SERIOUS pc problems, need help asap

[Biff Hardbody]

A couple days ago, my pc began to crash while playing Doom III. I would get an .exe file error. It wasn't a big deal, just annoying. Then it started to happen with my internet browser, firefox. It began to happen more and more often. I also noticed other games like Battlefield Vietnam seemed to stutter on the menus when they had not before. I also noticed spybot would not boot up. I thought it might be a tempature problem, but the probe I am using reported everything as cool. I opened up the system and found no dust or dirt.

I ran several virus scans, ad aware, scan disc, and a few other apps to clear things up. Everything came back clean. Instead of things getting better, they got worse. The crashes became more and more common, the computer began to reboot when certain applications were brought up (things like cd burning). Later on in the evening I got no sound, and sound card error messages. My PC then rebooted with scan disc starting (without my prompting), and it found a bunch of errors that it supposedly fixed. On the next reboot, I had graphical errors from the start (images moving at a snails pace when I moved them across the screen). I found the graphics drivers were missing from the properties menu (the folder was still listed), and the internet would crash almost immediately. I tried reinstalling the graphics driver, but it would not open.

I decided to back up whatever files I could and reformat. I deleted the old partition on my HD and started a fresh windows install. After reformatting the drive, windows setup began to install. When it got about 33% in, I got an error saying a certain file could not be copied. I took the disc out and cleaned it, then tried again. It worked, but then I got an error a few files later. I had it retry, it worked. Then another error. I kept this process up quite a bit, until it was nearly completed installing. Then at 96% it would not copy a certain file no matter what I did. So, I had it skip installation of that file and another until it was complete (my only option at the time).

Windows OS began to install, and a few minutes in it crashed with the message that windows setup was shutting itself down to protect the pc. I tried again, and the OS installed.

I then installed my motherboard, and internet drivers. While I tried to get sound and graphics drivers up, I kept getting error messages such as "system has recovered from a serious error", "Unknown error" and my favorite "A catastrophic error has occurred". I also noticed I got VERY loud beeping noises coming from my pc when I attempted to install certain files. After several errors I managed to install firefox, however it does not respond when I click on it.

I've got it running, but I know the OS did not install well and I'm getting a bunch of errors. I'm not really quick to reformat my drive yet again without knowing anything different this time, because I'm sure I'll get the same error problems when installing windows.

Since then, I tried a new HD to see if that was the problem. I've had the same exact results.

Any ideas or advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[intercollector]

A couple days ago, my pc began to crash while playing Doom III. I would get an .exe file error. It wasn't a big deal, just annoying. Then it started to happen with my internet browser, firefox. It began to happen more and more often. I also noticed other games like Battlefield Vietnam seemed to stutter on the menus when they had not before. I also noticed spybot would not boot up. I thought it might be a tempature problem, but the probe I am using reported everything as cool. I opened up the system and found no dust or dirt.

I ran several virus scans, ad aware, scan disc, and a few other apps to clear things up. Everything came back clean. Instead of things getting better, they got worse. The crashes became more and more common, the computer began to reboot when certain applications were brought up (things like cd burning). Later on in the evening I got no sound, and sound card error messages. My PC then rebooted with scan disc starting (without my prompting), and it found a bunch of errors that it supposedly fixed. On the next reboot, I had graphical errors from the start (images moving at a snails pace when I moved them across the screen). I found the graphics drivers were missing from the properties menu (the folder was still listed), and the internet would crash almost immediately. I tried reinstalling the graphics driver, but it would not open.

I decided to back up whatever files I could and reformat. I deleted the old partition on my HD and started a fresh windows install. After reformatting the drive, windows setup began to install. When it got about 33% in, I got an error saying a certain file could not be copied. I took the disc out and cleaned it, then tried again. It worked, but then I got an error a few files later. I had it retry, it worked. Then another error. I kept this process up quite a bit, until it was nearly completed installing. Then at 96% it would not copy a certain file no matter what I did. So, I had it skip installation of that file and another until it was complete (my only option at the time).

Windows OS began to install, and a few minutes in it crashed with the message that windows setup was shutting itself down to protect the pc. I tried again, and the OS installed.

I then installed my motherboard, and internet drivers. While I tried to get sound and graphics drivers up, I kept getting error messages such as "system has recovered from a serious error", "Unknown error" and my favorite "A catastrophic error has occurred". I also noticed I got VERY loud beeping noises coming from my pc when I attempted to install certain files. After several errors I managed to install firefox, however it does not respond when I click on it.

I've got it running, but I know the OS did not install well and I'm getting a bunch of errors. I'm not really quick to reformat my drive yet again without knowing anything different this time, because I'm sure I'll get the same error problems when installing windows.

Since then, I tried a new HD to see if that was the problem. I've had the same exact results.

Any ideas or advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Sounds like a faulty harddrive. Replace the harddrive with an older drive or a borrowed drive, and do an OS install. If it works, then install a few apps (firefox, doom 3, etc). If everything works, you can be assured that it is a faulty harddrive and you should buy a new one.

 

[endscape]

Since then, I tried a new HD to see if that was the problem. I've had the same exact results.

Wow, I thought that would do it. Is your system overclocked? What are the specs?


Endscape

 

[Biff Hardbody]

My system is not oc'd.

The specs are

Athlon 3800+
ASUS 939 MB
1gig crucial ballistix ram pc 3200
neopower 480 watt psu
geforce 6800 gt

I have had it for nearly a month with no problems until the last couple days. Thank you for your help. Right now its a $2500 paper weight. I really want to fix it.

 

[endscape]

Welll ya know, since its dead, you should just send it to me! lol

I haven't come up with what your problem might be, still working on it,


E

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Thank you, any help is appreciated.

 

[lithium726]

i think it sounds like hte motherboard, since you are getting errors no matter what you do. i mean, if you started getting errors when you installed a driver or something it would point to that particular peice of hardware, but that does not seem to be the case. since you have already tried a new hard drive, its not that. im puttin my money on the mobo. you got a friend or something that will let you try out your hardware on his mobo?

id also run a memtest... maybe try to put the hard drive on the secondary IDE channel, could be a faulty IDE controller

edit: and if its a SATA drive, try an IDE one

 

[gigaxtreme1]

I would run memtest also. With one stick of memory at a time. May have a bad stick. A lot of the applications you have problems with have direct memory access, even the harddrive and CD burning use DMA. On older ma chines I would also improve the chipset cooling, but not sure about AMD64.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Thanks for the info guys. How do I run a memory test? I tried burning the memtest86 iso to a cdr, but it didn't work for me. Any other ways to test it???