I give up, I realize I need outside help badly (comp problem) - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Menoman · 10-27-2005, 04:34 AM

Ok here's the system specs

K8S-MX Mother board

2 pieces 512 some kind of RAM Rosewill I think?

6800 GT AGP 258 GPU

Rosewill RE501 power supply 500W

a 80g HD, SATA

AMD 3400+

Ok with that out of the way... This problem has been with me for sooooo long I gave up and haven't been able to play Halflife 2 or a few other games since I got them (I got HL2 on its release date /sadface!)
Also it doesnt seem to be only during installs, I've looked at a few FTP sites and it did it on a few of them, and then sometimes it will do it while I'm just surfing the net. it just seems completely random!

There is quite a few little things so I'm just gonna throw them all out one after another.... here goes......

1. I cannot upgrade my windows, it brings up the windows updater in the task bar, I then attempt to do it and it will give me BLUE SCREEN. There are various other things that I've tried to install and some will install, some won't... it seems random to me.

2. Games like Half-Life 2, I can only see certain models, certain models just DONT APPEAR. I don't understand that either :\

I sent my video card back to get repaired, they said nothing was wrong with it, I've updated the drivers on it about 900 times, that doesn't do anything, I've updated DirectX likely 900 times as well.

I'm asking, NAY! Begging, maybe someone knows what is wrong here... I just can't figure it out......

flat5 · 10-27-2005, 05:17 AM

Try using only one memory module. Is the machine more stable?
No? Try the other one :-)
Disable sound in the bios. Much more stable?
Disable unused network devices in the bios.
I'm assuming that the sound card and NIC are on the motherboard are being used.
If not, remove the sound card and see if the system is more stable.

Check user forums on the mainboard for info. Is there a firmware update?

You are using WinXP?

portwineboy · 10-27-2005, 05:17 AM

Can you try taking out 1 of the RAM chips and attempting Windows Update using IE, tools drop down menu, Windows Update. If you still bluescreen try it again with the other chip? You might have some bad RAM.

With the models, have you tried different settings for video within the games? Lower resolution, lower antialiasing, etc.

Menoman · 10-27-2005, 06:10 AM

Will try the RAM thing as soon as I can get it to start up.. just now it started not loading just blue screening everytime I try.

No matter what I did to the settings, the games wouldn't show certain models, I changed EVERYTHING multiple times in the last months.

Menoman · 10-27-2005, 07:15 AM

right now I'm trying to find something that will bluescreen me... will get back soon with info in what happens.

Menoman · 10-27-2005, 07:54 AM

ok 2nd piece of RAM just bluescreened also... Now I'm at a loss again

god this is killing me

flat5 · 10-28-2005, 03:33 AM

don't load soundcard. see if stable.
What you describe may be an IRQ or memory conflict.

could try to set bios items to default or slower.
might point to marginal hardware.

Menoman · 10-28-2005, 07:11 AM

ok will disable sound and get back to you.

Might be a few hours, having problems reformatting the PC (problems not related to this issue)

docbungle · 10-28-2005, 09:36 AM

If you're having this many problems and you've made as many tweaks as you imply, giving advice is a liitle difficult. If you've updated your graphics drivers "900 times" there is a good chance you've installed something that is causing part of the problem. I would suggest reformatting and starting fresh.

Plaid13 · 10-28-2005, 06:11 PM

What version of windows is it?

Menoman · 10-29-2005, 11:18 AM

It's windows XP, I'm not at home for the weekend so I'm gonna try to do the sound disable tomorow.

About the installing the drivers alot... It happened as soon as I built the PC. and it happened as soon as I built it.

So all the other times didnt really do anything, and it was more like 5-8 times I did it... just exaggerating hahah

Menoman · 11-01-2005, 06:37 AM

Ok I disabled sound, that didnt seem to do anything, I got some "Alternate Drivers" from the Nvidia website, they say that if you have problems with the main drivers to use these, but they didn't do anything either, I unplugged everything not necessary for running the PC, which is only my extra USB ports on the top of the case, an extra fan I had in there, and my CDRom. That also didn't seem to do anything.

I thought perhaps the GPU wasn't getting the voltage it needed because I had quite a few things setup off that same power cord, so now its only the GPU on the one cable and the other stuff on the other cables.

That also didn't do anything.

I went into bios and turned on FastWrite, that didnt seem to do anything.

I used bios to up my Aparture Size to 128MB. That seemed to help, more textures are showing up, but still some of them are not correct, or missing still.

