pc/screen freezing up (usually in 1st 20mins)

[ericlered]

hi

Last few weeks my pc started freezing up, randomly but usually in 1st 20 mins or so of pc being switched on ( but does happen less frequently at any stage )

pc spec

athlon 900
512mb ram
40 gb hd
tnt2 32mb graphic card

broadband modem last 4 months

tiny system about 3 years old nearly

wondered whether its overheating ( would this happen 1st few mins or after a while ? )

video card maybe

i just dont really know

any help appreciated

thanx in advance

[Train]

about 20 minutes each time.

I would say it is time to open it up and get the dust bunnies out . Dust is a enemy of computers as it holds the heat in, which is not good. I use canned air that I buy to do it with. And use something to keep the fans from spinning as that spinning will burn the bearings out.
Follow good static prevention techniques!

[Murf]

Hi,

Welcome to VRDR. Not a fan of Windows ME, but you have a hardware problem I think.

HEAT as you suggest could be the culprit. I would take the case cover off and fire her up. Make sure the processor fan is working and that there is no cables restricting air flow, move them away from the fan. While your in there, if you have never cleaned, might as well take the dust bunnies out, lot's of dust can cause overheating.

If it quits while the case is off then you have found your problem.

If it continues to do this and all the fans workc ontinuously , then it's another problem obviously.

Then you need to look at what programs are starting when Windows starts up as it could be the result of a program that runs during startup. Follow these steps to determine if this is the case.

1. From the Start menu, click Run. In the Run dialog box, type: Msconfig. Click OK.

2. In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the Startup tab, and then clear each check box in the list.

3. After all check boxes on the Startup tab have been cleared, click OK.

4. In the System Settings Change dialog box, click Yes to restart your computer.

Test for the issue.

1. If the issue is resolved, follow these steps to determine which program is causing the issue.

Re-enabling programs at startup

Note: If the issue is intermittent, you may need to test the computer for a period of time until you feel comfortable that the issue has not reappeared.

1. From the Start menu, click Run. In the Run dialog box, type: Msconfig. Click OK.

2. In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the Startup tab, select the first check box in the list, and then click OK.

Note: Some of the first check marks should include, but are not limited to, the following items: SystemTray, TaskMonitor, ScanRegistry, PCHealth Updates, *StateMgr, LoadPowerProfile, and GoBack Polling Service.

3. In the System Settings Change dialog box, click Yes to restart your computer.

4. Test for the issue.

After you are confident that the issue has been resolved, repeat steps 1 through 4, but select the next check box in the list.
Continue this process, one check box at a time, until the issue returns. The last check box you selected ran a program that is preventing Windows from working properly.

Clear the check box that was selected last. Verify that the check boxes for all other startup items are selected, and then re-test the computer.

If the computer continues to function properly, reconnect any external devices that may have been disconnected in previous troubleshooting steps. If the computer still continues to function properly, troubleshoot the cleared startup item that caused the issue. A common troubleshooting step is to remove and reinstall the associated program.

Note: If the program causing the issue is not from Gateway, refer to the vendor of the product for assistance.

[ericlered]

thanx for replies

unticked all startup items and still keeps locking up and having to turn off at power

seems to be that it locks up when connect to net with broadband modem though

maybe is a problem with the modem or usb ports ?

fans seem to be working ok except video card one makes some scratching noise

updated drivers on modem , hopefully might help, who knows, will find out v soon

any more ideas ?

cheers

[ericlered]

no

definitely not the modem as just frozen straight after start up

im stuck now totally

fan on graphics card is very noisy though, could this be the problem ???

[Murf]

fan on graphics card is very noisy though, could this be the problem ???


Yes, depending on what video card it is, they can generate a lot of heat. Video fans are not that expensive. Noise means the fan is about to go.

[ericlered]

Originally posted by ericlered
no

definitely not the modem as just frozen straight after start up

im stuck now totally

fan on graphics card is very noisy though, could this be the problem ???

but my pc been noisy pretty much since bought it 2 and half years ago, realise its probably been graphics card fan all along

[Murf]

Could be a IRQ coflict, rule this out by:

Right Click "My Computer" thento Properties, then to Device Manager TAB

Highlight the first entry Computer then hit the Properties Button.

This will bring up all of your IRQ's. See if a couple of devices are using the same one, in particular your Modem and Sound Card.

Some devices will use the same IRQ, but you must have IRQ Steering installed.

If the computer was noisey from the beginning, it could of been a wire/cable touching the processor fan..

Did you run it with the case off??

[ericlered]

had a look

acpi irq holder for pci irq steering is present in settings :-

09 along with the 56k modem

10 along with usb controller

11 along with soundblaster sound and tnt2 graphics card

how do i know if the "steering " is installed ?

thanx for the continued help

[SPQR33]

Happened across your thread. As you have found out, Win ME (Mickeymouse Edition) is the worst garbage OS ever offered to an unsuspecting public that M$ ever created.

You have 512 MB ram. Remember, that Win ME is still DOS. DOS has two built in choke points of 64K each, and 512 MB of memory overwhelms it regularly.

Try going to Start-Run and type MSCONFIG in the box. In the Advanced tab, limit memory usage to 128 MB (the minimum needed to run Win ME) and then 256 MB and finally 384 MB. Also in MSCONFIG, in the Start-up tab, shut off any processes you may not be need, except for *Statemgr, and your Virus protection items. Doing so will turn off programs that are running in the background that consume much memory. They will run when you call for them as needed.

In the Win.ini tab, click the + box next to Windows to expand it. Uncheck any items that have Run= or Start= or Load= next to them. This will make Win ME more stable, such as it is.

Let me know if this helps.
[email protected]
spqr33


I have Win ME also and as you have found out, you will soon wear out the Start button on your machine from all of the lock ups you will have.

[Chanter]

Contrary to some of the rants you'll get here, this is not an OS problem. You said it just started happening a couple of weeks ago. (For what it's worth, I have never had one freeze using Windows ME in almost 2 years. So much for wearing out the start button. I'm kinda looking forward to XP, but ME works so beautifully and is so solid, I'm loathe to give it up.) Did you try booting up with the Startup Floppy disc and running scanreg /fix from the command prompt? Have you tried a restore point that takes you back to before the symptoms started? Instead of all that unchecking in msconfig, did you try safe mode? The answer is out there, but sometimes patient diagnosis is the only solution.

[ericlered]

well i took the drastix step of fitting new case/psu/motherboard/cpu/memory/graphics card

and it seems fine now haha

my first pc build - awwww the proud father

thanx for any help received cheers