self built pc locking up?

ffocused

I built a HTPC and it will lock up intermittantly for no apparent reason.

The screen just freezes and keyboard/mouse are unresponsive, the time display on case also freezes. It happens while pc is doing nothing more stressful then torrenting. I flashed the mobo BIOS yo the latest version and it still happens. The mobo temp seems to top out around 40 degrees and i have not overclocked anything. Any ideas on what could be causing it?

System is running Vista HP 32bit
Antec Fusion 430 silver case
Asus P5E-VM HDMI Mobo
Intel E8500 3.16Ghz Dual Core Processor
Nvidia 8500GT GFX card
4GB Corsair XMS2 800mhz RAM
LG HD-DVD/Blu Ray combo internal drive
LG HD-DVD/Blu Ray USB Burner
2 x 1TB Samsung Spinpoint HDD's
Hauppauge HVR-4000 sat/dtt tuner
D-Link DWA 556 b/g/n wifi card
Logitech DiNovo mini bluetooth keyboard

TiGeR KiNgS

if your torrenting you may need to do this

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055274237


alternatively it could be a power supply problem ?
make sure all the cables are fitted securely

Edit: what is the psu wattage?

ffocused

Its a 430w psu, I doubt it is a virus, Bitdefender is doing a good job there, I will try reseating the power cables and see what happens.

ffocused

I reseated the power cables and it is still happening...

TiGeR KiNgS

download a program to check temp's
and report the temperature of the cpu,gfx card

ffocused

The CPU is usually between 25 & 40 degrees and tops out at 50 under heaavy load. Mobo always around 35-40. GFX card is always about 50 when i check it. (it is passively cooled). None have gone over the default acceptable range in pc probe (software bundles with mobo)

I initially thought it was a temp problem but i increased the fan speed for the exaust fans and it still happened.

eamonnm

I notice you have a wireless card check this site out and see if this helps http://www.martin-majowski.de/wlanoptimizer/downloads.php

Cuddlesworth

Torrenting is very network intensive and you are doing it over a wireless connection. I would have first said that could possibly be the problem.

But since you say that everything locks up and the screen stays the same I would reinstall your gfx drivers. Its possible the relevant service is stopping and the screen display is staying fixed.

ffocused

I am not using thw wifi card as it was not getting a decent signal. It is disabled now. I was thought it might be the gfx card myself. I will try removing it first and using the mobo's gfx chip for a while and post how i get on. Thanks for the replies.

ffocused

Nvidia released a new driver a few weeks ago, i installed it on Thursday and have not had a lock up so far............so hopefully that was the problem. Thanks for the help.

rockal

I'm in the same situation and am convinced that the problem lies with Bitdefender. I've tried about 4 torrent apps and ALL lock the system. Have not got solution yet!! still working.

TonyM.

With 4 gb of ram you need to increase the voltage to the memory controllers my pc did the same thing I increased the northbridge voltage to 1.61v and it solved the problem .

stylie

The PSU seems small any way you could get a loan of a higher wattage to test it out ?

ffocused

I had another lock up while playing a .mkv video file. Utorrent was not running so that is now ruled out as the cause. It is only a HTPC so i feel the PSU is more then adequate? I dont play any games on it. No way of getting a bigger PSU on loan. I will remove 2gb of ram and see if that is the problem and then look at increasing the voltage if needed. P.S. could the voltage increase damage anything?

Auvers

I would try booting with a barebones setup, i.e. 1 stick of Ram\CPU\GFX and if it does not lock up keep adding components until the problem arises

ArseBurger

Check the temps on your memory. And make sure it's seated properly. You can get heat sinks and fans for RAM.

ffocused

The barebones idea is good, but i can get a week or more without a lock up and then get them a few times a day so it could take a long time to eliminate everything.

ffocused

The RAM has heat sinks and is seated properly
http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/articles/2008/04/16115435833l.jpg

what program reads ram temps?

stylie

ffocused wrote: »

I had another lock up while playing a .mkv video file. Utorrent was not running so that is now ruled out as the cause. It is only a HTPC so i feel the PSU is more then adequate? I dont play any games on it. No way of getting a bigger PSU on loan. I will remove 2gb of ram and see if that is the problem and then look at increasing the voltage if needed. P.S. could the voltage increase damage anything?

