Suspected hardware problem

H

hawk__0

n00b
Joined
Aug 12, 2006
Messages
8
Specs:
some crappy mobo
7600GT video card
2x 512MB ram
sempron 2400+ cpu
HD 40GB

This is my brothers computer, i cannot seem to find a software related problem.

the issue:
windows freezes at mup.sys (tried replacing file), then tried reinstalling windows, always getting a BSOD at some point. I cant remember the exact error but something to do with memory and not being able to perform the dump cycle or something.

i put the drive in my computer, and loaded windows onto it (i didnt put any drivers on it whatsoever, or let windows detect hardware, so this shouldnt be the issue)
the install went beautifully.

Ive tried the ram in my computer, works fine.

my suspicion = power supply and or motherboard
my reason for htis is because i suspect that the slots on the motherboard for the ddr ram are fried. not too long ago the psu fan was buzzin pretty hard, and from what i learned in my a+ hardware course... that is a sheer sign of things going wrong. So my guess is that there was a fluctuation in power and it fried something on the motherboard.

i would jsut go out and replace the mobo and psu but i want other opinions before i do something that costs 100$ lol.

any thought opinions, other things to test, etc, would be excellent, thanks
 
I'd say I suspect the mobo to be fried...but to make sure you can always use another PSU and check if the system works (either that, or test the PSU using a multimeter)
 
Did you run memtest? If not, run it overnight (12+ hours). If there are no errors, you know its not the ram nor the ram slots. If there are errors, run memtest on your system with one of the ram sticks (6+ hours). Then try the other one. This will help eliminate the possiblity of the RAM being bad.

If its not the ram nor ram slots, try a different HDD and/or HDD cable, and try to install windows. If the installtion fails, try another optical drive and/or cable. If it still fails, run a HDD diagnostic utility available from the HDD manufacturer's website. This will help eliminate the HDD and/or cable.

Oh, use your PSU or a known good one while doing all these tests. Also, it would be preferable to do these tests out of the case, with the mobo on its cardboard box, with just the essentials plugged in (no need to plugin hdd when doing memtest).
 
I did run memtest, in some cases it froze, in others it got errors. however the ram worked fine in my computer, i believe i ran memtest on mine too with them and i got like 1 error but memtest never froze or got more than that. i ran it for about an hour on my computer and less than that on the other computer. so i assume my assumption of a fried mobo is correct?
 
random issues can be from a bad mobo but are most likely caused by a failing PS. If it was me, I would swap that out first before looking at the MoBo as being the culprit.
 
1 hour for 1gb? not enough time, imo. one error? lifetime warranty on ram, so rma it. you should have no errors. if you think its the mobo, put known good ram sticks in there and try to install windows. if you get errors, try the other things i mentioned above. windows installation will fail if the ram/ram slots are bad, or if the hdd/optical drive/hdd cable/od cable/windows cd is bad. And again, do all of this with a known good psu.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top