Urgent help required.. System freezes :(

[nandish]

Hi Guys,

Kindly help. I've been using this new system for one year without any issues.

However, since last week it freezes after around 30-45 minutes of usage (even if no applications are running). Nothing works (alt-ctrl-del) etc. and the only way out is to power off and restart. It also freezes on the bios screen if i leave it for 45 mins - 1 hr or so. Also, after i restart when its hung, it'll work for 5-10 mins at max.

What i've tried so far (without luck) :

- formatted C: and reinstalled windows
- updated bios from the net
- tried each of my 2 ram chips individually
- changed hard drive
- disabled the cpu thermal monitor function & intel c state in bios


I ran the Asus check tool and it only alerts me with the MB temperature i.e. around 50C / 122F (the SMPS fan and processor fan are working fine)


My system config (im amateur so sorry if i lack any info, pls ask me ) ---

running Win XP sp3


ASUS P5QL-CM motherboard with Intel G43 chipset
Seagate 500 GB sata HDD
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 @ 2.8 Ghz
Count: 2
FSB speed: 1066 Mhz
RAM: Kingston 2GB (2 X 1gb chips)
Cache1: 64KB
Cache2: 3072 KB
ratio status: unlocked
ratio actual value: 10.5
CPUID: 1067A

some of the bios settings by default are:

Ratio CMOS setting = auto
C1E support = enabled
max cpuid value limit = disabled
cpu tm (thermal monitor) function = enabled
execute disabled bit capability = enabled
intel speed step tech = enabled
intel c state tech = enabled

AI:
overclocking = auto
dram freq = auto (options: 667/800/1067)
memory voltage = auto
nb voltage = auto (options: 1.1/1.198/1.3/1.388)V
cpu voltage = auto (options: 50/100/150)mV

Power:
onboard lan = enabled
suspend mode = auto (options: s1 pos/s3)
acpi 2 support = disabled
acpi apic = enabled
restore on AC power loss = power off

Hardware Monitor:
cpu temperature = 53C / 127 F
mb temperature = 50C / 122 F
cpu fan speed = 1527 rpm
cpu Q fan control = enabled
cpu fan profile = optimal
Chassis fan speed = n/a
power fan speed = n/a

Vcore voltage = 1.23V
3.3V voltage = 3.344V
5V voltage = 5.120V
12V voltage = 12.144V



any help will be highly appreciated.. thanks so much.

nandish

 

[dfuze]

First thing I notice is that you are OCing your system, start by resetting that to normal and see if it helps stability. I would also suggest running memtest on your memory to ensure there are no errors.

 

[itsmevader]

If you system is old then, I would suggest you to check its capacitars. If they look fatty then you need to repair your MB. but do this only if your motherboard is old.

 

[nandish]

the system is just one year old

 

[nandish]

First thing I notice is that you are OCing your system, start by resetting that to normal and see if it helps stability. I would also suggest running memtest on your memory to ensure there are no errors.

the overclocking is set to auto by default. the options are Auto/Overclocking profile/Manual. the memory beep is fine. how do i do a check on the ram? it shows 2048MB. any free software to test it?

 

[vanvock]

The MemTest he mentioned is freeware AFAIK

 

[dfuze]

Yes, memtest is a free program you can download here, it will run as a standalone program when you boot your pc (you burn it as a bootable CD). It takes many hours to run to test your memory, but worth it to know if it's good or bad.

 

[nandish]

i tried it.. it went on for 30 mins without any errors..

by the way, its 10 days and the system didnt freezee.. all of a sudden.. i didnt change anything (and kept it on for hours).. then yesterday suddenly, it froze like usual. i had to restart and its ok again..

what could be the reason.. i have the pc probe program (from the asus drivers cd) and it alerts me for the MB temperature (around 50 degrees Celcius) and that chassis and power fan is off .. (but the smps fan is working)..

what could the issue be??

many thanks though

 

[Blunc]

the symptoms you describe all seem to be heat related...no matter what your smps fan is doing.

make sure you check all fans including the power supply fans.

if it stops/freezes on you again and you can restart, go immediately into BIOS and check the temps and voltages.

since memtest seems to run okay you have three other major components that can cause your problem, power supply, mobo and/or CPU (cpu heatsink and fan also).

what thermal transfer compound did you use when installing the heatsink/fan?

your CPU temps should be lower if you're not overclocking, mine really don't get as high as yours unless I've been gaming hard.

are there any USB devices drawing power from the system?