WinXP Pro Locking Up.. baffled!

[GranSalseron]

AMDs have a history of heat problems. Check the fan/heat
sync for dust buildup. See if the temp goes down with the
case cover off. Try to find a better fan/heat sync combo
OR the BEST solution is to get an INTEL cpu.

Also, the cooling programs probably aren't compat with
xp. Look for new versons. XP handlers are a bit
different than previous versions.

>-----Original Message-----
>Hi all,
>
>I got my PC in 2000 and used Windows 98 for a while and
it was fine, I
>decided to upgrade to Windows 2000 for extra stability
being a software
>developer. Unfortunately it kept freezing. Luckily,
WinXP had just came
>out and I did an upgrade to that and it hardly ever
locked up. A friend
>told me about a fix for my Aureal Vortex 2 soundcard
(some problem with VIA
>chipset) and I installed that and it never locked up at
all after that.
>
>I've had the same WinXP installed for 2 years or so now
and recently its
>started freezing again.. very badly, every 15-20 mins..
very annoying..
>without bothering too much to solve the problem I decided
to reinstall since
>it was running a lot slower anyway, fresh install was
needed.
>
>I reinstalled XP, installed SP1 and all the SP2 updates
from Windows Update,
>and installed my frequently used apps. HMonitor reported
cpu temp of 55C
>while idle, I thought odd, its usually 34C on idle and I
remembered having
>CPUCooL installed, I installed it and now windows is
freezing again, totally
>random. I've uninstalled it hoping it'll resolve the
problem and it seems
>ok so far, but why is the Cooling program freezing? it
worked fine before..
>and now my CPU temp is sky high with the fan throttling.
Why isn't XP
>cooling it while idle? I have the ACPI enabled.
>
>My system:
>Athlon Tbird 1333 axia cpu
>Abit KT7A-RAID m/b
>2x256mb Crucial SDR dimms
>Aureal Vortex 2 (pci) sound card
>
>Ideally I'd like to bring my temp back down, I've tried
other cpu cooling
>programs and windows freezes with those too... anyone got
any ideas?
>
>Baffling since I had one installed for years before!
>
>Any help appreciated, apologies if I waffled on too
much ;-)
>
>Cheers,
>Peter.
>
>
>.
>

[Peter]

Well, I wouldn't say there were any heat problems, I already have a decent
HSF, and made good use of fans. a heat problem is like 70-80C. =) It
freezes when the temp is at 35C with software cooling. Anyway, it still
freezes without the cooling software installed. My only new hardware is a
Samsung DVDROM (608 model) which I've not really used yet.. I also flashed
bios with latest firmware as well... I forgot to mention I have a
Geforce2GTS as well.

I'm thinking of just reinstalling, and see how it holds up without the
service pack updates.. another few days wasted when I ought to be coding..
great.

Cheers,
Peter.

"GranSalseron" > wrote in message
...
> AMDs have a history of heat problems. Check the fan/heat
> sync for dust buildup. See if the temp goes down with the
> case cover off. Try to find a better fan/heat sync combo
> OR the BEST solution is to get an INTEL cpu.
>
> Also, the cooling programs probably aren't compat with
> xp. Look for new versons. XP handlers are a bit
> different than previous versions.
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >Hi all,
> >
> >I got my PC in 2000 and used Windows 98 for a while and
> it was fine, I
> >decided to upgrade to Windows 2000 for extra stability
> being a software
> >developer. Unfortunately it kept freezing. Luckily,
> WinXP had just came
> >out and I did an upgrade to that and it hardly ever
> locked up. A friend
> >told me about a fix for my Aureal Vortex 2 soundcard
> (some problem with VIA
> >chipset) and I installed that and it never locked up at
> all after that.
> >
> >I've had the same WinXP installed for 2 years or so now
> and recently its
> >started freezing again.. very badly, every 15-20 mins..
> very annoying..
> >without bothering too much to solve the problem I decided
> to reinstall since
> >it was running a lot slower anyway, fresh install was
> needed.
> >
> >I reinstalled XP, installed SP1 and all the SP2 updates
> from Windows Update,
> >and installed my frequently used apps. HMonitor reported
> cpu temp of 55C
> >while idle, I thought odd, its usually 34C on idle and I
> remembered having
> >CPUCooL installed, I installed it and now windows is
> freezing again, totally
> >random. I've uninstalled it hoping it'll resolve the
> problem and it seems
> >ok so far, but why is the Cooling program freezing? it
> worked fine before..
> >and now my CPU temp is sky high with the fan throttling.
> Why isn't XP
> >cooling it while idle? I have the ACPI enabled.
> >
> >My system:
> >Athlon Tbird 1333 axia cpu
> >Abit KT7A-RAID m/b
> >2x256mb Crucial SDR dimms
> >Aureal Vortex 2 (pci) sound card
> >
> >Ideally I'd like to bring my temp back down, I've tried
> other cpu cooling
> >programs and windows freezes with those too... anyone got
> any ideas?
> >
> >Baffling since I had one installed for years before!
> >
> >Any help appreciated, apologies if I waffled on too
> much ;-)
> >
> >Cheers,
> >Peter.
> >
> >
> >.
> >

[BushLin random]

> > case cover off. Try to find a better fan/heat sync combo
> > OR the BEST solution is to get an INTEL cpu.