My original pc would be 1/4 or less the spec of yours, I added two RAM chips and upgraded my graphics card,,,minor changes or so I thought..it crashed, locked up when ever I did more than your standard pc use...I mean it BSOD when using cool iris to look at pictures I wont tell you what happened if I looked at a .mkv...the problem was the 360w origional PSU not being powerful enough so I got a 580w and the problem was fixed instantly, lesson learnt in my book.
Always get the biggest PSU you can afford or find,,,I would rather be looking at it than looking for it and your PSU looks totally inadequte for what you are trying to run..

*edit*

Maplins are doing a 14day money back so you can get a "loan" from them

bmcgrath

I really think a beefier CPU would help.
I had this problem with an ole P4 system. And getting a 500watt psu sorted all the problems of it locking up on me.

Auvers

what make and model PSU have you got?
have you run Memtest86 yet?
have you tried stress testing software like Orthos?
have you reseated everything on the board? i.e CPU heatsink\Ram

ffocused

The psu came with the case, it is an (Antec 430w ATX12v V2.0 psu)
got those details from website.
I used the psu calculator at http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/
and it said a 366w psu would be fine for my setup.
If the psu is the problem, would the pc lock up again on boot up after a freeze? If i cannot boot first time after a lock up i have to leave it for an hour or so. This happens regularly so i was assuming it was heat related, but that seems to be ruled out....

ffocused

I have removed 1 2gb stick of RAM and the GFX card. (mobo has Intel G35 GFX chip buit in) and will see what happens.....

stylie

I dont trust the PSU calculator for one minute..

I think your best bet is to find a sure bet way that freezes your computer..then strip it to barebones and test the sure bet freeze out..add a component test again etc etc repeat and rinse

ffocused

I put thr RAM back in without the GFX card and it locked on boot up, so the RAM is the problem. How do i increase the voltage as suggested by TonyM?

ffocused

I have now had the lock up with 1 stick of ram so i am going to bite the bullet and get a new psu, what wattage should i go for?
I am looking at this 650w one
http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=412M&CategorySelectedId=11259&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11259,49450000

Should i spend more or will this work fine?

TiGeR KiNgS

ffocused wrote: »

I have now had the lock up with 1 stick of ram so i am going to bite the bullet and get a new psu, what wattage should i go for?
I am looking at this 650w one
http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=412M&CategorySelectedId=11259&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11259,49450000

Should i spend more or will this work fine?

A poor quality psu you have choosen there (dabs value).
this psu is however excellent but pricey for a htpc
http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4B0R&CategorySelectedId=11259&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11259,49450000,50113


this is another choice that should easily work on your system (my pick)
http://www.dabs.ie/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4Q0T&CategorySelectedId=11259&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11259,50113



another point:
I noticed that your previous post has been a while, so how long did the pc last before the lock up?
Both ram may actually just be faulty if there was a considerable time between the problems

ffocused

I have been getting 2-3 lock ups a week using the onboard gfx and 4gb ram. I removed 2 gb ram and put back the gfx card and got 2 lock ups in the space of 1.5 hours last night leading me to agree with the consensus that the psu is the problem.
Sticking with corsair what do you think of this one?
http://www.dabs.ie/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=4RY9&CategorySelectedId=11259&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11259,12,49450000&InMerch=1

TerrorFirmer

I had a 650i board that kept locking up as well a few times a day, it was actually specifically giving me ram errors and it failed a few ram tests, naturally replaced it only to find the same problem - now using every same component on a new board, including the ram, and has been 100% since. That's well over a month ago now.

It's thought me not to sell all your old hardware when you buy new, having spares is invaluable and saves a lot of wasted money.

ffocused

I ordered the psu yesterday so will wait and see if that is (hopefully) the problem.

Solitaire

Could be the mobo, classic symptoms (exceedingly random, well distributed freezes and crashes). It *might* be the PSU - if its the old EA430 the combined additional load of the big HDDs and the fans might be dragging 12V2 low, but I doubt it given the lowish power consumption of a passive 8500GT. Nor do you have a quad CPU either. PSUs that are stressed too far or are slowly failing usually crash a machine when its at peak power usage, not when its quietly torrenting or during minimum boots. Make sure you can send back the PSU as you might be blowing a load of money on something you don't need... in any case I strongly recommend torturing it to see if there is CPU or RAM instability. Also try resetting the CMOS and loading the default BIOS settings.