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    Stress Test software to test for crash causes

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by HerrKaputt, Sep 24, 2007.

  1. HerrKaputt

    HerrKaputt Elite Notebook User

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    Hello all,

    My desktop computer hangs for no apparent reason on a regular basis (the time between crashes varies a lot, it can be from 5 minutes to over 10 hours). I have spent a lot of time trying to find the cause, only to conclude that I this is a non-reproducible issue (at least in software, i.e. running the same programs does not mean the computer will hang). The computer is running XP with SP2.

    "Hang" here means that the screen freezes, sound starts looping over (like a scratched CD) and any keyboard/mouse input has no effect (i.e. ALT+TAB, CTRL+ALT+DEL, power key, etc). Only by hitting the Reset button on the desktop or by switching it off and on again can I get it working again.

    I have tried many things to find the cause, including but not limited to replacing the video and sound cards (didn't work, still hangs), installing a new OS (tried reinstall of XP and a fresh install of Vista Ultimate), a new HDD, unplugging lots of the peripherals, removing each of the RAM slots, etc.

    So as you can see it's not easy to figure what is causing this. What I thought of now is of trying "stress test" programs that put a lot of load on specific components, like Super Pi for the CPU. I wanted a program that does that for CPU, RAM, HDD, GPU, etc etc. The more complete, the better.

    So anyone who has a suggestion for this kind of programs (for Windows XP), please be kind to leave that suggestion here. Thanks in advance!
     
    HerrKaputt, Sep 24, 2007
    #1
  2. Pitabred

    Pitabred Linux geek con rat flail!

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    Hopefully it's not your motherboard. Did you build your machine, I assume? You can always get a disc like the System Rescue CD and run Memtest 86+ on it, see if it gets any errors. There are a few other hardware test tools on the disc that can help you narrow things down. Have you checked your system log files, see if there are any errors reported from when your system hangs? How about temperatures, are those all in the proper range? I'm having similar problems with my media center machine, and I'm pretty sure it's down to just my motherboard. If you go cheap on that, it'll affect the rest of the system.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 2, 2015
    Pitabred, Sep 24, 2007
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