Great advice, NOT! Lets try and find the cause of your problem rather
than some Intel fanboy imply their CPUs don't overheat or have
motherboard issues.

There's an issue with the KT7a and the GF2 GTS, set your AGP driving
to DA or EA in the BIOS, see the KT7a FAQ at
http://www.sudhian.com/showfaqs.cfm?fid=2 for full details and other
useful info. Did you reset your CMOS after updating to BIOS A9? if
not you should now.
55c is way too hot to be running a CPU! you should be BELOW 50c at
full stress if you want stability. Software cooling isn't doing
anything at 100% CPU usage and is generally a bad idea. 70-80c is a
melting problem ;) 55c is a heating problem, -35c is a consumer
problem.
If these temps. are higher than normal for your system check your
Heatsink installation, your fans are running freely etc.
Are you running new applications? do you have up to date anti-virus
and WHQL certified drivers? Have you tested on a clean install without
loading anything.
If all else fails disconnect everything and just run minimum setup:
Just video card, 1 HDD. If stable then add the other parts until you
get a fail.
The freeware Prime95 is a good check for stability, the torture test
keeps memory, CPU and chipset at 100% usage until you tell it to stop,
if there is the slightest miscalculation it will halt and report the
problem. If you can't pass this test you can't expect a stable
system.


"Peter" > wrote in message >...
> Well, I wouldn't say there were any heat problems, I already have a decent
> HSF, and made good use of fans. a heat problem is like 70-80C. =) It
> freezes when the temp is at 35C with software cooling. Anyway, it still
> freezes without the cooling software installed. My only new hardware is a
> Samsung DVDROM (608 model) which I've not really used yet.. I also flashed
> bios with latest firmware as well... I forgot to mention I have a
> Geforce2GTS as well.
>
> I'm thinking of just reinstalling, and see how it holds up without the
> service pack updates.. another few days wasted when I ought to be coding..
> great.
>
> Cheers,
> Peter.
>
> "GranSalseron" > wrote in message
> ...
> > AMDs have a history of heat problems. Check the fan/heat
> > sync for dust buildup. See if the temp goes down with the
> > case cover off. Try to find a better fan/heat sync combo
> > OR the BEST solution is to get an INTEL cpu.
> >
> > Also, the cooling programs probably aren't compat with
> > xp. Look for new versons. XP handlers are a bit
> > different than previous versions.
> >
> > >-----Original Message-----
> > >Hi all,
> > >
> > >I got my PC in 2000 and used Windows 98 for a while and
> it was fine, I
> > >decided to upgrade to Windows 2000 for extra stability
> being a software
> > >developer. Unfortunately it kept freezing. Luckily,
> WinXP had just came
> > >out and I did an upgrade to that and it hardly ever
> locked up. A friend
> > >told me about a fix for my Aureal Vortex 2 soundcard
> (some problem with VIA
> > >chipset) and I installed that and it never locked up at
> all after that.
> > >
> > >I've had the same WinXP installed for 2 years or so now
> and recently its
> > >started freezing again.. very badly, every 15-20 mins..
> very annoying..
> > >without bothering too much to solve the problem I decided
> to reinstall since
> > >it was running a lot slower anyway, fresh install was
> needed.
> > >
> > >I reinstalled XP, installed SP1 and all the SP2 updates
> from Windows Update,
> > >and installed my frequently used apps. HMonitor reported
> cpu temp of 55C
> > >while idle, I thought odd, its usually 34C on idle and I
> remembered having
> > >CPUCooL installed, I installed it and now windows is
> freezing again, totally
> > >random. I've uninstalled it hoping it'll resolve the
> problem and it seems
> > >ok so far, but why is the Cooling program freezing? it
> worked fine before..
> > >and now my CPU temp is sky high with the fan throttling.
> Why isn't XP
> > >cooling it while idle? I have the ACPI enabled.
> > >
> > >My system:
> > >Athlon Tbird 1333 axia cpu
> > >Abit KT7A-RAID m/b
> > >2x256mb Crucial SDR dimms
> > >Aureal Vortex 2 (pci) sound card
> > >
> > >Ideally I'd like to bring my temp back down, I've tried
> other cpu cooling
> > >programs and windows freezes with those too... anyone got
> any ideas?
> > >
> > >Baffling since I had one installed for years before!
> > >
> > >Any help appreciated, apologies if I waffled on too
> much ;-)
> > >
> > >Cheers,
> > >Peter.
> > >
> > >
> > >.
> > >

[Peter]

"BushLin random" > wrote in message
om...
> Great advice, NOT! Lets try and find the cause of your problem rather
> than some Intel fanboy imply their CPUs don't overheat or have
> motherboard issues.

<snip!>

BushLin, you're a diamond geezer.. thats the advice I had been looking for..
I will get on that right away and let you know what happens.

Thanks again,
Peter.