removed or stopped each piece of software installed
-Virus checked the system (Norton's with latest updates)
-Used Norton Utilities to check Windows/System fully
-Removed second hard drive
My last resort is to reinstall Windows, I just wondered if there was anything else I could do first.
I copied across all my data from my old PC and installed all my software. However since then I have been
getting very frequent system crashes.What happens is that all of a sudden although the mouse still moves
the pointer around the screen I cannot click on anything and any programs running or downloading stop
working. I can reset the PC by hit CTRL/ALT/DEL several times.
The problem doesnt seem to follow any pattern
it can happen whilst surfing, whilst typing an email or simply running a virus check. In fact the only time it hasnt happpend is when playing a PC game
I have tried everything I can think of to rectify this problem.....
-Reduced graphic accelerator to very low
-Removed or stopped each piece of software installed
-Virus checked the system (Norton's with latest updates)
-Used Norton Utilities to check Windows/System fully
-Removed second hard drive
My last resort is to reinstall Windows, I just wondered if there was anything else I could do first.
Does your machine have some sort of system monitoring package installed?
Alternatively, reboot the machine (warm reboot rather than cold reboot) and navigate through your BIOS until you come across across the section that controls processor temperature monitoring. There's a strong chance yur processor is running very hot - either your machine has insufficient cooling, the processor has been overclocked or the heatsick/fan is defective or simply not up to the job of cooling the chip.
Either way, you need to get to the bottom of the problem quick. If the problem is down to an overheating CPU, it may become irrepairably damaged very soon.
Alternatively, reboot the machine (warm reboot rather than cold reboot) and navigate through your BIOS until you come across across the section that controls processor temperature monitoring. There's a strong chance yur processor is running very hot - either your machine has insufficient cooling, the processor has been overclocked or the heatsick/fan is defective or simply not up to the job of cooling the chip.
Either way, you need to get to the bottom of the problem quick. If the problem is down to an overheating CPU, it may become irrepairably damaged very soon.
ASKER
Hi
Thanks for your help.
Did the bios temp test and got the following results
System Fan Speed 0
CPU Fan speed approx 5000
System Temp 36 C
CPU Temp 56 C
The temps look fine but the fact that the system fan appears to be dead is worrying. I will check out the fan but would temps of this type cause the problems I have been having?
Thanks
David Hayden
Thanks for your help.
Did the bios temp test and got the following results
System Fan Speed 0
CPU Fan speed approx 5000
System Temp 36 C
CPU Temp 56 C
The temps look fine but the fact that the system fan appears to be dead is worrying. I will check out the fan but would temps of this type cause the problems I have been having?
Thanks
David Hayden
No, the Temps look OK, and the CPU fan is functioning.
Not all computers have the correct fans in the Power supply etc , so they may not be monitored.
I hope this helps !
Not all computers have the correct fans in the Power supply etc , so they may not be monitored.
I hope this helps !
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ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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1) Get All the latest hardware drivers, for your computer, including IDE/motherboard drivers, and perhaps even an updated BIOS.
2) Make sure the computer is not overclocked.
3) Check the RAM.
goto zdnet
http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/search.html
and search for diagnostic. Hardware diagnostic, RAM test
recommended file is burnin Test V 1.0.
There are plenty of others for individual tests.
You might want to check out
http://hardwarehell.com/
and http://www.tomshardware.com
Here is a link to reviews of 11 motherboards by AnandTech.
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=1489
also.
http://www.simmtester.com/PAGE/products/doc/docinfo.asp
CPU speed test CPU type Side bus speed FSB front side bus http://www.tweakfiles.com/processor/wcpuid.html
4) Check that the Fans are all working and nothing is overheating.
5) Do a windowsupdate to get the latest patches.
6) Do a Start-run- msconfig and disable all but systray and explorer in the startup Tab
I hope this helps !