freezing problems....

so this last week and half, my computer has been freezing. when it freezes, i cannot turn it on immediately after i shut it down. even after awhile, it will keep freezing on me, until i reset the ram. resetting ram keeps my computer running okay for about a day, and then it starts freezing again. then, on one of the times it crashed, my bright green colors starting spreading over the screen. i reset the ram, and it's working okay again. can this problem be fixed?

 

Have you tried running memtest86 to check for memory errors? What are your vid card/proc/PWM temps like?

 

what program do you use to measure card/pmu temps? also, i feel dumb asking...but how exactly do i use memtest? do i just burn the iso to cd?

 

Yes, just burn the iso and set the boot device order in BIOS to boot from optical drive first. Insert the CD and reboot and it will boot from the CD and follow the onscreen instructions from there. It sometimes takes several passes to detect memory errors, so don't just go off the results of one pass and assume it is good. There is a pretty good F AQ regarding memtest useage in this thread here at x86-Secret forums.

EDIT: Oh, and as far as monitoring system temps you could use something like SpeedFan or Everest.

 

yup...my ram is completely messed up. i ran memtest, and on test 3, it listed 316 errors before it froze the program.....

edit: i am currently running on a p4 on the i845 chipset. does anyone know which kind of ram i need to buy?

 

From the intel website: You will most likely need DDR266 RAM. Without knowing anymore about your system than the processor and chipset (there are SEVERAL variations of the 845), that is what I came up with.

Check out www.newegg.com for PC133 (DDR 266) RAM. I don't know the max supported or number of slots, but I am almost certain that 266 is what you are looking for.

 

ttupa is correct. You would need PC2100 DDR 266. Even if it is an early i845 version that used DDR 200 (not easily available) the 266 will still work and downclock itself to the proper speed. Glad to hear you at least identified the problem. Make sure you get a matched pair of some quality brand memory. Good luck!

 

I have a machine exactly like yours. Get yourself some nice micron/crucial ram if you can.

 

well, i have the northwood version of pentium 4.....either way, i will get the 266.

thanks everyone, especially mach_zero for you all's help!

 

Sounds like you need to dust that baby off firstly.

yes check the ram like everyone else has said.

My experience with notebook computers tells me that they are EXTREMELY picky with the way they want to be used.

Same installation of windows xp pro sp2 on a desktop and a notebook results in the desktop being 100% stable and fine, and the notebook screaming out to be fixed right off the bat.

Why? Probably all the extra software/driver sets that some notebook computers require like the Asus notebooks that require the ATK driver set to be installed to have all the FN functions properly working, etc.

Try a fresh install of windows and that will fix everything. As soon as you're done installing everything you need to, set a Restore Point RIGHT AWAY~!

So whenever things get hairy you can just set it to the last known good point and everything is well~!

I used to turn off system restore, but just realized it's a great little feature of windows xp, maybe even the ONLY reason to get this OS.



Cheers,
Mike

 

actually, it has already been cleaned of dust twice this week. i doubt that it is a windows issue, and even if it were, i don't have any windows disks b/c i used my brothers' os disks, and he is too much of an arse to send me a copy. my notebook didn't come with much extra software, and what little it did come with i have long since gotten rid of it. at this point i'm pretty sure it is a hardware issue b/c my notebook will not even boot up....i'm currently on my roommate's computer =/

 

okay....so i got my new ram today...popped it in and my computer is now running. however, it is still freezing, though i can start it up again afterward without any problems. i ran memtest on my new ram, and it doesn't seem to have any problems. however, for some reason, it records my fsb speed as 99 mhz. is that right? are there any utilities that i can use to test my other hardware components, other than the hd (i.e. cpu, motherboard)

on a side note, when one does a "fresh install", does that mean that i have to format my notebook, or just install windows xp again? i apologize for all these questions, but i'm a lot less knowledgeable on the technical aspects of notebooks.....