I just built my first custom computer a couple of weeks ago. Everything has been running fine until a few days ago when the computer started to randomly freeze. The pointer on the screen starts to skip for a few seconds then stops moving. No response from the keyboard either. I have to reset the computer. This happens about 40 minutes after the computer has booted.

I've installed the latest drivers and updates for Vista and the XFX 8800GTS. I've also installed RivaTuner to make sure my GPU fan is running at 100%. (The nVidia monitor with nTune is messed up. It says my GPU fan is running at 224 RPM and my AUX2 fan at 30180 RPM. Yes that's 30k RPM. Neither make sense! 224 RPM is too slow and 30k RPM is impossibly fast.) It does show my GPU running at an idle 49C to 52C.

I'm thinking about formatting and reinstalling Vista and start from scratch. Maybe I've gotten a virus. Maybe Vista still has A LOT of bugs. Maybe I should go with Windows XP.

Is there any suggestions or concerns about my problem? Thanks

Cooler Master Cosmos-1000 - 600W Rosewill PSU - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz 1333 FSB - nVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB - Abit IP35 Pro - Patriot 4GB (2x2) DDR II 800 PC6400 - WD 320GB 7200RPM SATA - WD MyBook 320GB eSATA - LITE-ON DVD combo w/ LightScribe - Microsoft Windows Vista Premium 32-bit

Try XP...but it could be a bad video card...also try uninstalling the video drivers in safe mode, then use 'driver cleaner Pro' to get rid of all nvidia drivers, and after reboot reinstall them.

Just to make sure, are your settings in the bios stable?

It looks to me like a PSU problem.

this might be a virtual memory error...since you have 4gig ram you need to set an acceptable virtual memory (page file) size, usually you will see the proper size under "recommended"...check the settings and try to change the location of the page file to another partition.
i think your vidcard is fine and so is your PSU

Its sounds, to me, like an over heating problem. Did u overclock or change anything in ur bios...or did u use NTUNE. NTUNE is evil if u didnt know. To start, I would uninstall ntune before u do anything...Dont reinstall it either.

Hey everyone thanks for the replies.

I just reinstalled a copy of XP on my machine. I did end up finding the GPU fan speed running around 2800 RPM through Riva which seems perfect. My power supply seems to be OK, running around 35-40C. The ambient temp in my case sits at about 30C. I set defaults to the BIOS before I installed XP fresh.

I'm not too familiar with messing around with virtual memory. (I have come across those annoying errors in the past with different computers though!) My initial size was 2046MB and max. was 4096MB. It's got 4989MB as a recommended. Should I set Initial and maximum to 4989MB? Is a partition a great advantage or could I do without. If it is an advantage, can I set one up with out reintstalling windows xp?

I didn't overclock anything and don't plan on it. I don't see a considerable advantage stressing my components for a little boost of performance.

I do have the ability to do so through the microguru program that comes with ABIT mobos. Yes, nTune

I'll probably reinstall Vista sooner or later since I did spend a decent chunk of change on an OEM copy.

Well I think I've got a bit of info down there. Thanks

It looks like you have a virus -Vista

I agree. This brings back memories during the hot summer where my system would freeze up every 30 minutes, then I open my case and it felt like an oven inside.

Yes, I'm thinking about reinstalling Vista after I complete Crysis campaign. I also am going to try a few diagnostic programs that run as you boot. They'll check the RAM and CPU performance as well as the consistency of my hard disks and other components. I forgot them at work so I'll have to do it Monday!

systemlord: my system is running at a constant 30C. I've got 6 fans including the CPU and vid card. It's never gotten warmer than that.

Right, it's a little known fact that MS has limited Vista use to 40 mins of use or less, so little known that this is the first I've heard about it.

Some people who apparently know little or nothing about computers will blame ANY problem you are having on Vista, as if other PCs with different OS never have any problems.

It of course could be many possible things, some of which may be indirectly related to Vista and your specific hardware or software. If XP runs without doing this I'd try a reinstall of Vista and then run it without installing anything on it. If it runs OK with a minimal install of apps and the out of the box drivers contained in Vista then carefully start installing other things until the problem occurs again, if it ever does.

