The Devil Is Inside My Computer

[Crushdepth]

I'm having some real problems with a newish desktop and I just can't figure it out.

The computer

* Asus P5K motherboard.

* Windows XP

* 2 gigs of RAM

* 2 x Seagate 160 sata GB drives.

* GeForce 8500 GT video card.

Symptoms

* Badly slurring sound, which has progressively gotten worse. It now plays songs in 'slow motion'. Opening an application while playing a song makes the app take about 2 minutes to load.

* Random restarts. The computer is suddenly turns 'off' as if someone held down the power button. Sometimes it briefly displays a blue screen of death (to quick to read) before restarting, other times there is no warning at all.

* After restarting, loading windows takes ages. Sometimes it displays a 'dirty shutdown' message, but usually it just starts up like nothing happened.

* Windows explorer seizing up for long periods of time.

* Today the computer started randomly making USB disconnect/connect sounds (seems to be the mouse connection, as it stops working).

Attempted cures

* I ran spinrite on the disks. No apparent problems.

* Today I got fed up and bought a copy of Vista Business, and did a clean install, new drivers. NOTHING improved. A couple of hours later it started doing the blue screen, random restarts, explorer lock up and USB noises again. And the sound still slurs.

Argh!!!

I'm thinking maybe this is a hardware issue, but I have no idea about how to figure out hardware problems. Any suggestions on where to start?

Edited June 24, 2008 by Crushdepth

[Khun Jack]

Test your memory chips first, can use the Ultimate Boot CD with many diagnosing tools.

[sniffdog]

Can be anything .... Prpblem #2 could indicate a faulty motherboard ... had the same thing when I bought my Gigabyte motherboard. If you bought everything in one place,

just bring it back and let them solve the problem.

[dotcom]

Hit control alt delete.

When windows task manager opens click the tab know as "performance"

Open View & set to one view for all processors.

Report back here & tell us what you see.

PF usage should be around 300 & CPU activity should be 10 or under.

Reinstall the Soundmax driver from the motherboard CD or a trip back to the dealer.

[Crushdepth]

Ok here's the performance graph...looks ok? This is while the machine is *working* though, when it freezes you can't do anything and the screen doesn't update so can't get a screenshot.

If the board needs to be replaced I'm probably going to be screwed re. Vista too, its an OEM version.

[A_Traveller]

What's the BIOS version on the MB?

Regards

PS Think it should be 1006 April 15 2008 for P5K though there are variants {e, pro, premium, etc.}

PPS LINK to software SIW to help review system

Edited June 24, 2008 by A_Traveller

[dotcom]

According to that graph - windows is not stressed at all.

I don't remember you said your machine is hanging.

If that's the case you need to format the drive & reinstall windows.

[Guest Reimar]

Crushdepth:

First at all, you don't need to be worry about the OS installation if you change the MB to the same, or even the same Brand. The OS will works.

Than I would to first take out all memory banks except one and run a test. if that works, place the nex memory bank in and so on.

The whole thing is an hardware issue to 99%! And from my point of view could be the memory or the MB.

But it could be even an incompatibilty of the memory. I had a lot probs with Kingston and didn't use them anymore. But that's just for me!

Cheers.

[dotcom]

Control panel

System

Does the ram memory match? 2 GB ?

[dotcom]

To check hardware:

Control panel

System

Hardware

Device manager

Have any yellow ? marks?

[britmaveric]

Overheating perhaps? Any dirt in said machine?

[Crushdepth]

No yellow marks in device manager, and the ram does check out at 2 gigs. I'll follow up on memory and the rest tomorrow when I get back in to work. More suggestions welcome

Edit: No obvious sign of overheating, but good point (years ago I had a box that bluescreened because the fan had died). Supposedly it has 'passive cooling technology' (and also, a fan!). I'll install the PC probe tomorrow.

Edited June 24, 2008 by Crushdepth

[A_Traveller]

How is the ram constructed? 4 * 500, 2* 1GB?

The SIW software will give you detail of the ram, so you an see if there's a mismatch

Regards

[Crushdepth]

I think the RAM is 2 x 1GB sticks.

[dotcom]

The RAM is already checked out.

