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for all of those who have freeze problems on amd/2wk
two problems are possible cause:
1. hardware ( not likely but just in case ):
overheating - not likely, but just in case for example my amd/w2k have 9 fans in them each:
cpu, power supply, hd cooler, case intake, case outtake, slot blower.
memory - but some test utilities check memory and report faulty memory when it's fine,
most likely if memory was new when you bot it it's fine. again most likely your sticks are fine
so don't get paranoid.
motherboard bios - do not screw with bios unless you have full back up of your HD and
know how to back up bios chip settings, check on the web for manufacturer bios upgrades
and most important check user forums for similar problems/solutions BEFORE YOU GET INTO IT,
avoid bios upgrade unless last resort, avoid mb driver upgrade unless last resort.
hardware configuration - make sure there are no conflicts between devices, make sure
all drives are latest drivers under device listing, but it's not likely...
cpu - some cpu testing software can overload and burn up your cpu.
DO NOT install w2k shareware test utilities especially such as Sandra and other crap...
most are spyware ( SANDRA!!! ) and are worthless crap that will screw up your machine !!!
use dos based simple burn-in utility only, run from a floppy that can not damage your machine.
how to test your hardware: get a dos burn-in utility for your machine, test it at least for
24 hours non stop in all modes, cpu, math, hd, monitor, memory, ports, etc... do not use
overload cpu modes in burn-in tests... i have a test utility if someone wants it...
most clone manufacturers don't burn in their hardware before shipping that's the only
difference between dell and clone market: dell does 24 hour burn test and the rest don't...
hardware is all the same - cheap crap including dells...
the best way is to burn in for 24 hours just after you bot the machine and shortly before
the warranty expires...
2. most likely your hardware is fine then here is something to consider:
w2k os is not perfect and not a stable OS ... there are hundreds of known issues, lockups, freezes.
main thing: when w2k was designed it was designed be the most "stable" os on the market,
and such things as freezes and lockups were not handled well, provided they would never happen,
in win 98 for instance when you
have blue screen on reboot scandisk runs automatically and fixes all disk problems, boot problems...
in w2k it's not implemented that way again because of supposedly crashproof technology.
THUS 99% OF ALL LOCKUP / FREEZE PROBLEMS are problems with software particularly
with os and device boot sector and hard drive writes ie corrupted disk sectors and the solution is simple:
- install w2k recovery consol option on start up
- every time the w2k crashes you must run scan disk MANUALLY from the recovery consol !!!
- scan disk will fix all problems on hd and boot sector.
after that there should not be any lockups...
you should also do this:
- before you install any new device or software, make full back up of you hd, use
ducor with second hard drive, the only way best way to go.
- update erd before and after installing any new piece of software, include registry
back up into erd.
- you have an option to boot to original configuration on restart if something goes wrong
- of course there is always a repair with or without erd option in there.
- configure you machine to do a memory dump on lock up and default to blue screen rather
that setting it to restart, you can then read the code on top of blue screen and check the
ms knowledge base for fixes. you can look at what program locks up the os under the
event viewer in w2k after reboot.
some DVD drives and CD burners / software are notorious for causing lockup problems under w2k,
check with manufacturer and ms knowledge base.
best of all, use only intel certified motherboards with intel chipset. amd motherboards are often
crappy.
many amd mobos are designed for gamers and cheap chip sets, one of the more notorious
ones is VIA, crap crap crap...
although virus might mess up your OS, it's not likely to happen, use either on-track or mcaffee or
norton... i like on-track because it have other nice features as disk image back up, system saver
and updates are free... unlike norton and mcaffee where they peddle you for virus def. updates...
the bottom line is:
- use intel chipsets
- do burn in after you bot the machine and before warranty expires
- your hardware is likely to be fine, don't get paranoid
- use ducor for back up
- ***must run scandisk from recovery consol manually every time computer hangs in w2k
- always update your erd floppy before and after software hardware change, run
full back up before too.
- always use antivirus software, update virus defs at least once a month
- do not install third party shareware on your machine, unless it's a well known product,
keep your machine free of junkware...
bilo.
real life example: one of my machines is cheap via/1Ghz/256 machine with mixed memory +
one dual AGP video + one dual PCI video ( YES!!! agp and pci both dual running on VIA !!! ever heard of that???
ie. quad monitor capable )
+ DVD drive + CD burner + TV/FM card + nic + dual hard drive AND .....
it works... tells you that it's possible even with the crappiest mobo
and i don't have any freezes ( except with Nero but rarely ) although i had problems in the beginning,
i took care of them. i also have duocor, recovery consol installed, on-track and erd disk ready to go...and print outs
for various windows restore procedures.
ps.ps. i don't believe in Dell, it's all bs, they use the cheapest asian crap ware just like the rest,
the only difference is that they burn it in so their failure rate is low...
----- Original Message -----
From: Mike G
To: ebonugli@xxxxxxxx ; omega-list@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, August 26, 2002 3:55 PM
Subject: Re: Motherboard ideas
At 12:27 PM 08/26/2002, Bill Wynne wrote:
>>If anybody has ideas as to why my system just freezes, I'd love to
>>hear from.
I had a system like that. The symptom was that after an unpredictable amount of time, but usually when doing something, like
browsing the Internet, the system would just freeze. No mouse movement, no nothing. After a reboot it would be okay for a while
again.
Fortunately, I had an identical system next to it, and I could swap the disk cage. The problem remained with the original system
when I did. So, it truly was a motherboard problem and not software.
It turned out to be that the CPU was overheating because of improper heat sinking. I started to suspect this when I took the heat
sink off and saw the top face of the CPU had turned blue from being too hot.
I got a little thermal heatsink compound (the white goop) and smeared some in there, and have had no problem since. Radio Shack
might have it in stock. Don't use too much.
Mike G.
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