PC just stops

[Gray Fox]

Thats basically it. It just stops, my whole screenfreezes, I can't move my mouse and pressing any keyboard button has no effect. And it's not related to stress, because I just browse the net and read books on this PC.

If I restart the PC it just works fine untill it eventually stops again, sometimes it takes 30 minutes, sometimes it takes 5 hours but eventually it stops.

I'm thinking it's the ram, if it was the HDD or CPU I imagine I would not be able to start my PC at all. And the soundcard or VGA do not cause that kind of problems as far as I know.

The specs on this old piece of shit are:

AMD Athalon 2.4 ghz 32bit singel core
512mb(2x256) ddr 333 ram
ATI 9800 pro 128mb
x-fi sound card
Via KT400 motherboard.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

test with other ram

 

[Gray Fox]

I have no other ram, and I don't want to buy any new parts untill I'm pretty sure what is causing this.

 

[MadThief]

If I restart the PC it just works fine untill it eventually stops again, sometimes it takes 30 minutes, sometimes it takes 5 hours but eventually it stops.

I'm thinking it's the ram, if it was the HDD or CPU I imagine I would not be able to start my PC at all. And the soundcard or VGA do not cause that kind of problems as far as I know.

The specs on this old piece of shit are:

AMD Athalon 2.4 ghz 32bit singel core
512mb(2x256) ddr 333 ram
ATI 9800 pro 128mb
x-fi sound card
Via KT400 motherboard.

I really don't think its your ram.

How long has it been since you formated and what OS do you have?
If you never or haven't formated in a long time I suggest you do since your pc doesnt stay operational long enough to back-up your files.

OR

Your operating system(system32 files) might be corrupt and/or you have a lot of malware/spybot junk clogging up your resources causing it to freeze. also into purchasing/borrow:angel: a program called system professional 7
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=342954&ref=froogle&pfp=froogle&cm_ven=froogle&cm_cat=&cm_pla=&cm_ite=feed
Saved me from having to format, because my computer was going really slow when the desktop appeared during start up but after running this program it was fine after it was done loading and since I installed it everything runs a lot faster.

 

[Asus]

Do you have any bad capacitors on the mainboard?
Bulging caps, leaky, maybe crusty stuff on top.

Try a different PSU?

 

[DevgruSeal]

I suspect RAM too.

Try testing with one of the memory sticks, then the other. Make sure they're seated properly.

You might want to run memtest86+. Then maybe SuperPI or Prime95.

I had that kind of problem with a computer before my custom build, and suspected RAM at the time as well. Probably seated improperly. I didn't have a good experience with the manufacturer, either.