Computer Keeps Freezing!

[runegeezy]

A couple of days ago a came into the acquisition of my friends old computer.  He actually gave me two old computers.  One was a HP desktop with a 40gb hard drive and a 32x cd-rw/cd-r drive and a 3.5" floppy drive...it had 128mb of RAM.  The other one had a 3.5" floppy drive, 20.5gb hard drive, 384mb of RAM, a 16x cd-rom, and it was running on a AMD K6 processer.  It also had a better video card with a TV tuner and more room to upgrade.  So what I did was take the CD burner from the HP Pavillion and swapped it with the CD ROM on the other computer.  I also took the 40gb HDD and set it as the primary master drive on the other PC and i made the 20.5GB HDD the primary slave.  I set the CD burner as the Secondary master for now.  I reformatted both of the hard drives and installed Windows XP Pro onto it.  It was like a brand new computer and ran extremely well for being 8 years old.  I installed a wireless network using a D-Link wireless router and a Wireless USB G Adapter. I also got rid of IE and downloaded FireFox.  And then finally I downloaded a 30 day free trial of Trend Micro's PC-Cillin.  I did all of this about 3 days ago.  Now 2 days ago, my computer started to freeze on me.  I boot it up and it starts up like normal.  I have not installed any software on it yet other than Firefox, the software for my router, and and the software for my wireless USB adapter.  After the first time the computer froze on me, I downloaded the PC-Cillin to scan for viruses or malware.  I can't get halfway through a virus scan without the computer freezing.  Everything works perfectly fine and without any signs or any warning, my computer just instantaneously stops in its tracks.  What can I do to find out the cause of this?

[Zylstra]

Are all the drivers installed right? Just plugging your stuff in might not be good enough.

[soybean]

So, you have more components in that computer now than when you received it, right?  Do you know what the power supply in it is rated in Watts?   The air circulation inside the case has probably been resrtricted some by the additional components you installed.  How many fans does it have?  To test for temperature problems, leave the case open and point a floor fan at the open side of the computer while it's running.  Does that make any difference?

[runegeezy]

that might be it....i removed both of the side panels so its getting ventilation and i have yet to experience any problems since

[Raptor]

You're going to have to install better cooling unless you like your PC's dusty.

[soybean]

How many fans does your computer have?  You'll probably need to add one or more case fans.  Here's a reference that might help plan this: http://www.tweak3d.net/tweak/airflowtweak/print.shtml

[runegeezy]

actually....i removed the RAM from the DIMM slots yesterday to see exactly what was in there and after I put it back in I get no video.  My monitor is saying that there is no VGA signal and usually when I boot up the computer, I hear a beep and then it goes into the BIOS.  Now there's no beep, no video...What should I do?

[Raptor]

You most likely knocked something loose. Or removing the RAM was it's final death throb.

Did you push it back in properly and did you take precaution against ESD?

[runegeezy]

i always use protection....

but yea, the ram is pushed in all the way and i also removed the video card and tired another one.  that didnt work, so i put the original one back in and that didnt work either.  you think the mother board is bad?

[Zylstra]

Well, you removed the RAM. Many computers will not start unless the RAM is insterted properly and everything.

Double check to make sure the RAM is in right.
(Take it out, and put it in again)

If you have more than one RAM chip, and double checking the one that you took out doesent work, then remove the chip you took out.

If it still will not start... you have a problem besides the RAM.

[runegeezy]

well i have 3 inserted and i removed all 3 and re-inserted all 3.  they are all in correctly as well.  

[GX1_Man]

And so what is the lesson here?

By the way, were all 3 of these chips functioning well before? If so, what sizes are they in megs.? If different sized, the largest goes nearest the processor for best results AND they must be inserted correctly.

[Zylstra]

And so what is the lesson here?

By the way, were all 3 of these chips functioning well before? If so, what sizes are they in megs.? If different sized, the largest goes nearest the processor for best results AND they must be inserted correctly.

And are they all the same brand? Sometimes, different brands will not be compatible with eachother (so I have heard, but have never witnesses. Look inside my computer... )

[GX1_Man]

And are they all the [highlight]same brand[/highlight]? Sometimes, different brands will not be compatible with eachother (so I have heard, but have never witnesses. Look inside my computer... )

May or may not be relevant. The actual composition of the memory, density, number of chips, etc. are more important. Some motherboards are more tolerant than others as well.  

[Zylstra]

Thanks for letting me know, GX1