Freezing up on game installs

[JasonSix78]

I'm really befuddled over this one guys. This is a new build, 3 days old. I have the following components:
Soltek SL-K8AN2E-GR
AMD 64 2800+
2x512 DDR400 (Wintec)
Maxtor Ultra-133 120 gig (WinXpPro running on it's own 10 gig partition)
Western Digital 40 gig
MSI NX6600GT 128MB
Sony DVD burner

I installed maybe 10 games, necessary drivers, and some system utilities like SiSoftware's Sandra. I played FarCry for several hours followed by Halo with no problems whatsoever during either installs or gameplay. Then last night I go to install SimCity 4 and about halfway through it freezes up. Ctrl+Alt+Del does nothing, I reset the machine boots back up into XP everything looks fine. I checked the CPU temp, 42c, looks fine then it freezes up again. I checked my BIOS and other settings and everything looked good. Nothing is overclocked in the machine by the way.

I formatted OS partition, fresh installed XP, formatted the other partition (where games were stored) through XP late last night. Today I tried to install FarCry again, it started installing and froze up again, exactly like it was doing yesterday.

Any ideas on what's going on with this thing?

Thanks,
-Jason

 

[KGB]

Jason,

Try running Memtest86 on your memory sticks.
If you don't get errors in the first pass, let it run for several passes.
Get back with the results.

 

[compusaguy]

Could be a bad installer, or your CD might have become corrupted. Try dumping the CD to an .iso using Alcohol 120% or whatever if you can, then installing.

 

[JasonSix78]

Thanks for letting me know about that utility KGBMAN. I let memtest86 v3.2 run through for almost 2 hours, 4 passes, and not one error. I guess that rules out the memory?

Compusaguy, what exactly do you mean by a bad installer, could I re-install a new/different one? That could possibly be the problem, I'm not sure.

Earlier before I ran memtest I put in my Soltek Drivers CD. It didn't autorun the drivers menu like it should so I tried opening it manually, it took several minutes of temporary freeze-ups before it let me look at the disc contents. Initially I suspected it was the DVD drive pooping out but that still wouldn't explain the freeze ups last night running very simple apps or just sitting at idle at the desktop screen.

I hope you guys can give me some more things I could try or look at.

Thanks,
-Jason

 

[mechBgon]

Just to feel this out gently... all the software you're installing is from original manufacturer CD's or DVD's, right? What are you running for antivirus and firewall, by the way?

Also, "Gazelle" power supply... mmm... do you have any other power supplies, preferably from a company with an established (good) reputation, like Fortron, Antec, or Enermax?

 

[JasonSix78]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Just to feel this out gently... all the software you're installing is from original manufacturer CD's or DVD's, right? What are you running for antivirus and firewall, by the way?

What are you implying? Yes, it is OM software. I didn't have any AV or Firewall on it when I replied last time, since then I've installed Kerio and Antivir since my NAV 2004 wouldn't install and I didn't want to take a chance with this new setup.

Since last reply, I removed my DVD drive and switched the jumper to cable select, re-installed windows, formatted my HDDs and started all over again. So far, so good. Thanks again for the replys fellas.

-Jason