I might throw my comp out the window at any moment.

flat5 · 11-01-2005, 07:43 AM

Last time I had a mess like your's, it was a bad video card. Only worked at lowest resolution and 16 colors. I kept trying to install drivers and update the card.
Never could install Win XP. Finally gave up on the card. Problems disappeared.

Menoman · 11-01-2005, 09:56 AM

It's definatly not a 'bad' card, I actually sent it back and they sent me a brand new one when I first noticed the problem.

Redjake · 11-01-2005, 11:07 AM

have you tried some other RAM? you might have some bad RAM in your computer

Moskie · 11-01-2005, 04:22 PM

check out this thread i started up last week: http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=96798

Try the suggestions there, and maybe the ultimate fix that worked for me: reflashing the BIOS.

Menoman · 11-01-2005, 06:34 PM

ya I've tried other RAM, I've also reflashed the BIOS heh, I've serously tried everything I can possibly think of...

I'm on to the last idea I have, buying a new motherboard and seeing how that works.

cyrnel · 11-01-2005, 07:01 PM

There isn't much here about what's going wrong. You mention video issues and bluescreens, but that isn't enough. What are the bluescreens? Any consistency? Can you provide stop codes?

It's generally a bad idea to install things when you're having basic stability issues. Partially installed software tends to compound stability problems. I may be reading too much into your posts but wanted to mention it.

Do you have another hard drive? Even an old, small one? Something so you can start with a completely fresh XP install and narrow things down between hard/firmware or software.

When you updated your BIOS did you load factory defaults after? Locations for settings change between releases. If you don't let the new version clean house it can lead to very odd problems. This is often handled automatically, but not always.

If I was in a hurry I'd load safe BIOS defaults, install XP on another drive, and burn it in. If it updates and is stable you can expect the problem to lie with the old installation. If it still won't work then it's time to eliminate each piece of hardware.

Anyway, I am in a hurry so good luck with this one.

Nimetic · 11-02-2005, 11:18 PM

Have you tried all the anti-virus/trojan/startup prob things?

Smackre · 11-02-2005, 11:42 PM

i helped him with it for a few hours the other day. and i realy think its some type of hardware issue. we did clean windows installs and still had the same problem. i realy think its a motherboard problem. we took all hes hardware out and stuck it all on one of my old motherboard and hes been running it like that for a few days. i think it may be working. i have not talked to him since so im not sure. but i think its a faulty mb. the only 2 things that are diffrent is we used a ide hd instead of hes sata drive. and we used my motherboard and processor.
so if it working then its either sata drive / motherboard / processor.

the issues he was having is blue screens. i never got to see what the errors said on the blue screens. also in games it was not showing some of the models. sounded like a video issue but no matter what we did with the video card it never got any better.

Menoman · 11-05-2005, 01:54 PM

Like Smackre said, it's either the processor motherboard or sata drive.

Im kinda afraid to buy a new mobo if there is a possibility, and a way to check, if it is the other 2.

Seems like I'm getting really close and I'm excited. Anyone with a bit of advice I'd appreciate it?

Nimetic · 11-05-2005, 04:14 PM

Well since you've done reinstalls, I guess that's right. Not an infection.

Damm hard to see what else disables windows update - but since it's MS, maybe it's simply flaky. Or else it was blocked by a firewall. Dunno.

Look I'm really a software/server/DB guy - so have little more ideas.

One thing though... have you checked your RAM timings in the BIOS setup? I've seen some bad behaviour when RAM timings were wrong.

Other than that... for hardware problems - try running a burn-in style product. I'm not sure what's out there these days. There used to be something called CheckIt.. and I've hear SiSandra or similar mentioned in the mags. Basically - these programs test your hardware for you.

Burn-in programs should hammer your hardware for a few hours. If hardware gets through that, it should be ok.

10-27-2005, 05:17 AM	#2 (permalink)
flat5 Very Insignificant Pawn Location: Amsterdam, NL	Try using only one memory module. Is the machine more stable? No? Try the other one :-) Disable sound in the bios. Much more stable? Disable unused network devices in the bios. I'm assuming that the sound card and NIC are on the motherboard are being used. If not, remove the sound card and see if the system is more stable. Check user forums on the mainboard for info. Is there a firmware update? You are using WinXP? Last edited by flat5; 10-27-2005 at 05:25 AM..

10-27-2005, 05:17 AM	#3 (permalink)
portwineboy Master of No Domains Location: WEEhawken, New Joisey	Can you try taking out 1 of the RAM chips and attempting Windows Update using IE, tools drop down menu, Windows Update. If you still bluescreen try it again with the other chip? You might have some bad RAM. With the models, have you tried different settings for video within the games? Lower resolution, lower antialiasing, etc. __________________ If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.

