Freezing issues

City3000

Posts: 23   +0
Hi,
I've been having many problems with my PC for a few months now, this is an overview of whats been happening:

The first problem began on startup when scanning IDE drives, the dots would just go on and on until eventually a message stating "No Hard Disk detected, Press F1 to resume". I would then restart the machine and it would work fine for a few weeks until the message appeared again. It would then work fine again for a few weeks.

After a while the PC would always hang on the scanning of IDE drives on the first boot up but then always work fine after a restart.

Then the PC began loading fine but would always freeze after a few minutes, I restart it and it works fine. I now get this problem every day I use the PC.

I also once had this message on startup "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt - \windows\system32\config\system. I ignored this and have not seen this message since.

More recently I have had two BSOD messages, one while playing a video on Youtube and one while running a routine Virus scan, These messages have been IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.

The most recent problem now is that my monitor is not picking up the signal first time when I turn it on during the boot phase, it only picks it up the second time.

EDIT: My PC will also occasionly run Chkdsk by itself on a startup.

Some details on my PC:

System
Microsoft Windows XP
Home Edition
Version 2002
SP3

Computer:
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor
3500+
2.20 GHZ, 1.00 GB of RAM

Any help with the causes of this would be much appreciated, thanks.
 
How to find and post your Minidump Files:

My Computer > C Drive > Windows Folder > Minidump Folder > Minidump Files.

It is these files that we need (not the folder). Attach to your next post the five most recent dumps. Notice the Manage Attachments button at the bottom when you go to post the next time. You can Zip up to five files per Zip; if you only have one or two you don’t need to zip them, just attach as is. Please do us a favor and don’t Zip each one individually.

Also, give us the make and model of your motherboard and your power supply. How much power does it say it supplies?

That 3500+ processor is a good one.
 
Hi, sorry for the delay in replying and thanks for the reply.

My PC will no longer boot properly so I won't be able to get the minidumps. When I start it up it sounds like it's booting but the monitor is getting no signal and nothing happens. I did try a replacement graphics card I had but that did not help.

My motherboard is: ASUS A8V Deluxe.
My Power supply unit is: Akasa (AK-P460FG-BL) 460-Watt Power Supply
 
How old is this system?

Did your power supply come with your case? If so, what case did it come in (make of case)?

How tech savvy are you or do you have friends that are tech savvy?
 
My documentation tells me the system was tested in Jan 05, I think I purchased it around then.

The power supply came with the case, it is a MESH case.

I'm pretty tech savvy and know one or two people who could help if needed, I know its not easy for you to tell but do you have a feeling as to what could be causing the problem at this stage?

I noticed while researching online some PC Testers like PC ANALYZER-PRO that give POST Codes that could indicate the problem, are these good ideas do you think? and could you recommend one if you think they are.

Thanks.
 
Quick update, my PC is up and running again, well kind of! I tested the PSU with the Multimeter and that was fine, looks like I have bad RAM. I was able to start the PC and get back into Windows after changing the two slots of RAM around, I am running on low memory right now (it's telling me 256mb) but I was planning on upgrading the memory to 4GB anyway.

I also noticed one of the fans had stopped working so will need to replace that aswell, do you think that the fact one of my fans stopped working may have caused overheating which may have damaged the RAM? Or could something else have caused the RAM to fail.
 
No, i'm sure the warranty expired a few years ago.

I've never heard of Nanya before but it could just be a regional thing. I would check to see what if any warrenty they have because most memory makers will replace free of charge.
 
Hi,

Thanks for your time and help. My PC has been stable now for the past couple of days and i'm in the process of replacing the faulty fan and memory. Hopefully my issues have been solved, thanks.
 
Hi,

Thanks for your time and help. My PC has been stable now for the past couple of days and i'm in the process of replacing the faulty fan and memory. Hopefully my issues have been solved, thanks.

Thanks for getting back to us. So the conclusion then is faulty RAM?
 
Thanks for getting back to us. So the conclusion then is faulty RAM?

I believe so, i've got two 512mb slots and after moving the two slots of RAM around the PC started working fine but with only 256mb of memory being recognised. I'm not 100% sure by any means but I can only assume it's the RAM at fault.
 
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