Veteran PC builder needs your help

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collegeboy69us

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Messages
5,255
Hello all,

I come to you with a problem, I need a fresh brain to help me figure out exacly what is wrong with my box.

It's practically a brand new system, new everything:

Antec Neo 480W PSU, Abit Fatality AN8 SLI
AMD X2 4200+ NOT overclocked
XFX 7800 GTX (not overclocked)
2GB Corsair PC 4400
Dual Layer DVD burner
5 HDDs

Okay here is the problem im having, random freezing, and occasionally a BSOD with "machine_check_exception". Seemingly at random times, sometimes I can play FEAR for hours without a crash, sometimes it will be sitting there doing NOTHING except idling and it will crash. I'm totally confused. I did a fresh format with a legal copy of XP, did all the updates possible. I'm just stuck here.... I made sure ran AdAware, and AntiVir with all the updates. And I still have this problem. I cant make it crash/freeze at will because like I said this is a "random" problem it seems. I even took out my Soud Blaster Live 24 bit sound card and went to the stock one supplied with the MoBo.

Right now the ONLY idea im trying is this Linksys USB Wifi device (i unplugged it to see if it might be causing some kinda problem) Which i really dont think it is.

Any ideas are helpful as I'm tired of having a 3000 dollar machine sitting here that I can't use for work or play because it's unreliable.

Another bit of info that is weird, I had this same machine setup in my hotel room in dallas (before i ever had this USB wifi thing, then I had to move to arkansas for business) in dallas i had NO problems at all, i could fun F@H for days/weeks without a problem, and (i dont recall when this 1st started happening) but it was up here in Arkansas.

Anyways, any and all ideas are helpful as to why i keep getting random freezes and the random and rare machine_check_exception

thanks
 
Maybe you're not getting clean power from the outlets in your room? The fact that it ran well in the hotel really sounds weird.
 
MCE's on that setup are going to be a little tricky.

First of all, the first suspect should be the Linkshits USB crap. Their drivers are awful at best. I would not be surprised if that was part of the cause.
Problem two is the Antec PSU. Those things are more fragile than bone china, and lie through their teeth about temperatures. Derating curve is a cliff too. Doesn't take much to kill an Antec. Good whack with my elbow destroyed a True380, didn't even dent it.

Otherwise, I'd check the mounting on the AN8. Abit tends to run components a little too close to mounting for comfort, might be an itnermittent contact short. Might also be the SLI selector not seated quite right - I am very not keen on the SODIMM selectors for that very reason.
 
Ah yes, well i have an APC power backup system plugged straight into the wall; and then my PC plugged into it, so i would assume I'm "cleaning" the power from the possibly crappy super 8 power

And to reply to the mobo mounting, i "re-built" my entire system 2 days ago to see if that was the problem. I.e. i took out EVERy component in my case, wiped it down, and blew it off with the can-o-air.
 
after you wiped the computer, did you run it for a while w/o the Linksys card ever touching it? such as not installing the drivers?

because if you think it might be the linksys, then completely wipe everything pertaining to that off of your pc and see if that helps stability. kill the small, easy things first, then work your way up.

could also be a failing piece of hardware... :( :confused:
 
Thats what im doing as I type this on my laptop, I unplugged the Linksys USB device from my desktop, and im seeing whats up, if it can last thru the nite (which it hasnt in weeks without freezing) that will be something very promising.

What sucks is IF this crappy USB Wifi device is the cause, i cant "fix" it for 4 or 5 days, im in a crappy town called Clinton AR, and the closest best buy is like 80 miles away. Thank god I get to get outta here and go home for thanksgiving for a week then I can hit a REAL computer store back home in houston.
 
did you unplug it, or completely wipe all traces of files from it from your HDD? you should probably uninstall all of the drivers and such, also.
 
well unplugged the damn USB Linksys 54MB device, and so far uptime is up to 5 hours YAY!


if it can last all night im going to go out and find a replacement wifi card, any reccomendations on brands?


jeff
 
Well -- i think it was the UPS wifi adapter, i took it off and didnt have any crashes or freezes overnight, I need internet for work here so i went out and bought (only brand available) was a Linksys PCI Wireless G card, been up and online for 2 hours so far with no problems of course the test that will make me happy is being online for 24 hours staight :)
 
Could it be an insufficient power supply? That box is using a lot of joice, esp. w/ 5 HD's and the GTX. Also, what brand of powersupply do people recommend? I was always under the impression that antecs were pretty solid, my true power 430 has always been great to me.
 
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