XP locks up, how to troubleshoot?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

I continue to have lockup issues on XP home. This started after upgrading
from Win2000 to XP (no, I did a clean install, I just went from 2000 to XP).
I was getting disk errors in the event log, and the mskb said to replace ide
cables. I did, and I no longer get disk errors. I removed and reseated all
cables, memory, and video card, no change. After 3-4 days, everything just
freezes and I have to power cycle. Power supply is new, mobo, cpu, memory is
new, hard drives test with no problems. Video is nvidia vanta. nic/sound is
on the mobo, drivers are current. Memory is crucial or kingston ( I forget
which, but I bought name brand).

I'm not convinced it's not a driver causing this, or some component of XP,
as I did not have these problems with Win2000. I've removed all
non-essential programs. I'm currently running:

half-life 1 server
apache
mysql
Bulletproof ftp server.

I have run these programs for years on Win2000 with no problems.

What have you done that fixed a locking up problem?
Have you found Win2000 to be more stable the XP?
Is there any way to test drivers/services to ensure they are causing the
problem?

I'm about to replace mobo/cpu/memory/power supply, as they are the most
likely culprits, but I'd like to make sure it's not a driver/XP issue first.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

I am also leaning towards a hardware problem and not a driver problem as you
stated. My recommendation is to strip the machine down to just the primary
harddrive, basic memory, video card, keyboard and mouse. Power it back up and
observe the systems behaivor with just the basic system. If everything runs
fine and no freeze occurs, try adding additional cards and drives - one at a
time to see which piece of hardware is giving you the problem.

"Ook" wrote:

> I continue to have lockup issues on XP home. This started after upgrading
> from Win2000 to XP (no, I did a clean install, I just went from 2000 to XP).
> I was getting disk errors in the event log, and the mskb said to replace ide
> cables. I did, and I no longer get disk errors. I removed and reseated all
> cables, memory, and video card, no change. After 3-4 days, everything just
> freezes and I have to power cycle. Power supply is new, mobo, cpu, memory is
> new, hard drives test with no problems. Video is nvidia vanta. nic/sound is
> on the mobo, drivers are current. Memory is crucial or kingston ( I forget
> which, but I bought name brand).
>
> I'm not convinced it's not a driver causing this, or some component of XP,
> as I did not have these problems with Win2000. I've removed all
> non-essential programs. I'm currently running:
>
> half-life 1 server
> apache
> mysql
> Bulletproof ftp server.
>
> I have run these programs for years on Win2000 with no problems.
>
> What have you done that fixed a locking up problem?
> Have you found Win2000 to be more stable the XP?
> Is there any way to test drivers/services to ensure they are causing the
> problem?
>
> I'm about to replace mobo/cpu/memory/power supply, as they are the most
> likely culprits, but I'd like to make sure it's not a driver/XP issue first.
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

I would recommend isolating the problem from the OS.
Run several hardware level tests such as memTest X86 for several hours to
verify there is no problem at that level.


"T.S." wrote:

> I am also leaning towards a hardware problem and not a driver problem as you
> stated. My recommendation is to strip the machine down to just the primary
> harddrive, basic memory, video card, keyboard and mouse. Power it back up and
> observe the systems behaivor with just the basic system. If everything runs
> fine and no freeze occurs, try adding additional cards and drives - one at a
> time to see which piece of hardware is giving you the problem.
>
> "Ook" wrote:
>
> > I continue to have lockup issues on XP home. This started after upgrading
> > from Win2000 to XP (no, I did a clean install, I just went from 2000 to XP).
> > I was getting disk errors in the event log, and the mskb said to replace ide
> > cables. I did, and I no longer get disk errors. I removed and reseated all
> > cables, memory, and video card, no change. After 3-4 days, everything just
> > freezes and I have to power cycle. Power supply is new, mobo, cpu, memory is
> > new, hard drives test with no problems. Video is nvidia vanta. nic/sound is
> > on the mobo, drivers are current. Memory is crucial or kingston ( I forget
> > which, but I bought name brand).
> >
> > I'm not convinced it's not a driver causing this, or some component of XP,
> > as I did not have these problems with Win2000. I've removed all
> > non-essential programs. I'm currently running:
> >
> > half-life 1 server
> > apache
> > mysql
> > Bulletproof ftp server.
> >
> > I have run these programs for years on Win2000 with no problems.
> >
> > What have you done that fixed a locking up problem?
> > Have you found Win2000 to be more stable the XP?
> > Is there any way to test drivers/services to ensure they are causing the
> > problem?
> >
> > I'm about to replace mobo/cpu/memory/power supply, as they are the most
> > likely culprits, but I'd like to make sure it's not a driver/XP issue first.
> >
> >
> >

