CPU temp threshold error

[freudsfeud]

I am doing some work on a friends computer and I need some help diagnosing what the problem is.

It is a SystemMax computer with a Biostar P4M800-M7A mobo and a pentium d processor.

The power supply unit is ruined and I test it with another from mine. The hard drive is good, RAM is ok, I tested both of them in my computer and they run great.

The computer powers up and gets through the grub loader, I select to start Linux Mint and it either freezes, gives me a "cpu temp threshold" error msg or it gives me a "cannot sync" error.

How can I tell if it is the mobo or cpu? I feel like I have done enough trouble shooting to isolate it to either of those but if anyone has any other ideas they are welcome.

 

[dustin_ds3000]

try installing windows or Linux on a spare hdd and see if you still get any errors.

 

[Zilpha]

Is the CPU fan running? If it wasn't actually locking up I'd just assume it's the kernel logger being annoying. We saw this a lot in the P4 days. But, since the computer is actually locking up and the HDD works fine in another PC it could be something more serious like the CPU actually going over the threshold.

Might want to clean off any old thermal paste between the CPU and Heatsink, and then apply a nice fresh layer.

 

[freudsfeud]

ok, I'll try a different hard drive and see if I still get the error msg. I will also try putting new thermal paste. The fan runs at about 1,100 rpm, is that too slow (info from bios).