Did you install any new apps or drivers before this problem started happening? Most likely suspect would be the last thing you installed before problem.

Also, if it does happen again, try to pull up task manager at the first moment of problem , or guess and do it at say 39 mins. See if anything has driven CPU or RAM useage way high.

Well its to late now but, you could have just used system restore to go back to a day or two before you had problems and all would have been well.

DOH!

M$ says they have a fix for that ...

What happens 40 minutes after the computer has been booted? The most obvious answer to me is that it has had a chance to heat up, and that some component is being affected. It looks like you have adequate cooling. To be certain, run with the doors off, and a house fan directed at the innards.

It does not sound like a XP vs. Vista problem. I also doubt that you have a virus. You could turn on the performance monitor to see if anything unusual starts up when you have the problem.


To test memory, run memtest for a couple of hours. If it passes, run prime95 for a couple of hours to give it a different type of stress.

There is probably a vga card test, but I don't know what it is.

Your rosewill psu is a suspect, it is a tier 5 unit on this list: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=108088 Can you try substituting a known good PSU?

---good luck---

EEEK! Stomp that PSU into the ground, get a Seasonic or a Corsair (same thing) and then see if there is a problem still.

PSU trouble is most likely the case. Rosewil? Garbage bro. Thermaltake is as cheap as you should dare to go, hooking up all that $$$ gear to a crap PSU is like dragging it down the highway behind your car, you just don't do it. Even Tt is a bit too cheap.

Don't think people on this site are being snobby about PSUs, they just have been screwed in the past, including myself with a bad batch of Antec Sonata II PSUs, thought that I was being so damn smart "ooh look the PSU comes with the Sonata!!".

Took me a whole year to finally realize that it wasn't 5 Maxtor drives that where the problem, but the PSU. All that reinstalling all my stuff to think that I had 5 bad drives in a row??? My god, the PSU is where my system starts now, no pun intended.

My next PSU is going to be a Corsair or Seasonic FOR SURE.

Thats what you get for not buying from DELL, the best computers in the world are DELL .

Next time buy DELL and only DELL.

hehe

When did Dell systems become good?..Dell? People are still buying ready made systems. What year is this?

Vista's great for DX10 games with my new graphics card. My wife wanted Vista off her system (she had a dual boot with XP), so I can understand how it can wreak havoc with older games and apps. At work, my laptop has a Vista sticker but my employer still got XP installed instead.

The way SP1's going, it's not going to make enough difference. Will XP SP3 Vistaize XP? Haven't read up much on that subject yet. Microsoft needs to do more to get their next OS stable before release. Since they'll have Vista to build upon, they just might.

I'd have thought his problem was the Rosewill PSU. I just don't trust PSU's unless they're by a few really good companies like Antec, Seasonic or Thermaltake.

The only good Antec PSU that comes with a case is an Earthwatts with the Sonata III. The Smartpowers are lower end at tier 3. As for Rosewill, I consider them all low end until proven otherwise. They're tier 5:

http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiere [...] ngs?t=anon

Sadly, even good companies that make great tier 2 PSU's often have models that are low end in cases. That list needs to be updated for newer models. Still, a tier 3 PSU should have been stable and dependable, I wonder if they're putting reconditioned retail models in their cases?

Does Seasonic make Corsair? That's cool. As for cooling, the Antec Nine Hundred is great.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] %2bHundred

You missed his hehe at the end. Too many people like to mock others with PC problems, as if they're just noobs who should buy a Dell.

My favorite recent Dell story is a coworker who I recommended get LOTR online. He's enjoying it, but his nearly $2,000 Dell only has an 8600gts and he chose to run it in DX10 mode. Well,after playing for a bit, he got a crash with a message that the game had to be restarted in DX9 mode. I forget what C2D it has, but they skimped on graphic big time.

He'd bought it last year right around the time the 8xxx series cards showed up in Dells. He paid way too much. My homebuilt system has a weaker CPU, but the card's great. It can handle DX10 in LOTR with no problems. Even though I don't do FPS, maybe I should try the Crysis demo?