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Unfortunately, from a hardware perspective it is already stripped down. The
only card is the video card. About all I could do is pull one or the other
memory stick and one drive and see what happens. I even moved the memory to
different slots when I reseated the cards. What worries me is that this
started after I replaced the IDE cables, meaning 1) I put bad IDE cables in,
even though they were brand new 2) I broke something when I replaced the
cables - I'd bet the mobo got broke when I pressed the cables into the
sockets. 3) the problem was already there but I hadn't been running it long
enough to notice.

"T.S." <TS@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:00D7D464-0257-4B9B-8936-63DD71A84785@microsoft.com...
>I am also leaning towards a hardware problem and not a driver problem as
>you
> stated. My recommendation is to strip the machine down to just the primary
> harddrive, basic memory, video card, keyboard and mouse. Power it back up
> and
> observe the systems behaivor with just the basic system. If everything
> runs
> fine and no freeze occurs, try adding additional cards and drives - one at
> a
> time to see which piece of hardware is giving you the problem.
>
> "Ook" wrote:
>
>> I continue to have lockup issues on XP home. This started after upgrading
>> from Win2000 to XP (no, I did a clean install, I just went from 2000 to
>> XP).
>> I was getting disk errors in the event log, and the mskb said to replace
>> ide
>> cables. I did, and I no longer get disk errors. I removed and reseated
>> all
>> cables, memory, and video card, no change. After 3-4 days, everything
>> just
>> freezes and I have to power cycle. Power supply is new, mobo, cpu, memory
>> is
>> new, hard drives test with no problems. Video is nvidia vanta. nic/sound
>> is
>> on the mobo, drivers are current. Memory is crucial or kingston ( I
>> forget
>> which, but I bought name brand).
>>
>> I'm not convinced it's not a driver causing this, or some component of
>> XP,
>> as I did not have these problems with Win2000. I've removed all
>> non-essential programs. I'm currently running:
>>
>> half-life 1 server
>> apache
>> mysql
>> Bulletproof ftp server.
>>
>> I have run these programs for years on Win2000 with no problems.
>>
>> What have you done that fixed a locking up problem?
>> Have you found Win2000 to be more stable the XP?
>> Is there any way to test drivers/services to ensure they are causing the
>> problem?
>>
>> I'm about to replace mobo/cpu/memory/power supply, as they are the most
>> likely culprits, but I'd like to make sure it's not a driver/XP issue
>> first.
>>
>>
>>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

That will be my next step, I think I'll find my memtst boot floppy and let
it burn all night. What else can you do from an OS level, is there any way
to exercise drivers to see if one of them is causing this? I suspected a web
cam driver, but I removed the webcam and the driver and it still locks up.