Needs a PC doctor.

[A_Traveller]

^ With respect the ram is only 'checked' as far as its existence. If the memory is unmatched, {latency, configuration etc.} one can experience odd events despite WXP's reporting. However, I'd be more inclined to the MB than the ram, given the nature of the problems CD has been experiencing.

Regards

PS CD, when will you know BIOS data etc.?

Edited June 24, 2008 by A_Traveller

[dotcom]

You are quite right sir.

He should run the RAM diagnostic just as you have described. Using the slot nearest the CPU.

[stumonster]

memtestx86 is the tool to use to check your ram - it is on UBCD so if you have made a UBCD4win boot disc you can boot and run a memtest

asus has pc probe II a software diagnostic tool that will give you the info on your system - temps , voltages etc - run that and see if you are getting high temps or low voltages.

but it does sound like a mobo issue , though it could also be a voltage issue with your power supply.

the best way to start fault finding is to run it with minimal hardware - mobo , processor , 1 stick of ram , 1 HD and onboard video etc and see if the problem reproduces and then keep adding one bit of hardware at a time.

[JSixpack]

Very likely a hardware problem as posters have said. However, check that you have the latest drivers for everything.

[Guest Reimar]

The Ram Test is fine but not precise enough for XP and Vista. The Ram can pass the Test and still wouldn't work to 100% with XP and/or Vista. Th only way to find out the specific Ram working with XP/Vista is to use a different memory bank and every time only one insertet the slot.

Cheers.

[Crushdepth]

Ok, some more details:

* Asus Bios V0603 build date 07/03/2007

* CPU temperature: 32 degrees C

* Motherboard temperature 40 degrees C

* I ran spinrite again overnight and this time it recovered a bad sector on the boot partition (but repairing it didn't solve anything).

* Voltage - our building definitely has a bad power supply. Turning off the lights off (for example) tends to make the UPS's on the first floor screech alarms for a few seconds, not sure why (computer is hooked up to a basic Leonics UPS).

The computer was still playing up like hel_l this morning, had a great deal of trouble keeping it running long enough to look at anything. Had to reboot it many times. Then suddenly (after another reboot) it started working smoothly. It's been going great for the last 2 hours or so. I haven't changed anything at all today, so I doubt that anything is 'fixed, it seems the problem is intermittent Will start pulling out the memory and drives etc and putting them back one by one as suggested.

[A_Traveller]

BIOS is about a year out of date, so an update would be wise.

Regards

[2008bangkok]

I do love the way people dont read tposts properly all those people saying check drivers etc as the OP had said that it has also happened with ta clean install of Vista..

OP it sounds most likely like your memory is on its way out...but to be definately sure and if you are a bit savvy then i suggest you strip it down to the motherboard then start adding stuff one at a time making sure you try all RAM banks until you find the problem if you dont finds the problem and you are at the point where you have rebuilt the PC then it is most likely the motherboard itself..

best of luck

[A_Traveller]

CD did you install SIW and if so {or using another tool} what is the exact memory configuration, manufacturer, latencies et al.?

Regards

[Guest Reimar]

BIOS is about a year out of date, so an update would be wise.

Regards

Before doing an BIOS update it's more wise to check the newer BIOS Version if there is any changes related to the problems. If it isn't, you should not update the BIOS and this is an manufacturer advice, not mine!

Cheers.

[A_Traveller]

^ Really...? Hm.. I'd be interested to see that one in writing. FYI updates are for FSB and multi-core CPU updates.

Anyway CD is not giving us enough information to do anything useful here. We don't know the CPU, we don't {still} know the memory config in detail. Has he tried over clocking and had problems, is BIOS set to defaults, when did these problems {not just the sound issue} manifest themselves, has it always been 2GB ram or changed, is the MB just a P5K or a derivative?

Regards

Edited June 25, 2008 by A_Traveller

[nikster]

I'm having some real problems with a newish desktop and I just can't figure it out.

The computer

* Asus P5K motherboard.

* Windows XP

* 2 gigs of RAM

* 2 x Seagate 160 sata GB drives.

* GeForce 8500 GT video card.

