lockup problem

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

I have a persistent problem with the screen freezing necessitating a reboot.
It can happen randomly when I'm doing anything, but most obvious when I try
and start games/ applications. These just hang. I have run out of ideas what
it could be. I have reformatted hard drive 3 times to try and fix this, but
problem occurs with only OS, motherboard Nvidia nforce 4 drivers and graphics
drivers installed. I've updated all drivers, graphics, motherboard as well
as Bios. I've replaced the power supply and hard drive is also new. CPU is
not overheating. Could it be a flacky electical connection in the case, or
faulty optical mouse?
Does anyone have any ideas/ suggestions to help? This is driving me crazy!

AMD 64 3200 Venice
K8N Neo4 F MoBo
Gecube ATi X800XL 256 video
2 X Corsair 512 RAM
450 watt power supply
Win XP SP2

Last time it happened event viewer showed:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Event Category: None
Event ID: 7026
Date: 5/09/2005
Time: 9:44:06 PM
User: N/A
Computer: MSI
Description:
The following boot-start or system-start driver(s) failed to load:
atitray

It doesn't always give same message though. Doesn anyone know what this
means and how can I fix it?

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

Thank you for the advice. What do you mean by burn- in software? I've done a
mem test as is and no problems detected. You think I should test one stick at
a time? Could faulty case wiring do this?



"Malke" wrote:

> thepcdoctor wrote:
>
> > I have a persistent problem with the screen freezing necessitating a
> > reboot.
> > It can happen randomly when I'm doing anything, but most obvious when
> > I try and start games/ applications. These just hang. I have run out
> > of ideas what it could be. I have reformatted hard drive 3 times to
> > try and fix this, but problem occurs with only OS, motherboard Nvidia
> > nforce 4 drivers and graphics
> > drivers installed. I've updated all drivers, graphics, motherboard as
> > well as Bios. I've replaced the power supply and hard drive is also
> > new. CPU is not overheating. Could it be a flacky electical connection
> > in the case, or faulty optical mouse?
> > Does anyone have any ideas/ suggestions to help? This is driving me
> > crazy!
> >
> > AMD 64 3200 Venice
> > K8N Neo4 F MoBo
> > Gecube ATi X800XL 256 video
> > 2 X Corsair 512 RAM
> > 450 watt power supply
> > Win XP SP2
> >
> > Last time it happened event viewer showed:
> >
> > Event Type: Error
> > Event Source: Service Control Manager
> > Event Category: None
> > Event ID: 7026
> > Date: 5/09/2005
> > Time: 9:44:06 PM
> > User: N/A
> > Computer: MSI
> > Description:
> > The following boot-start or system-start driver(s) failed to load:
> > atitray
> >
> > It doesn't always give same message though. Doesn anyone know what
> > this means and how can I fix it?
>
> Strip the machine down to the motherboard, video card, and one stick of
> RAM. Run RAM tests - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. If the RAM
> fails, replace it. Run some burn-in software (non-Windows). If the
> machine stays up with no errors, start adding in pci components,
> drives, etc. one item at a time, testing after each change. You can
> also swap out the video card for a cheapo one to test.
>
> Doing hardware testing requires having components on hand and a lot of
> patience. If you don't, then take the machine to a professional
> computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of BigStoreUSA). There
> is no shame in doing this. Hardware faults can be really hard to track
> down.
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
>

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

Burn in software could include something like SiSoft Sandra.

Another thing to try is to remove the board from the case. attached what you
need to it and run it from out side of a case. If you consult the
motherboard manual you will see which pins to short out to power up or just
touch the two pins that the case power switch connects to with a screw
driver to short the pins and start up. If it runs fine outside of the box
then it is possible that the board is shorting against the case.
--

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


"thepcdoctor" <thepcdoctor@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:EA85A6EF-CC8C-4777-AF40-7A81F4A5D811@microsoft.com...
> Thank you for the advice. What do you mean by burn- in software? I've done
> a
> mem test as is and no problems detected. You think I should test one stick
> at
> a time? Could faulty case wiring do this?
>
>
>
> "Malke" wrote:
>
>> thepcdoctor wrote:
>>
>> > I have a persistent problem with the screen freezing necessitating a
>> > reboot.
>> > It can happen randomly when I'm doing anything, but most obvious when
>> > I try and start games/ applications. These just hang. I have run out
>> > of ideas what it could be. I have reformatted hard drive 3 times to
>> > try and fix this, but problem occurs with only OS, motherboard Nvidia
>> > nforce 4 drivers and graphics
>> > drivers installed. I've updated all drivers, graphics, motherboard as
>> > well as Bios. I've replaced the power supply and hard drive is also
>> > new. CPU is not overheating. Could it be a flacky electical connection
>> > in the case, or faulty optical mouse?
>> > Does anyone have any ideas/ suggestions to help? This is driving me
>> > crazy!
>> >
>> > AMD 64 3200 Venice
>> > K8N Neo4 F MoBo
>> > Gecube ATi X800XL 256 video
>> > 2 X Corsair 512 RAM
>> > 450 watt power supply
>> > Win XP SP2
>> >
>> > Last time it happened event viewer showed:
>> >
>> > Event Type: Error
>> > Event Source: Service Control Manager
>> > Event Category: None
>> > Event ID: 7026
>> > Date: 5/09/2005
>> > Time: 9:44:06 PM
>> > User: N/A
>> > Computer: MSI
>> > Description:
>> > The following boot-start or system-start driver(s) failed to load:
>> > atitray
>> >
>> > It doesn't always give same message though. Doesn anyone know what
>> > this means and how can I fix it?
>>
>> Strip the machine down to the motherboard, video card, and one stick of
>> RAM. Run RAM tests - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. If the RAM
>> fails, replace it. Run some burn-in software (non-Windows). If the
>> machine stays up with no errors, start adding in pci components,
>> drives, etc. one item at a time, testing after each change. You can
>> also swap out the video card for a cheapo one to test.
>>
>> Doing hardware testing requires having components on hand and a lot of
>> patience. If you don't, then take the machine to a professional
>> computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of BigStoreUSA). There
>> is no shame in doing this. Hardware faults can be really hard to track
>> down.
>>
>> Malke
>> --
>> Elephant Boy Computers
>> www.elephantboycomputers.com
>> "Don't Panic!"
>> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
>>