"Kevin McClure" <KevinMcClure@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:31EC528A-80AB-44C1-A27A-02E6D23273A7@microsoft.com...
>I would recommend isolating the problem from the OS.
> Run several hardware level tests such as memTest X86 for several hours to
> verify there is no problem at that level.
>
>
> "T.S." wrote:
>
>> I am also leaning towards a hardware problem and not a driver problem as
>> you
>> stated. My recommendation is to strip the machine down to just the
>> primary
>> harddrive, basic memory, video card, keyboard and mouse. Power it back up
>> and
>> observe the systems behaivor with just the basic system. If everything
>> runs
>> fine and no freeze occurs, try adding additional cards and drives - one
>> at a
>> time to see which piece of hardware is giving you the problem.
>>
>> "Ook" wrote:
>>
>> > I continue to have lockup issues on XP home. This started after
>> > upgrading
>> > from Win2000 to XP (no, I did a clean install, I just went from 2000 to
>> > XP).
>> > I was getting disk errors in the event log, and the mskb said to
>> > replace ide
>> > cables. I did, and I no longer get disk errors. I removed and reseated
>> > all
>> > cables, memory, and video card, no change. After 3-4 days, everything
>> > just
>> > freezes and I have to power cycle. Power supply is new, mobo, cpu,
>> > memory is
>> > new, hard drives test with no problems. Video is nvidia vanta.
>> > nic/sound is
>> > on the mobo, drivers are current. Memory is crucial or kingston ( I
>> > forget
>> > which, but I bought name brand).
>> >
>> > I'm not convinced it's not a driver causing this, or some component of
>> > XP,
>> > as I did not have these problems with Win2000. I've removed all
>> > non-essential programs. I'm currently running:
>> >
>> > half-life 1 server
>> > apache
>> > mysql
>> > Bulletproof ftp server.
>> >
>> > I have run these programs for years on Win2000 with no problems.
>> >
>> > What have you done that fixed a locking up problem?
>> > Have you found Win2000 to be more stable the XP?
>> > Is there any way to test drivers/services to ensure they are causing
>> > the
>> > problem?
>> >
>> > I'm about to replace mobo/cpu/memory/power supply, as they are the most
>> > likely culprits, but I'd like to make sure it's not a driver/XP issue
>> > first.
>> >
>> >
>> >

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Humm....The IDE cable(s) could be suspect as you stated. Are the new
replacement IDE cables you put in the system the newer 60 wire (doubble
shielded) type? Or the older 30 wire type? Is it possible that you may have
the jumper pin configurations set incorrect for your harddrive?
(Master/Slave/Cable Select). I'm sure that you would notice if the IDE cables
were installed incorrectly on the motherboard or harddrive sockets. You BIOS
on bootup would let you know about this too.

"Ook" wrote:

> Unfortunately, from a hardware perspective it is already stripped down. The
> only card is the video card. About all I could do is pull one or the other
> memory stick and one drive and see what happens. I even moved the memory to
> different slots when I reseated the cards. What worries me is that this
> started after I replaced the IDE cables, meaning 1) I put bad IDE cables in,
> even though they were brand new 2) I broke something when I replaced the
> cables - I'd bet the mobo got broke when I pressed the cables into the
> sockets. 3) the problem was already there but I hadn't been running it long
> enough to notice.
>
> "T.S." <TS@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:00D7D464-0257-4B9B-8936-63DD71A84785@microsoft.com...
> >I am also leaning towards a hardware problem and not a driver problem as
> >you
> > stated. My recommendation is to strip the machine down to just the primary
> > harddrive, basic memory, video card, keyboard and mouse. Power it back up
> > and
> > observe the systems behaivor with just the basic system. If everything
> > runs
> > fine and no freeze occurs, try adding additional cards and drives - one at
> > a
> > time to see which piece of hardware is giving you the problem.
> >
> > "Ook" wrote:
> >
> >> I continue to have lockup issues on XP home. This started after upgrading
> >> from Win2000 to XP (no, I did a clean install, I just went from 2000 to
> >> XP).
> >> I was getting disk errors in the event log, and the mskb said to replace
> >> ide
> >> cables. I did, and I no longer get disk errors. I removed and reseated
> >> all
> >> cables, memory, and video card, no change. After 3-4 days, everything
> >> just
> >> freezes and I have to power cycle. Power supply is new, mobo, cpu, memory
> >> is
> >> new, hard drives test with no problems. Video is nvidia vanta. nic/sound
> >> is
> >> on the mobo, drivers are current. Memory is crucial or kingston ( I
> >> forget
> >> which, but I bought name brand).
> >>
> >> I'm not convinced it's not a driver causing this, or some component of
> >> XP,
> >> as I did not have these problems with Win2000. I've removed all
> >> non-essential programs. I'm currently running:
> >>
> >> half-life 1 server
> >> apache
> >> mysql
> >> Bulletproof ftp server.
> >>
> >> I have run these programs for years on Win2000 with no problems.
> >>
> >> What have you done that fixed a locking up problem?
> >> Have you found Win2000 to be more stable the XP?
> >> Is there any way to test drivers/services to ensure they are causing the
> >> problem?
> >>
> >> I'm about to replace mobo/cpu/memory/power supply, as they are the most
> >> likely culprits, but I'd like to make sure it's not a driver/XP issue
> >> first.
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

