Major problem! Is my hardware defective?

[Vext]

Hey guys I am hoping someone can lend some insight into my problem. My system is at a respectable computer shop but it's going to be a week before they can (hopefully) find the issue. I will try to not make a messy wall of text.

A week ago I bit the bullet and upgraded my gaming machine. Here's the five new components I purchased from Newegg.

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8 GHz Triple-Core Black Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P AMD 770 ATX Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392

XFX HD 4870 1GB 256-bit Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150436

G.Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231253

SeaSonic SS-500ET Bronze 500watt PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151080

I am using my previous
-floppy drive
-two cd/dvd drives
-Western Digital Raptor 74gig 10,000rpm
-Audigy 2 ZS

A little backround info. On my old setup this never happened. My computer did start to lock up a lot but I am near certain it was due to overheating with two much dust in my fans.

Sooo... Here's the problem.

Day one I get the hardware installed and without reformating I boot my old HDD up. Everytime I try I am presented with the black "Windows could not start blah blah. Would you like to run in Safe Mode?". It would not start period. I could also not reformat my HDD getting the STOP: 0x000000 type error (I can't remember the exact number). Brought it to the above mentioned computer shop and they did something so I could access my HDD or reformat.

Using my Windows XP disk I went ahead to reformat and install. I had to restart a bunch of times due to files not copying correctly and corrupting my install. My disk is a tiny bit worn but there are no major scratches or physical problems. I NEVER had this problem on the many times I reformatted my old system.

After I finally got a clean install I loaded all my drivers etc. At first everything was fine but strange things would start to happen. Applications would self terminate with the "xxx has encountered a problem and must close". Internet Explorer, games, Norton, Windows update all did this. My computer would reboot itself. I wouldn't even do anything at startup and the damn thing would reboot on it's own.

Even after multiple reformats and fresh installs of XP this has happened consistantly. Reboots and not once have I recieved a blue screen of death. Only a few times have I been able to use my computer with no issue for extended periods of time.

The good news is all the parts are still only a week old. So replacing them is not a problem if it comes to it. From everything I have searched for online it seems some piece of hardware is screwed up. Memory bad? My 500w power supply can't keep up? Defective processor or video card? I don't have the time or knowledge to troubleshoot this anymore.

If anyone can give me their 2 cents I would be thankful. I am looking for some information until the shop gets to work on my PC next week.

 

[gwarren007]

Did you manually set ram timings and check the voltage?

 

[Vext]

No I did not. I installed the RAM out of the box and let the Mobo do it's thing. When it comes to most BIOs settings I am a little lost. I looked at things in the BIOs relating to voltage but had no idea what I was looking at.

 

[Dangman]

No I did not. I installed the RAM out of the box and let the Mobo do it's thing. When it comes to most BIOs settings I am a little lost. I looked at things in the BIOs relating to voltage but had no idea what I was looking at.

Read your motherboard manual on how to adjust the RAM timings. Adjust them to match what they say on Newegg.

Remove the floppy and sound card to rule out any incompatibility issues.


[Testing the RAM]
Download Memtest86+ v2.11 or whatever the latest version is, unzip it, burn the ISO file to a CD, and then boot from it, just like you would do with the XP/Vista install CD. Let Memtest+ run for at least three hours on each stick of RAM separately as well as test the RAM all together. Go for a full 24 hours if you want to be completely sure that the RAM is not a problem. If you start seeing errors, than your RAM is defective or you have incorrect settings for the RAM.

[Testing the Hard Drive]
Download the CD image of Hitachi Drive Fitness Test, burn the ISO file to a CD, and then boot from it, just like you would do with the XP/Vista install CD. Test the hard drive and see if any problems are found. DFT will run on most manufacturers' hard drives. Alternatively, you can use Seagate's SeaTools for DOS to test a Seagate or Maxtor drive. For a Western Digital drive, you could use Data Lifeguard Tools for DOS to test a Western Digital drive.

[Testing the CPU]
Use Prime 95, OCCT, Orthos or Intel Burn Tool to stress test the CPU.

[Testing the GPU]
Use Furmark or ATI Tool to stress test the GPU. If you see any artifacts, the GPU could be overheating, too overclocked, or faulty.

[Testing the PSU]
Buy and use a digital multi-meter to monitor the voltages coming from the PSU. Follow the instructions for "Using a multi-meter to check voltages":
http://www.bfgpower.com/troubleshooting.html#DMM

 

[Vext]

Danny, you really know your stuff. Thanks again for the suggestions on what to buy for my system. When it was stable for a period of time it was great. With my work schedule and many things to do on my off time I don't have a lot of time to mess with those tests. That is the reason why I dumped it off at the shop. So much for my budget! Building a computer never goes as planned for me it seems, the last one I did was a bit of a nightmare as well...