[WMCoolmon]

CPU: AMD64 3000+ (or 2800+), socket 754
Mobo:  MSI K8MM-ILSR
Video:  GF6600 GT
Memory:  2x512 MB DDR400
Hard Drive:  WD 250 GB SATA
OpSys:  Windows 2000
CD/DVD: CDRW/DVDRW drive
PSU: AP-MP4ATX45
Fans:  2 small ones in the back, one PCI cooler 2 slots below the GF, one CPU, two in the PSU.

Symptoms
My comp has recently started having a slew of problems. Most notably, when I restart, the computer hangs at the network BIOS for a good long while. Disconnecting the hard drive and network cable sometimes get it past this point, but don't really fix the problem. The last two times, it's spontaneously fixed itself. So I'm suspecting a heat prob, since the case is a MicroATX.
Last night, it took a nosedive - it told me that a service had crashed, and that the system would shut down in 60 seconds, and then froze at 59. Then it refused to get past the netboot, the hard drive disappeared in the BIOS, the hard drive wouldn't boot, and a boot CD wouldn't work (I thought the MBR may've been trashed again). Also, because of the f'ed up way that the BIOS works, I can't get into the BIOS until after the netboot.
I tried dusting, I tried DCing the hard drive and net cable, nothing got it working. I'd tried tweaking the BIOS a bit for HL2 right before it all began, so I loaded the BIOS defaults and turned off the components I wasn't using. Still didn't work. So I just left it for two and a half hours while I saw HP. When I came back, it was fine for the rest of the night.
Today, after about 1.5 hours, the comp keeled over and started exhibiting the same symptoms.

If it is a heating prob, I'm not altogether sure what I can do without replacing the case. Everything's already packed in there pretty tight; I've tried to get good ventilation, although the CD drive is only a few centimeters above half the processor fan.

[an0n]

Format the drive in another computer. Flash the BIOS.

[Scuddie]

It sounds like the PSU is fluctuating or overheating.  Go into PC health status in the BIOS and monitor the voltages.  Voltage values should be within 8% of optimal.  If the voltages vary (more than 30mV), it is a good sign to replace the unit.  If it reports the +12v line as 12.65, it should ALWAYS report as 12.65.  Any variation of that at all is a bad thing.

Anyhow, if it is a heat issue, remove the case and put a small table fan infront of it and turn it on high.  That will tell you if it is heat.

[WMCoolmon]

From the bios:

Code: [Select]

CPU Temp: 51 C
System temp: 36 C
CPU Fan speed: 4166 RPM
VCore: 1.504 v
+5.0v: 5.168 V
+12.0v: 12.045 V (But it sometimes jumps to 12.106V...)
-12.0v: -12.071 V
-5.0v: -5.177 V
Battery: 3.632 V
+5v SB: 5.042V

[WMCoolmon]

Update:

I tried to play an MP3 within Windows and the system froze up. (I did have the case open, no fan tho).

This does not bode well......

[an0n]

Just format the damn thing.

[CP5670]

I had similar problems about two years ago and eventually found a defective memory stick to be the cause. Try running memtest86 a couple of times and see if it throws up anything.

[StratComm]

The last time I had this many problems with a system, the motherboard caps had gone bad.  That's become a common problem lately with a lot of systems, so it would be worth a look.  That said, it sounds to me like (at least in part) a hard drive problem, though there may be other issues involved.

[CP5670]

The blown capacitors used to be a big thing about two years ago with several nforce2 boards but I haven't heard much of that recently. Quite a few companies actually advertise using only Japanese caps these days.

[WMCoolmon]

A hard drive problem is possible. Problem is, it'll be a pain to do a full backup. Probably take me the rest of the day, and I'd have to use a LiveCD or something because I don't have any other way to read the SATA drive except with the mobo. And I seem to recall running into issues when trying to copy between filesystems. (My external HD is NTFS right now, too, which doesn't help anything.)

I'm running memtest86 3.1 right now, so far it's found nothing.

Edit: Okay, it's now showing ~283 errors. Trying to figure out what they mean....

Here's a sample of the displayed errors...

Tst: 5
Pass: 0
Failing address: 0003de6e780 - 990.8MB (to 0003fae6080 - 1018.3MB, the errors are all the same)
Good: 000000000
Bad: 00080000
Err-Bits: 00080000
Count: 1
Chan: (blank)

[Scuddie]

Your power output looks good, the change in the +12v line is a little high, but not too bad.  The one thing that caught my eye was that the +3.3v is at 3.64v.  That is on the edge of possibly causing a problem, but I wouldn't bet the farm on that being your issue.

Anyhow, with what I've seen so far, it is likely the proccessor heat sync isn't dissipating enough heat.  I know the Wincestor cores ran hot, but to see 51c at idle is a potential red flag.  Even my TBred never gets that hot.  Do yourself a favor and feel the heat sync and feel if it's very hot to the touch.  If it isn't, you need to replace your thermal compound.  If it is, you may need to replace your CPU.

If in the likely circumstance that neither of those are the problem, run memtest86+ and do a full check.  Also, the memory timings might be off, as that is often the case with the earlier Wincestor chips.  Checking the voltage also may be a good idea.  2.7v is often a good setting.

EDIT:  Yep, it looks like your second DIMM is bad.  That is also a pretty big range.  990MB to 1018MB is huge.  Take out the second DIMM and see if your problems go away.

[CP5670]

If you get a whole bunch of them in a row then it's most likely a defective memory stick. Try running the thing with each stick in the system by itself and see if you can isolate the problem to one of them.

The temperatures look okay, since that's one of the older 130nm processors. There aren't any 90nm 754 A64s, although there are some Semprons.

[WMCoolmon]

Looks like it was the memory. I removed pretty much everything from my system except memory + CD drive, ran memtest, and got the same kind of results. After I removed the memory, memtest came up clean, and Win2k boots fine.

I don't suppose DDR2 memory is backwards compatible to DDR400, is it? There's a sweet deal on newegg.com. I dunno if I should go ahead and buy another stick of DDR, since my next upgrade will probably be to a board that begs for dual-channel DDR2.

[Scuddie]

DDR2 is 240 pin...  I don't think it will work.  Plus, A64 memory controller doesn't support it.

[phatosealpha]

DDR2 is most definitely not backwards compatible.