Hi everyone,
I just bought a new computer the other day, and I am experiencing lock ups. I think it might be a memory problem, but cannot be sure. The place where I bought it from (Cyperpower PC) “claims” to have 24/7 phone tech support, but I cannot get through to them at all this weekend. So, I thought I’d post here to see if anyone had any suggestions.
I have searched the forums for other postings about similar problems, but none of the posts I’ve read have lead me to a solution.
Here are the specs of the computer:
Motherboard: Asus P5N-E
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0Ghz
RAM: Corsair 2 GB (2 x 1 GB) PC6400 DDR2
HDD: 500 GB SATA II 7200 RPM
Power Supply: Sigma Shark 600 Watt
DVD: Sony 20x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer
Video Card: EVGA GeForce 9600GT 512MB PCI-E
Fans: 2 fan - 1 in back and 1 in side
Heatsink: CoolerMaster Hyper TX2
OS: Windows XP SP2 (I have run Windows Update and installed all updates)
Here’s a detailed explanation of what I’ve tried so far.
I got the computer without the OS installed, because I already own a legit copy of Win XP w/SP 2. I installed it with no problems. I installed my motherboard chipset drivers, and my onboard sound drive. No problems. Then I installed AVG Free Edition, and restarted the computer. No problems. I then installed Zone Alarm. It made me restart my computer, and when it booted back up, it would freeze up, just after the Zone Alarm icon showed up in the system tray. I went through a lengthy process of testing, and ultimately, when I uninstalled Zone Alarm, the freezing problem stopped.
I reformatted the hard drive, reinstalled Windows, and did a Windows Update first thing, installed my motherboard chipset and sound driver, and then installed Zone Alarm. It locked up again, but this time during Zone Alarm installation.
I had a hard time believing Zone Alarm was the culprit, because I’ve been using it for years on other computers with absolutely no problems. So, I decided to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows yet again. After that, I decided to test the memory, with the Ultimate Boot CD. I ran memtest86, and during Test #5, it locked up. I rebooted, and tried memtest86+. Again, it locked up during Test #5.
I ran Windows Memory Diagnostics, which is also on the Ultimate Boot CD. I let all of the tests finish one time, and there were no problems. (I have since run it a second time, and again with no problems.)
I decided to test each stick of RAM individually. I ran memtest86+ on each of them in two different RAM slots, and each time, they passed all of the tests. (I stopped it after one round of tests completed.)
I put both of the sticks of RAM back in, this time in different slots. Before they were in slot A-2 and B-2, and this time I tried them in A-1, and B-1. During Test #5, it locked up again. I tried them in A-1 and A-2. Same thing: lock-up during Test #5.
A friend suggested that I just keep installing my software, because he thought that maybe memtest86 was having a conflict with my system with 2 sticks of RAM in there. So, I decided to start installing my software again, but this time not putting Zone Alarm on there.
I started to install my sound driver, which I had successfully done twice before. This time, I got an error message saying the driver installation failed, and the computer locked up. I did a hard reboot, tried to install it again, and it worked fine.
Then I decided to go forward with Windows Update. The first couple of rounds went fine. But the third time, as I clicked the maximize button on the IE 7 window, the computer locked up.
I downloaded MBM 5, Update 3, and installed the Core Temperature Monitor Plug-in ver 1.13. It is showing that both my CPU’s are at 43 degrees C. Both CPUs are running at 0% while idle. The one thing that might seem off is that Core 0 is listed at 1.52V, but Core 1 is listed at 3.34V. But I don’t know what they are supposed to be at.
I should note that MBM 5 does not list my motherboard as one of the ones it supports, so I don’t know if I should even be running it or not.
Both of my case fans are running.
I have run out of ideas on what to try. I can’t get a hold of anyone at tech support, so I’m hoping someone here might have some ideas. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
