Big Problem :(

Fanny Cradock

To quickly fill you guys in I recently upgraded my comp:
3000+ (s745) > 3700+ (s939);
new graphics card
and new mobo to accommodate the new chip.

I kept my RAM (cheap 332mHz TwinMoss 2 x 512MB) and HDD (160GB SATA Maxor) from my old system.

The problem is that there is something fundamentally wrong with some components or the installation. Unfortunately, I don't have the expertise to figure it out, but I do know the symptoms - 3 of them - which have arisen in the last 2 weeks.

1) Everything appeared fine with the new rig until a couple of weeks ago when I upgraded to iTunes 7.0.2. I was getting horrible system lag. I reverted to the Itunes 6, but the problem persisted. I then tried WinAmp, but it was the same. After tinkering with the drivers all seemed to be back to normal...

2) One day last week I finished up on the computer and went out leaving the it on. When I got back a blue screen with a warning message had popped up. I can't remember exactly what it said, but it was something along the lines of:

"The OS was shut down to avoid damage...

Machine_check_exception

There is a problem with some of the hardware/ software etc.

Memory Dump (some long number)...."

To date this has happened 3 times.

3) To my mind, the last problem is the most worrying; it happened only last night. My HDD started making horrible noises (on 3 occasions). It's like a rhythmic and nearly identical repeating chugging - almost like a crap dance track from the 90's. Last night it happened as I was playing a game, went on at fairly regular intervals (always the same chugging rhythm) for about 10 minutes before I tried to shut down and got a system crash.

As I'm typing there is no system lag, no blue screen and no funny noises.


I have 3 theories as to what could be the route problem (I could be completely off though):

Before the HDD started making those weird noises I thought that it may be a problem with the initial installation of XP or maybe a driver issue. I've since installed the various drivers a number of times (not gone down the whole reinstallation route yet).

After the blue screen incident I thought that it may be the RAM that was the problem. Initially, when I was placing the RAM into the machine I noticed that the graphics card wouldn't function if the RAM was in slots A1 and 2, but it was fine in B1 and 2.

Now I'm thinking the HDD is on the way out, but would that account for all the other weird stuff?

If you made it to the end of this fair play. Help would be greatly appreciated.

Mr. Presentable

I'm presuming this is a new format and install of XP on the old HDD.

Strange noises from your HDD are not a good sign. Check it is mounted securely and conneceted properly - a new IDE cable may be in order. If all that checks out I'd recommend backing up whatever's on it in preparation for its demise Then run a HDD testing utility for bad sectors etc (particularly as chckdisk didn't complete.

Fanny Cradock

Yeah, it was a full format and fresh install. I'll try a new cable. Do you think that all the events are connected or independent?

Can you suggest a programme for checking disk integrity? I've run the chkdsk command and it turned up nothing untoward.

::EDIT::

I've enabled S.M.A.R.T. in the bios, but for it to work I need a programme to run in conjunction with it. Anyone know of a free one?

Cuddlesworth

If you by chance happen to have a n-force4 motherboard, after a format dont install the nvidia IDE drivers or the nvidia fire-wall. I would hazard a guess for this being your problem.

Fanny Cradock

Yeah, it's a n-force4 motherboard. I know for sure I didn't install the firewall, and I'm pretty sure i didn't install the IDE drivers either. Is there a way to find this out for sure. When I go to remove the nVidia drivers (just to check what are on there) the ones listed are:

NVIDIA Audio Drivers;
NVIDIA Display Drivers;
NVIDIA Ethernet Driver Components and
NVIDIA nForce PCI System management driver.

Steven_in_Cork

Hi,

strange noise from hard disk is no good and should be investigated.
Download a diagnotic tool from http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Maxtor/menuitem.8db0c3d6932ced37294198b091346068/?channelpath=%2Fen_us%2FSupport%2FSoftware+Downloads
and check for problems.

Also noticed that you RAM is DDR333 (pc2700) wih isnt ideal for a DDR400 (pc3200) processor and can cause problems too, best would DDR400/PC3200 RAM.

But check your drive first using a maxtor tool.
Some drives(like mine) can make strange noises but work perfect,
although it is a valid reason to RMA it as per maxtor webpage/rma-section.

good luck

8T8

As others have mentioned the noises coming from the hard drive are a very bad sign. Back up all your data right now!

Try the diagnostic tool that Steven_in_Cork links to above.

Also run Memtest+ on the system to make sure the RAM is okay.

Fanny Cradock

Back again!

I've run the Maxtor hard drive test and everything checked out as fine. I've also partially run the memory test (after 3 hours of running and completing 5 of 10 tests I gave up) and everything also appeared fine. \Yet the rattling from the hard drive continues. I realise that it is probably on the way pout, but I wondering if the IDE drivers could be the problem (as suggested by krazy_8s).

Should I really have 3 primary, 3 secondary and 3 Standard dual IDE channels?

Cuddlesworth

Tbh, if you are going to run mem-test you need to either run it for 12 hours+ or focus on either test 5 or 8 for around 5 hours. I have seen ram error on continuous loops of test 8 that passed a full day on the normal tests.

Fanny Cradock

Ahh! Looks like the weekend will be the best time. I don't see it being related to the hard drive problem, though.