Problem With PC Locking Up

[lndcobra]

Hi There,

I have been having major problems with my PC for the last couple months... The major issue is it freezes every 1-30 minutes for like 1-10 seconds randomly... sometimes when idle and playing music... sometimes when surfing the net and sometimes when playing a game. Apart from this I have had a large number of issues since upgrading... notably... I replaced 4 hard drives (3 were brand new) and my memory 3 times (twice due to over clocking I assume).

This is my system currently

CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz (Running at stock due to stability issues)
Motherboard - Gigabyte P35-DS3R - Chipset Intel (P35/G33/G31)
GPU (Primary) - GeForce 8800GTS 512mb
GPU (Secondary) - GeForce 6600
Memory - 4 GB (4 x 1 GB) OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel
PSU - CoolerMaster RealPower 850W
CPU Fan - Akasa EVO 120
Case - CoolerMaster Cosmos
HDD - 2 x 74 GB Raptors, 1x36GbRaptor, 1 x 500 GB WD500AAKS, 1x320GB WD320JB (IDE)
OS - Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64bit

Currently have my DVD Drive disconnected as I used the cabled and ports for the hard drives as it was giving me a lot of problems. I also only have 2 GB of ram in as when I received my 2 new sticks the other day and put them in, my PC didn't go past POST, so I gave them to my friend to check if they work in his.

I have run memtest on the 2 sticks I do have, and they come up with errors, but then I manually changed the timings in bios to 5-5-5-15 from auto as it was detecting it as 5-5-5-18. Then run memtest again and it came up with no errors after 2 passes.

I had serious problems with my 500 GB hard drives, where they would disconnect, after couple of hours usage... randomly, and PC wouldn’t boot up as it would hang on detecting the hard drives... after playing around with the SATA cables it started working again. I used to get this couple times a week and always with my 500 GB drive which has been replaced 3 times. It is a bit more stable now where the drive doesn’t just disappear as I am using the port from the CD drive and the power cable from the DVD drive.

I have updated the motherboard bios but that still hasn't fixed the issue.

My pc runs pretty cool as everything is at stock speeds and here are the temperatures although my HDD temperatures are worrying me. Could someone suggest if they’re ok?

Sensor: Idle Temp. - Max Temp.

CPU: 28°c - 47°c
GPU 1: 58°c - 38°c
GPU 2: 59°c - 61°c
System: 48°c - 48°c
HDD 74GB Raptor 1: 42°c - 43°c
HDD 74GB Raptor 2: 41°c - 41°c
HDD 500 GB WD500AAKS: 34°c - 39°c
HDD 320GB WD IDE: 34°c - 35°c

I have used BurnInTest to try and find out where the problem lies and all tests pass without my pc restarting or causing BSoD.

I have once or twice had my PC randomly restart without a BSoD and nothing in the event log. The only errors I get in the event log now are EventID 15016 and these are due to my PC not being in a Domain.

I have tried to monitoring voltages using CPUID HWMonitor and they all seem to be fine, and now I don’t know whether it’s a problem with my motherboard, PSU, or my hard drive/s.

I'm a student and the Motherboard has run out of warranty therefore I cannot afford to just go out and buy a new one, and would like to know if there is anyway of definitely finding out what is wrong with my PC.

Any help would be appreciated,

 

[montyuk]

well id suggest stripping back your system to basics.

ditch all but a single system drive,
ditch the second gpu,
ditch all but one stick of ram

run everything at stock and see what happens, if the freezing ceases then slowly replace the other bits to see whats causing the issue.

if it doesnt cease then move the components around, another stick of ram, the secondary gpu, maybe use your 320gb as a system drive rather than the raptors.

 

[froonboon]

Those problems are a pain. Temps are looking Ok. Also, as suggested, strip connected components from mobo, then check mobo for loose components / burnmarks, clean mobo heatsinks (if any). Right off the bat it sounds to me like a mobo issue (power or compatability), but those are hard to identify/errorcheck, perhaps give sisoft sandra a try and see what it suggests.
PSU-wise, clean it (carefully) or with compressed air, test with another if problem persists. For your system you need more than reasonable amp's / wattage.
GL there.

 

[dokk2]

I see that you are using 4x1 of ram,,can you try 2x2??,sometimes there are problems with 4x1 of ram..

 

[lndcobra]

Thanks for the replies... ill try stripping eveything out, and see what happens.

 

[lndcobra]

Sorry for not getting back earlier, but had exams and alot of uni work to finish. I managed to strip the graphics card, audio card, and a hard drive out.

To me it looks like either the SATA motherboard controller/bus is messed up or the psu(which is unlikely) as At the moment i am running for a week now with only 3 hard drives connected without a single lockup... where as if i add the 4th hard drive (the 500gb) it booted up ok, but after 20 minutes one of the other hard drives(74gb with paging file on it) just started spinning down and up.... cusing lockups and after an hour that hard drive dissapeared from "My Computer" but the 500gb was working fine. Whereas if i run my 2 74gb raptors and my 320gb IDE drive, everything runs perfectly fine with no problems. I also connected the 500gb drive to another computer and that computer is having no problems with it.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance