OS not working

[zonk3939]

I`m having problems getting any operating system to run on my computer.

Epox 8kta2 mb

Athlon 1.0 ghz processor

GeForce 5200 fx video

256 mb sdram

IBM HD (not sure model,but with research coulf find out)



Pardon me if I seem "new" to this,because I am. I have "tinkered" with computers occasionaly over the last 10 years,and have built a few systems,with aid of friends.

Anyways,to my problem:

I have an Epox 8kta2 MB.It worked with XP for awhile but would freeze every now and then.I thought it was the video card so I replaced my old TNT2 card with a Geforce 5200.It seemed to work fine until yesterday,when it started locking up constantly.I reformatted the HD and reinstalled xp,it installs,but when I do windows update or even "work" the computer a little bit it locks up.I cant tell you anything specifically I do to make it lock up,because it seems random. I tried installing win 98 but it does almost the same thing.

I am lost as to what it may be.I cant seem to do much "downloading" with the system,as it locks up before I get far with it. Can I use the Sisoft Sandra program to determine if the MB is bad? Processor?

I dont know where to start.
The machine is a 1 ghz athlon,so it wouldnt be the worse thing if I had to change the MB and processor..but I wouldnt mind fixing it as is and giving to my son for his use..any ideas? Help would be appreciated.

It could be overheating. Try running it w/o the side(s) on. If it runs fine, then you've got an airflow problem. Also, check to make sure the PSU fan is turning.

You might also inspect the mobo for bad capacitors.

You can also run Memtest86 to test your RAM. You might also wanna d/l the diagnostic software for your brand HDD.

[zonk3939]

Thanks for te quick reply.You guys are quick! I`ve ran it with the sides off and the fan is turning on the cpu.

I bought a new stick (128 sdram) and swapped it out with the other..same results.I will,however,attempt to download the program and test the memory.I`m just having problems getting it to run xp or win98 without it locking up.

[MTAtech]

If your mobo supports temperature checking, look to see what the temp is.

[Foggy]

Don't Know if this is your problem,but a friend just brought his box to me to see if I could fix it, it was locking up so he tried to reinstall XP but no go, when I took the cover off I could see why, it was so full of dust you couldnt even see through the heatsink so I took it to the shop and blew it out, reset the heatsink with artic silver, checked all the cables, cards and memory, after that it booted up to the cdrom installed xp with out a hitch and he took it home, he called latter and said all is well.

[wju425]

Check your mems timing? Might be set too aggressive. What you can do is go to the bios and choose default settings. If it works then you'll know that some settings were too aggressive. A shot in the dark since we don't know what mems you got. 100 or 133?

\o/ Billy

By the way, Welcome to TechIMO.

[zonk3939]

Thanks wju425.

I have 133`s on the memory.

I blew all the dust out of the computer,as it did have a fair amount(are thee things dust magnets or what?) I did this prior to reinstalling XP.

When I installed XP each of the last 2 times,it froze during the install..not at the same place,either.I rebooted each time and it finished the install. I did notice that it seems to have its problems when I try to "work" the computer..that is,I tried to install a game,it froze. I open the system information box,it froze(but not every time). I open Internet explorer,it works until I download something,then it freezes.

I seemed able to do more when I tried to use Win98,but by the time I had downloaded all the updates it was locking up so quickly I couldnt even get to the Desktop most of the time.

My notebook acted somewhat like that,and after a lot of repairs by the shop,they finally changed the processor and that fixed it.Thats why I thought it was maybe that.

[zonk3939]

Well,I removed all the cards and memory,took it to the garage and blew all the dust out of it,even blew a couple cup fulls out of the power supply.

Now it loaded xp and works fine..

Thanks guys for all the help.