Symptoms

* Badly slurring sound, which has progressively gotten worse. It now plays songs in 'slow motion'. Opening an application while playing a song makes the app take about 2 minutes to load.

* Random restarts. The computer is suddenly turns 'off' as if someone held down the power button. Sometimes it briefly displays a blue screen of death (to quick to read) before restarting, other times there is no warning at all.

* After restarting, loading windows takes ages. Sometimes it displays a 'dirty shutdown' message, but usually it just starts up like nothing happened.

* Windows explorer seizing up for long periods of time.

* Today the computer started randomly making USB disconnect/connect sounds (seems to be the mouse connection, as it stops working).

Attempted cures

* I ran spinrite on the disks. No apparent problems.

* Today I got fed up and bought a copy of Vista Business, and did a clean install, new drivers. NOTHING improved. A couple of hours later it started doing the blue screen, random restarts, explorer lock up and USB noises again. And the sound still slurs.

Argh!!!

I'm thinking maybe this is a hardware issue, but I have no idea about how to figure out hardware problems. Any suggestions on where to start?

Ok, here's my guess: Your mainboard is bad, you need a new one. Check the mainboard and see if it has any obvious defects, like exploded capacitors (no, seriously) or burn marks. Anything that doesn't look neat and clean.

Mainly I say this because of the slurring sound.

If you have a memory problem, you get random crashes, but no slurring sound. If you have disk issues, you might get choppy sound, but not slurring either. If it's drivers, a re-install would fix it, or alternatively if Vista just doesn't support something you'd always have had it which isn't the case. Same with BIOS problems - if there's a conflict with some driver, it would not be there after a clean re-install. Or if the BIOS just doesn't work with Vista, you would have had the issue from the very beginning.

Tell us what happens when you are playing a song - look at the HD lights and Windows task manager. Is the CPU at 100% when this happens? Or is the HD light on constantly when it happens? If it's neither of those two things, I bet your mainboard is kaput and you need a new one.

regards....

Edited June 25, 2008 by nikster

[Guest Reimar]

The "slurring sound" is something related to Asus MB's and there some post's about that on this board if I remember right.

From MY point of view, and please see it as that and don't compare me with others, it's a memory problem in the first place and that I would check very closely. I would check Memory bank by bank and slot by slot before carry on to check the mainboard more closely.

Cheers.

[A_Traveller]

^ Correct LINK it's the same system as well.

Regards

[Crushdepth]

Anyway CD is not giving us enough information to do anything useful here. We don't know the CPU, we don't {still} know the memory config in detail. Has he tried over clocking and had problems, is BIOS set to defaults, when did these problems {not just the sound issue} manifest themselves, has it always been 2GB ram or changed, is the MB just a P5K or a derivative?

Yeah sorry I spent most of the day trying to get a backup of last week's work. The processor is a Core 2 Duo E6550 (2.3 GHz). I haven't done any overclocking, so everything in the BIOS is on the default/auto settings (I had a look through the settings, couldn't see anything out of place). I updated the bios today as well (thanks for the warning Reimar, I didn't see it in time but fortunately the process went ok). I haven't had a chance to look at the memory yet and am not really familiar with that, but will give it a go tomorrow morning.

Tell us what happens when you are playing a song - look at the HD lights and Windows task manager. Is the CPU at 100% when this happens? Or is the HD light on constantly when it happens? If it's neither of those two things, I bet your mainboard is kaput and you need a new one.

The HD light goes flat out when the slurring occurs, but otherwise playing a song is just periodic flash. I don't know what the CPU does when slurring happens because the display stops updating so unfortunately I can't see the meter.

Update - devil is on a coffee break?

I don't know whether to be happy or annoyed, but after one of many reboots this morning the computer started working perfectly. The slurring and all other problems have disappeared. Everything is also running a lot faster than before, especially opening applications. I hadn't changed anything at that stage (I updated the bios etc later), so I have no idea why the problems have gone. I've made an image of this new 'wonder state' and I'm going to pull it all apart tomorrow anyway.

Is it possible that a loose connection or poorly seated component could cause this kind of erratic behaviour?

Edited June 25, 2008 by Crushdepth