I thought of that. They were brand new 60 pin cables, but maybe one of them
was bad? I'm not sure if that would cause a lockup every 3-4 days or not,
but it would not hurt to replace them again. The drives jumpers are correct,
I checked those, and everything works fine (other then the lockup lol). I
ran memory diags all night, no errors. My top choices now are 1) damage to
motherboard when I replace ide cables 2) I replaced bad cables with bad
cables 3) there is an XP or driver issue causing this. I am very very
tempted to revert to Win2000 for a few weeks to see if it still locks up.

"T.S." <TS@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:9D8C49E0-1952-4380-8BE3-859D0371735B@microsoft.com...
> Humm....The IDE cable(s) could be suspect as you stated. Are the new
> replacement IDE cables you put in the system the newer 60 wire (doubble
> shielded) type? Or the older 30 wire type? Is it possible that you may
> have
> the jumper pin configurations set incorrect for your harddrive?
> (Master/Slave/Cable Select). I'm sure that you would notice if the IDE
> cables
> were installed incorrectly on the motherboard or harddrive sockets. You
> BIOS
> on bootup would let you know about this too.
>
> "Ook" wrote:
>
>> Unfortunately, from a hardware perspective it is already stripped down.
>> The
>> only card is the video card. About all I could do is pull one or the
>> other
>> memory stick and one drive and see what happens. I even moved the memory
>> to
>> different slots when I reseated the cards. What worries me is that this
>> started after I replaced the IDE cables, meaning 1) I put bad IDE cables
>> in,
>> even though they were brand new 2) I broke something when I replaced the
>> cables - I'd bet the mobo got broke when I pressed the cables into the
>> sockets. 3) the problem was already there but I hadn't been running it
>> long
>> enough to notice.
>>
>> "T.S." <TS@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:00D7D464-0257-4B9B-8936-63DD71A84785@microsoft.com...
>> >I am also leaning towards a hardware problem and not a driver problem as
>> >you
>> > stated. My recommendation is to strip the machine down to just the
>> > primary
>> > harddrive, basic memory, video card, keyboard and mouse. Power it back
>> > up
>> > and
>> > observe the systems behaivor with just the basic system. If everything
>> > runs
>> > fine and no freeze occurs, try adding additional cards and drives - one
>> > at
>> > a
>> > time to see which piece of hardware is giving you the problem.
>> >
>> > "Ook" wrote:
>> >
>> >> I continue to have lockup issues on XP home. This started after
>> >> upgrading
>> >> from Win2000 to XP (no, I did a clean install, I just went from 2000
>> >> to
>> >> XP).
>> >> I was getting disk errors in the event log, and the mskb said to
>> >> replace
>> >> ide
>> >> cables. I did, and I no longer get disk errors. I removed and reseated
>> >> all
>> >> cables, memory, and video card, no change. After 3-4 days, everything
>> >> just
>> >> freezes and I have to power cycle. Power supply is new, mobo, cpu,
>> >> memory
>> >> is
>> >> new, hard drives test with no problems. Video is nvidia vanta.
>> >> nic/sound
>> >> is
>> >> on the mobo, drivers are current. Memory is crucial or kingston ( I
>> >> forget
>> >> which, but I bought name brand).
>> >>
>> >> I'm not convinced it's not a driver causing this, or some component of
>> >> XP,
>> >> as I did not have these problems with Win2000. I've removed all
>> >> non-essential programs. I'm currently running:
>> >>
>> >> half-life 1 server
>> >> apache
>> >> mysql
>> >> Bulletproof ftp server.
>> >>
>> >> I have run these programs for years on Win2000 with no problems.
>> >>
>> >> What have you done that fixed a locking up problem?
>> >> Have you found Win2000 to be more stable the XP?
>> >> Is there any way to test drivers/services to ensure they are causing
>> >> the
>> >> problem?
>> >>
>> >> I'm about to replace mobo/cpu/memory/power supply, as they are the
>> >> most
>> >> likely culprits, but I'd like to make sure it's not a driver/XP issue
>> >> first.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>>
>>
>>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 09:09:32 -0700, "Ook" <no usenet spam at zoot al

