Computer Locks During Video Intensive Stuff

[Clocker]

My buddy has the following system:

AOpen AK79D-400VN Socket A NF2 Ultra
3x512MB=1.5GB RAM
AthlonXP 2500+ @ 3200+
Radeon All-in-Wonder
Fresh install of XP Home with all WindowsUpdates
Drivers are all the latest.

The system runs fine other than when he tries to do stuff that's video related. There's a fresh install of XP Home on it and he installed AOL. When he does some video stuff (just clips on AOL & stuff as far as I can gather) the system locks up.

The video card is new, he had a 9500NP Radeon before the fresh install (similar problems back then too). Any suggestions how to tackle trouble-shooting this or where to start?

I'm thinking I can adjust some AGP settings in the BIOS maybe? This is what I plan on trying (in the following order):

Stop overclocking
BIOS tweaks, maybe AGP voltage or something?
Pull some RAM

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
C

 

[Mercutio]

Stop overclocking.
Stop overclocking.
Stop overclocking.

Pull some RAM out. See if anything changes. Run 3 cycles of 512MB to see if anything changes.

Make sure the fan on the 9700 is spinning.

Make sure the voltages on his PSU are close to normal. You might want to do that with a VMM; I've seen motherboards misreport voltages.

I don't know what you mean by video stuff. Like, rendering? Or making a DVD? Or just playback?

If it's a playback issue, try installing the KLite Mega Codec Pack, which works really well for making everything playable and properly configured.

More than likely, this isn't a video card issue, it's just that whatever your buddy is doing is probably the first thing that taxes CPU/Memory/Motherboard enough to cause a crash.

 

[Clocker]

Thanks merc.

All he's doing is video playback as far as I know.

The AIW is passively cooled out of the box (my requirement). All other fans seem to be working fine.

I will check those voltages you mentioned. I have the volt meter, do you just check them at the connector that you plug into the motherboard? I'm not sure which line should have which voltage... Maybe I'll just swap out the PSU and see if that solves it (I have a spare sitting here).

Also, thanks for the link. I will try the codecs.

I also have that cooling program running that was posted here (CoolOn) and it appeared to caused the CPU to run a little cooler.

Any recommendations on BIOS tweaks I might try (i.e. AGP voltage or whatever)?

Thanks,
KCH

 

[Clocker]

I'll have to run F@H on it as well to isolate the problem, I guess.

 

[Clocker]

Run 3 cycles of 512MB to see if anything changes.

Huh?

 

[Mercutio]

There are 3 sticks of RAM, right?
So pull two of them and go do whatever makes the PC lock up.

 

[Clocker]

Oh , I under stand now. I was just a little confused by the cycles term. Thanks.

 

[Clocker]

Damn, I wish we had edit capability!

 

[Clocker]

The mystery continues... my buddy told me that the system also locks when he tries to load iTunes as well. Hrm... ?

I gave him instructions on how to try the other items above but this is sounding weirder all the time...

C

 

[mubs]

I know you said all fans are working, but could heat still be the issue? The total heat put out by the CPU + MB + video card + drives might make it borderline stable, but anything that taxes the system a bit might be raising the heat just past the threshhold. What are the temps in the case? Is there enough air flow through the case?

 

[Clocker]

Well, it's great having someone who can follow instructions via e-mail. Saved me a trip...

He ran CPU burn for several hours with no errors so I don't think there were any CPU overclocking or heat issues.

Anyway, I had him go into the BIOS and stop overclocking the CPU (even though CPU Burn was fine) as well as drop his DDR400 ram down to DDR333. So, the 2500+ is running in a totally stock configuration now and his lockups went away.

I think the cause of this issue was that he's maxed out the DIMM slots since I built the system. I built it with one 512MB stick and he's added 1GB (2x512MB) since then. Maybe the system is not totally stable at DDR400 with all the DIMM slots full.

I've asked him to bump the CPU back to 2.2Ghz but leave the RAM at DDR333 to see if it's good that way. I'll report back if he does...

Thanks to all for the feedback.

 

[Stereodude]

Sounds like the powersupply can't deliver enough juice.