PC Choking

[kakagar]

Hey guys let's see if you can help because I have tried almost everything I can and can't find a solution to my prob. When I'm using my pc with some rendering app, may it be games , emulators , even years old abandoware, I'm running fine and then the pc starts to loose frames and completely stops for a few secs and then moves on until eventually that happens again and it can happen quite often. I have a P4 1.5 a Compaq mobo with agp 4x and 384mb pc 133, an SB audigy gamer card and a radeon 9600 XT 128mb. I used to ghave a different sound card when the proble started a SB Live Value, and the comp now does the same when playing hardware accelerated midi, I've also tried using my old GFX card a Geforce 2 MX 440 64mb, and the chocking occurs less often but still happens. Bear in mind that I got to use the Radeon perfectly for some time before this started to happen. It ain't the memory because I tried with different stick it ain't hte hard drive cause i have 2 and formatted one and installed windows in both a still the same sh*t happens. Apparently is a pagination prob, I'm thinking a prob with the cpu or some part of the mobo the ram slots or the agp slot. bear in mind that this started to happen after leaving the pc on for a few days. If anyone has an idea of what could cause this issue.

 

[blahblahblah]

If you have windows XP, load up a game and alt tab out and Ctrl-Alt-Del and see what is using the majority of your processor and memory. You may have some sort of virus/trojan on your computer.

 

[kakagar]

Nope it's not a virus nor a trojan. And I've done that , but it doesn't work since it keeps blaming different apps hahaha it's true, for ex. it says windows player is using your cpu you close then it switches to another app like a taskbar the antivirus, etc , so you can see it can't detect the problem.

 

[blahblahblah]

If this just started happening, try using system restore. If not, I would recommend formating and reinstalling windows. It is either windows being retarded or you have some sort of unkown virus on your computer. Try housecall just to double check for a virus.

http://housecall.trendmicro.com

 

[kakagar]

It's not a soft problem I have already formatted and reinstalled my OS.
Still thx for the tip I'll try it anyway.

 

[Rocketman9mm]

well if you've tested all of your components what is left? cpu or mobo?

 

[kakagar]

Apparently one of those , or some slot.

 

[ewilson248]

this sounds like a hardware issue, something is on its way out, or maybe is just a real weak point in your system... btw is you RAM reg SDRAM or DDR-SDRAM?
when you say PC133 when talking about a p4 , i get worried.

if possible post a detailed list of the HW you have, and maybe how old each piece is.

also dont forget to check all you cables, and also for heat issues.. it could be a fan going / gone bad, clogged up.. etc.. , try running "with the hood off". look for problems.

 

[kakagar]

P4 1.5Ghz
Compaq mobo (no idea on the mother)
384mb, 133mhz SDRAM (only kind of RAM supported by the mobo: SDRAM 133mhz) 1 128mb stick ,1 256 stick, also tried with another pair 128mb sticks.
Sapphire Radeon 9600 XT 128mb DDR
Sound Blaster Live Audigy Gamer
1 40 gig HD and another 60gig I think they are WD (still it's not an HD prob)
All the fans are working ok, and the temp it raises is quite low.
Also used hardware: Sound Blaster Live Value, Geforce 2 MX440 64mb.

 

[ewilson248]

i not positive but, think your mobo may have tbl with 2 differrent sizes of RAM modules
best to stick w matched sets 2-128's or 2-256's. even if it says its ok, i just dont trust it! try to find model number of mobo / computer how old is all this stuff??????
also try to find out what kind of SDRAM we are talking about,
regular SDRAM or DDR SDRAM. how many pins?? that will tell you.
if we are talking about regular standard pc133 from WAY back
that would be pretty much your bottleneck right there!
if you have DDR-SDRAM ie. PCXXXX eg.. PC1600 or higher than we need to keep looking. also run some benchmarks like sisoft sandra or 3dmark2003 then post your results. It sounds like you may just be up against the wall, you hardware may have gone as far as it can go.

 

[kakagar]

Look it's regular SDRAM pc 133mhz look the one used until a couple of years ago as i've already said the pc is from the end of 2001. And it's not a problem regarding the mem speed, I've played Max Payne 2, Halo, KOTOR, Fifa 2004, Prince of Persia,Call Of Duty, Farcry Demo,Deus Ex 2 Demo, etc,etc using this pc and they all used to run great. Also i've paired the sticks as you reccomend, I believe it could either be a problem of the slots where the memory goes, or a proble with the AGP slot, or a CPU prob but i don't think is that since the prob is with graphic apps.

 

[ewilson248]

yeah i would phsyicaly remove the agp video card and ram,
inspect and clean the pins and sockets on both very carefully, use the eraser from a pencil if you see buildup on the pins of the card- think shiny not dull
blow out all the dust. reinstall. AGP pins/slots are so small, one piece of dust in the wrong spot, or buildup on one pin can make evrything go haywire.

 

[psyno]

None of that really explains how the problem emerged. My first very first instinct is heat. What are your temperatures like? I can't remember, was the P4 1.5 GHz before CPU throttling w/temperature?

I've also seen problems like this with bad sound cards.

Also, are any errors reported/does it ever crash, or is it strictly slowing down for a period?