>I continue to have lockup issues on XP home. This started after upgrading
>from Win2000 to XP (no, I did a clean install, I just went from 2000 to XP).

That means you inherit a driver code base cut for Win2000 that may or
may not be OK for XP. Not so good.

>I was getting disk errors in the event log, and the mskb said to replace ide
>cables. I did, and I no longer get disk errors. I removed and reseated all
>cables, memory, and video card, no change. After 3-4 days, everything just
>freezes and I have to power cycle. Power supply is new, mobo, cpu, memory is
>new, hard drives test with no problems. Video is nvidia vanta.

The Vanta is a rather odd chipset, looking enough like its bigger
brothers of the time to get treated by drivers as if it were a full
TNT2, or whatever it was the little brother to. I'm pretty sure that
by the time XP came out, driver support may have evaporated.

If the mobo's as old as the SVGA, or Win2000 for that matter, then you
may have failing capacitors. This, like SVGA issues, can give you a
rock-solid lockup that won't respond to Ctl+Alt+Del.

See http://cquirke.mvps.org/badcaps.htm on bad caps

>I'm not convinced it's not a driver causing this, or some component of XP,
>as I did not have these problems with Win2000.

I'm 60% sure it's inherited Win2000 drivers, or certain types of app
that get deep enough to matter, e.g. CD writing software.

>I'm currently running:
>
>half-life 1 server
>apache
>mysql
>Bulletproof ftp server.

>I have run these programs for years on Win2000 with no problems.

Win2000 is not XP.

My usual appropach is to state-chart this:
1) Safe Mode Cmd Only
2) Safe Mode
3) Normal with all startup items suppressed in MSConfig
4) Normal with all non-MS services suppressed in MSConfig
5) Normal

If (1) OK, all else bad, use Shell Extensions Viewer from
www.nirsoft.net to reversably disable Explorer extensions.

If (1) and (2) OK, all else bad, then think drivers.

If (1), (2) and (3) OK, start with (3) and add back startup items one
at a time on a test-t-break basis

If (1), (2) and (4) OK, start with (4) and add back startup items one
at a time on a test-t-break basis

If all OK, then you're done ;-)

Actually, I'd start further back with hardware diags and formal
malware scan. Those HD errors don't sound too good... also, I'd stay
offline while doing (1-4) as defences may be disabled.

>What have you done that fixed a locking up problem?

If (1-5) are all bad, then I'd strip-test, but that's ugly in XP as it
provokes Product Activation to DoS-payload your OS.

>Have you found Win2000 to be more stable the XP?

No. Without a firewall, Win2000 is becoming a death-trap.

>Is there any way to test drivers/services to ensure they are causing the
>problem?

F8, VGA only is one good test I missed in the (1) to (5) list

Also, Google(Vanta XP drivers) etc. and repeat for your underfootware
apps. Go to the software vendor's sites and look for FAQs, look for
new drivers for the hardware, and Google(appname version XP) too.

>I'm about to replace mobo/cpu/memory/power supply, as they are the most
>likely culprits, but I'd like to make sure it's not a driver/XP issue first.

Mobo's not a trivial thing to replace, so stand off on that - try
replacing the Vanta with an old PCI SVGA card first (today's AGP cards
are unlikely to be voltage-compatible)



>------------ ----- ---- --- -- - - - -
The most accurate diagnostic instrument
in medicine is the Retrospectoscope
>------------ ----- ---- --- -- - - - -