10-28-2005, 03:33 AM	#7 (permalink)
flat5 Very Insignificant Pawn Location: Amsterdam, NL	don't load soundcard. see if stable. What you describe may be an IRQ or memory conflict. could try to set bios items to default or slower. might point to marginal hardware. Last edited by flat5; 10-28-2005 at 03:37 AM..

10-28-2005, 09:36 AM	#9 (permalink)
docbungle It's all downhill from here Location: Denver	If you're having this many problems and you've made as many tweaks as you imply, giving advice is a liitle difficult. If you've updated your graphics drivers "900 times" there is a good chance you've installed something that is causing part of the problem. I would suggest reformatting and starting fresh. __________________ Bad Luck City Last edited by docbungle; 10-28-2005 at 09:38 AM..

11-01-2005, 11:07 AM	#15 (permalink)
Redjake I'm a family man - I run a family business. Location: Wilson, NC	have you tried some other RAM? you might have some bad RAM in your computer __________________ Off the record, on the q.t., and very hush-hush.

10-28-2005, 06:11 PM	#10 (permalink)
Plaid13 I want a Plaid crayon	What version of windows is it?

11-01-2005, 07:43 AM	#13 (permalink)
flat5 Very Insignificant Pawn Location: Amsterdam, NL	Last time I had a mess like your's, it was a bad video card. Only worked at lowest resolution and 16 colors. I kept trying to install drivers and update the card. Never could install Win XP. Finally gave up on the card. Problems disappeared.

11-01-2005, 04:22 PM	#16 (permalink)
Moskie Pure Chewing Satisfaction Location: can i use bbcode [i]here[/i]?	check out this thread i started up last week: http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=96798 Try the suggestions there, and maybe the ultimate fix that worked for me: reflashing the BIOS. __________________ Greetings and salutations.

11-01-2005, 07:01 PM	#18 (permalink)
cyrnel Adequate Location: In my angry-dome.	There isn't much here about what's going wrong. You mention video issues and bluescreens, but that isn't enough. What are the bluescreens? Any consistency? Can you provide stop codes? It's generally a bad idea to install things when you're having basic stability issues. Partially installed software tends to compound stability problems. I may be reading too much into your posts but wanted to mention it. Do you have another hard drive? Even an old, small one? Something so you can start with a completely fresh XP install and narrow things down between hard/firmware or software. When you updated your BIOS did you load factory defaults after? Locations for settings change between releases. If you don't let the new version clean house it can lead to very odd problems. This is often handled automatically, but not always. If I was in a hurry I'd load safe BIOS defaults, install XP on another drive, and burn it in. If it updates and is stable you can expect the problem to lie with the old installation. If it still won't work then it's time to eliminate each piece of hardware. Anyway, I am in a hurry so good luck with this one. __________________ There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195

11-02-2005, 11:18 PM	#19 (permalink)
Nimetic Junkie Location: Melbourne, Australia	Have you tried all the anti-virus/trojan/startup prob things?

11-02-2005, 11:42 PM	#20 (permalink)
Smackre Addict	i helped him with it for a few hours the other day. and i realy think its some type of hardware issue. we did clean windows installs and still had the same problem. i realy think its a motherboard problem. we took all hes hardware out and stuck it all on one of my old motherboard and hes been running it like that for a few days. i think it may be working. i have not talked to him since so im not sure. but i think its a faulty mb. the only 2 things that are diffrent is we used a ide hd instead of hes sata drive. and we used my motherboard and processor. so if it working then its either sata drive / motherboard / processor. the issues he was having is blue screens. i never got to see what the errors said on the blue screens. also in games it was not showing some of the models. sounded like a video issue but no matter what we did with the video card it never got any better. __________________ Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800

11-05-2005, 04:14 PM	#22 (permalink)
Nimetic Junkie Location: Melbourne, Australia	Well since you've done reinstalls, I guess that's right. Not an infection. Damm hard to see what else disables windows update - but since it's MS, maybe it's simply flaky. Or else it was blocked by a firewall. Dunno. Look I'm really a software/server/DB guy - so have little more ideas. One thing though... have you checked your RAM timings in the BIOS setup? I've seen some bad behaviour when RAM timings were wrong. Other than that... for hardware problems - try running a burn-in style product. I'm not sure what's out there these days. There used to be something called CheckIt.. and I've hear SiSandra or similar mentioned in the mags. Basically - these programs test your hardware for you. Burn-in programs should hammer your hardware for a few hours. If hardware gets through that, it should be ok.