Having some problems

[altheman]

I built a new pc, and I've started having a few problems.

1) When doing a reboot from inside windows, the pc freezes at POST. Doing a cold boot or rebooting after this problem happens doesnt cause it to happen. I think it started when I left a usb drive plugged in.

2) I was thinking it might be a memory problem (2gb corsair), but memtest freezes. The memtest "+" thing still flashes, but the time and test progress just stop. Pressing escape to reboot doesnt help.

I've tried everything I know, resetting bios, loading failsafe defaults, testing 1 stick of ram at a time, still no luck.

 

[raybay]

Your best possibility, it seems to me, is to borrow a known good memory module from another computer, or invest in new memory.
But I would also be sure your BIOS and Chipset are up to date, and if you have anyway to do it, run spyware and antivirus software...
Do you have the possibility of putting the hard drive in another machine that has good security software. There you can run antivirus, antispyware, and rootkit scans on this "slave" drive.

 

[altheman]

Could an overheating Northbridge have caused the problems? I checked my mobo, and it seems one of the heatsink holder pins for the NB became loose.

 

[raybay]

Yes. Northbridge problems have been repeatedly detected as part of the problem... but they are just about impossible to fix unless you are a tech genius with very skilled fingers and top flight soldering equipment.

 

[altheman]

I might get lucky, this mobo uses a heatsink for the NB like those for cpus. Once I push the pins down it hold it, it stays down. I'm gonna have to test if the problem is fixed tomorrow, I was packing the parts up to rma it when I noticed.

 

[raybay]

Interesting. Let us know how it goes.

 

[almcneil]

Sounds like an overheating problem. Load Lavalys EVEREST Home Edition (see http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/...s_Utilities/Lavalys_EVEREST_Home_Edition.html ) and monitor the temperature sensor.

BTW, a "reboot inside Windows" is called a "restart".

 

[altheman]

Yep, after fixing the heatsink for the Northbridge, it hasnt crashed since. Usually, running latency.exe (that comes with cpuz) would crash the system, no bsod or anything, just a complete freeze up.

I've been running Prime95 for about 20mins, still hasnt crashed, before it would crash as soon as it used up the memory.

I feel like an ***** for not checking the mobo carefully before :unch: :blackeye:

BTW, a "reboot inside Windows" is called a "restart".

lol, I know what it is, what I meant in my main post was after doing Start->Shutdown->Restart, it would freeze during POST.

 

[raybay]

Are we talking about the little spring locks on the corners of the Northbridge... where you push down to release, and push down again to lock ?

 

[raybay]

By the way, Almcneil, Reboot is acceptable, as it Restart. It depends on where you are.

 

[altheman]

Are we talking about the little spring locks on the corners of the Northbridge... where you push down to release, and push down again to lock ?

Erm..this was kinda different, once you push it down, you have to use a tool to open it again from the other side of the mobo. It sounds complicated, but simply put, you turn the mobo over and squeeze the pins together, and the holder pops out.

 

[raybay]

Thank you for the update. Any idea of how it became loose?

 

[altheman]

Must have been when I was putting it all together. When I was building it, I found a spring on the floor that was part of the heatsink for the NB, but I didnt realize at the time that it had come loose. I put the spring into the bag of screws, and good thing I did lol. I also found the heatsink pin under the bed yesterday, which was lucky 'cos the room had been hoovered just the day before. >.<