So weird...

[hoffman-log.livejournal.com]

So here's my problem. I've never had to post one to this place before, because between several Microsoft and CompTIA certifications, one would assume i know my (stuff). But this is driving me nuts.

Problem: The computer will suddenly freeze up, nothing will work. This means mouse and keyboard fail, and the sound suddenly quits. It simply LOCKS. Only solution is to shut off the power and restart.

For a while i thought it was thermal related, but this couldn't be it, because when i reboot (a whole three seconds later) it works fine. Oh, as far as suggestions go, "Take it back to the manufacturer" isn't really an option, i techincally AM the manufacturer (built everything myself from scratch. go me!)

Specs: This should be helpful, maybe... ABIT KR7A-RAID 266MHz FSB, AMD Athlon 1800+, 256MB PC2300 (i think) DDR ECC RAM, Windows XP Pro, and if there's anything else you would like to know, let me know.

All right. Problem submitted to the think-tank. Let's see what it generates...

_MaH

Comments

[inahandbasket]

so this started happening after you rebuilt the machine?
I had similar issues going on with my mcahine at one point.
It turned out to be one of the RAM chips which was very slighly flaky. Took it out, everything was fine.
If you have a spare HD, try swapping that in and see if it works fine for a few days. if so, it's software. if not, check your ram.

just some thoughts.

[diji.livejournal.com]

Its possible it could be cache as well... although not likely.

[inahandbasket]

yeah, i'd be pretty shocked. But anything's possible however unlikely.
;o)

Re:

[hoffman-log.livejournal.com]

Actually if it's not a software problem, it does look like the most likely hardware malfunction would be the RAM chip... Especially when you take into consideration that the mouse movement has triggered it, that involves the processor, memory, Motherboard, but not the harddrive (correct me if i'm wrong on that, but i'm pretty sure about it).

All righty. Just need to buy another chip (been a while, prices are probably way lower than back in august).

_MaH

hardware troubleshooting

[chupchup.livejournal.com]

While it's too early to rule out software problems, you need to completely rule out hardware problems before you can even begin to look at software causes. So swap out each of the hardware components, one at a time, and give it a good stress-test until it crashes again. Some of these (disk, RAM, video) can be tested with good diagnostic software--you may or may not get the right answer from diagnostics, but you may at least be able to reproduce the problem consistently!

Offhand, it sounds like you might have a faulty CPU. I had similar problems with an Athlon/KT-133 system which would hang only while I was playing a certain game--and would be fine after a reset/power off--but when I was testing some other components on an ASUS motherboard (also KT-133-based) at a friend's place and brought these home, the ASUS motherboard wouldn't even boot with my Athlon in place! When I swapped it out for a Duron 750, it ran fine, and the game ran without hanging! I'm still investigating an RMA for the faulty Athlon 1100...