I have a AMD 1.6 GHZ, 1 gb ram...i have been trying to convert dvd to divx, and the computer has been crashing, also recently, it has started "hard" freezing, when doing jobs from everything like browsing to backing up dvd's it'll freeze up completely, not even allowing a ctrl+alt+del to find out what is hogging CPU usage. I have a feeling it's a hardware issue, are there any programs that'll help me figure out what the problem is? I have been consistently running ad-aware and it doesn't seem to be helping... thanks guys.
1. Have you had these issues before. 2. When your system crashes does a "blue Screen" appear and give you a stop error? It could be serious driver conflict. 3. Also, have you tested your RAM (Memory)with MemTest86+? It is a great little tool that can tell you if your RAM is faulty by testing it for errors.
I have not had these issues before, this just started happening recently. There is no blue screen, when using dr. divx or Auto GK the computer would just restart on it's own anywhere between 5 and 40% completion of the task. I am going to DL the memtest program straight away, i will let you know the results. GrandpaBW, it is usually dvd shrink that i am using when the problem occurs (other then the previous mentioned programs. Thanks for your help guys.
Ok, so i tried that Memtest 86+, and it seemed to be running fine, then after about 64% on test 7, (it said 74% Pass) i received an error saying there was an unexpected interruption, and then the program froze. I restarted my computer, and windows wouldn't load,1st time it restarted after the Windows XP loading screen (the one w/the blue bar cycling back and forth) second time it froze on the black screen right before. i restarted it in safe mode, turned on fine, then restarted it in normal mode, turned on fine...i am more confused then ever!
Faulty memory can give all kinds of issues that can affect a PC's performance in so many ways that seem unrelated. How many sticks of memory do you have? I know it takes a long time but I would test each stick of memory by itself for a minimum of 10 passes each. If it is not your memory I would then suggest that... 1. It could be a heat issue. Have you checked to see if all your fans are working? 2. It could be your harddrive. Both Seagate and Western Digital have online diagnostic tests. 3. It could be driver conflicts. Next to memory this is my strongest suspicion. What anti-virus/security suit are you running?
The fans are working the same as always, I'll double check what kind of hard drive and see if there's a problem... I am using the new ad-aware 2007 Beta, before that just ad-aware... i think it's prolly the ram for sure now, when i was using the test it said i had 640 mb, but i should have a 1gb and a 128mb in there, so it means at least half of the 1gb stick isn't working...does that make sence?
i would do a sytem restore fisrt to take it back to before these issues started. if it still continues after that i would test each stick of ram individualy with memtest86 (or like) so you can see if its one or the other. if one gives errors try it in a different slot to make sure its not the slot thats faulty as its just a possible for it to be the slot as the stick. do you have onboard graphics? that could be the source of your lost ram. edit is it possible that sombody has swaped your 1gb stick for a 512mb one which is now running at the wrong timings?
I do have a Gforce 5600 (i think, have to double check) i will try the system restore thing, and i will retry the Memtest, but i had a problem with that before, so hopefully it works this time...thank you for the suggestions. I don't think anyone could have stolen my ram, except my wife...which would be wierd...lol thanks
