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battery on the motherboard

J

Jack B

Flightless Bird
Well, did a "stress test" on the pc and it crashed. While Media Player was
going thru a song list it started hiccuping on the 4th song, then all
locked up, then the screen started doing strange things including partial
black out and resetting to 640x 480 (I think) and a non-dithered 36 pt
phrase appeared at the bottom of the screen, "Why are we contacting you?"

By that time the pc was totally frozen and needed a hard shut down. Upon
rebooting, Windows error reporting indicated it was a video device driver
issue. But I just reinstalled that -- the same one that been working fine
for years.

FYI, active programs at time of crash =
.. Explore
.. Windows Viewer looking at a 3 MB photo
.. Word with 2 MB document.
.. PhotoImpact with 2 photos @ 3 MB and each edited 21 times (20 undos each
in memory)
.. Media Player playing a playlist with the MP screen set to Alchemy-Random.
Nothing was being done on the pc when it crashed, except for Media Player
playing the songs.

Irritating!!!!!!!

Anyway, I opened Media Player again and playing the same song list and guess
what -- there is nothing happening on the MP screen, it's blank, but it's
still set to Alchemy-Random!? So, it goes thru the 4th song and I decide
to activate the MP screen by selecting Musical colors - Colors in Motion.
The only active programs are OE and MP. Then, while typing this, the pc
froze before completing the 5th song.

Arrgghhh!!!!!!!

So, now I'm wondering is the graphics card the problem or Media Player!? Or
is the motherboard the problem?


Jack

--------------------------------


"Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:%23Vc5KBm1KHA.4724@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
What I'm wondering is whether the replacement of the 1700 cpu with the
Athlon 2100 could have triggered something that would have corrupted any
files.
Of course the reason I got the 2100 is because some programs I'm interested
in (like QuickBooks, Red Shift 5, etc) recommend/require a higher speed.
If I don't get any failures, I'll put the 2100 back in. BTW, the 2100 is the
max supported by the MB.

Jack

-----------------------------------


"SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
news:-O%234IGXk1KHA.220@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
Another thing to consider- I don't know where you are located, but it's
getting pretty warm and humid here in SC, not quite enough for the AC, but
enough for the ceiling fan to be left on all the time. Is the room where you
have the PC any warmer now than during the winter; got good circulation
around the PC? Just a thought.
--
SC Tom

"Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.

"Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:eLs0x1g1KHA.5996@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Tom,
>
> Yes, that's the driver I have now and the same one I've had since I've had
> the MX4000 which I got in 2006 or 2007. It is the driver I removed and
> reinstalled. It is the latest driver for that card. No, I don't have
> another card to use.
>
> Everything seems to be working now, but I haven't attempted to stress the
> system yet. I'll probably do that tomorrow.
>
>
> Jack
>
>
> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
> news:evOVP6f1KHA.264@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>
> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:euoJ17e1KHA.5328@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>
>> It's a GeForce MX 4000
>>
>>
>> Jack
>>
>>

> That's a pretty old card, for sure. Do you, by chance, have another PCI
> video card you could substitute? Or you could get a new MX4000 from Newegg
> for $40: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814139174 .
> Either way, the onboard battery is not going to be the cause of the
> problem
> you're seeing.
> Another thing you might try is uninstalling the latest video driver and
> installing the previous WHQL certified driver. Is this the one you have
> now
> http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_93.71_2.html ?
> --
> SC Tom
>
> "Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
> any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
> Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.
>
>
 
S

SC Tom

Flightless Bird
Have you scanned for malware? There's a chance you may be infected with
something that's corrupting the drivers.
Try a temperature monitoring program. A couple that I like are HWMonitor
http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php and CoreTemp
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/. HWMonitor gives more different temps like
the video card, hard drives, etc. than CoreTemp, plus power supply voltages.
It's possible that the motherboard is bad, but just as possible the video
card is on the way out. The only way to know for sure would be to replace
them with known good components, but by the time you go through the expense
of doing that, you would probably be near the cost of a bare bones system
from somewhere like Tiger Direct. Here's a selection:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=31&name=Barebone-Kits .
--
SC Tom

"Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.

"Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:%23DwfhPo1KHA.4724@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Well, did a "stress test" on the pc and it crashed. While Media Player was
> going thru a song list it started hiccuping on the 4th song, then all
> locked up, then the screen started doing strange things including partial
> black out and resetting to 640x 480 (I think) and a non-dithered 36 pt
> phrase appeared at the bottom of the screen, "Why are we contacting you?"
>
> By that time the pc was totally frozen and needed a hard shut down. Upon
> rebooting, Windows error reporting indicated it was a video device driver
> issue. But I just reinstalled that -- the same one that been working fine
> for years.
>
> FYI, active programs at time of crash =
> . Explore
> . Windows Viewer looking at a 3 MB photo
> . Word with 2 MB document.
> . PhotoImpact with 2 photos @ 3 MB and each edited 21 times (20 undos each
> in memory)
> . Media Player playing a playlist with the MP screen set to
> Alchemy-Random.
> Nothing was being done on the pc when it crashed, except for Media Player
> playing the songs.
>
> Irritating!!!!!!!
>
> Anyway, I opened Media Player again and playing the same song list and
> guess
> what -- there is nothing happening on the MP screen, it's blank, but it's
> still set to Alchemy-Random!? So, it goes thru the 4th song and I decide
> to activate the MP screen by selecting Musical colors - Colors in Motion.
> The only active programs are OE and MP. Then, while typing this, the pc
> froze before completing the 5th song.
>
> Arrgghhh!!!!!!!
>
> So, now I'm wondering is the graphics card the problem or Media Player!?
> Or
> is the motherboard the problem?
>
>
> Jack
>
> --------------------------------
>
>
> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:%23Vc5KBm1KHA.4724@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> What I'm wondering is whether the replacement of the 1700 cpu with the
> Athlon 2100 could have triggered something that would have corrupted any
> files.
> Of course the reason I got the 2100 is because some programs I'm
> interested
> in (like QuickBooks, Red Shift 5, etc) recommend/require a higher speed.
> If I don't get any failures, I'll put the 2100 back in. BTW, the 2100 is
> the
> max supported by the MB.
>
> Jack
>
> -----------------------------------
>
>
> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
> news:-O%234IGXk1KHA.220@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Another thing to consider- I don't know where you are located, but it's
> getting pretty warm and humid here in SC, not quite enough for the AC, but
> enough for the ceiling fan to be left on all the time. Is the room where
> you
> have the PC any warmer now than during the winter; got good circulation
> around the PC? Just a thought.
> --
> SC Tom
>
> "Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
> any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
> Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.
>
> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:eLs0x1g1KHA.5996@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> Tom,
>>
>> Yes, that's the driver I have now and the same one I've had since I've
>> had
>> the MX4000 which I got in 2006 or 2007. It is the driver I removed and
>> reinstalled. It is the latest driver for that card. No, I don't have
>> another card to use.
>>
>> Everything seems to be working now, but I haven't attempted to stress the
>> system yet. I'll probably do that tomorrow.
>>
>>
>> Jack
>>
>>
>> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
>> news:evOVP6f1KHA.264@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>
>> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>> news:euoJ17e1KHA.5328@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>>
>>> It's a GeForce MX 4000
>>>
>>>
>>> Jack
>>>
>>>

>> That's a pretty old card, for sure. Do you, by chance, have another PCI
>> video card you could substitute? Or you could get a new MX4000 from
>> Newegg
>> for $40: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814139174
>> .
>> Either way, the onboard battery is not going to be the cause of the
>> problem
>> you're seeing.
>> Another thing you might try is uninstalling the latest video driver and
>> installing the previous WHQL certified driver. Is this the one you have
>> now
>> http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_93.71_2.html ?
>> --
>> SC Tom
>>
>> "Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
>> any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
>> Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.
>>
>>

>
>
>
>
 
J

Jack B

Flightless Bird
Tom,

>Have you scanned for malware?<

I ran a thorough Windows Defender and also Micro Trend's "House Call."

This afternoon I did another test by running only Media Player, and I
selected No Visualization. The system froze by the time MP reached the 5th
or 6th song. Now I'm thinking that perhaps one of Windows security updates
could be the culprit.

I'll try your monitor suggestions.

>Tiger Direct<

Yeah, I got the current pc from them, a Systemax with a great Gigabyte MB --
for years I bragged about how stable the system was.


Jack

------------------------------------


"SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
news:e0cbj3o1KHA.6104@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
Have you scanned for malware? There's a chance you may be infected with
something that's corrupting the drivers.
Try a temperature monitoring program. A couple that I like are HWMonitor
http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php and CoreTemp
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/. HWMonitor gives more different temps like
the video card, hard drives, etc. than CoreTemp, plus power supply voltages.
It's possible that the motherboard is bad, but just as possible the video
card is on the way out. The only way to know for sure would be to replace
them with known good components, but by the time you go through the expense
of doing that, you would probably be near the cost of a bare bones system
from somewhere like Tiger Direct. Here's a selection:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=31&name=Barebone-Kits .
--
SC Tom

"Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.

"Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:%23DwfhPo1KHA.4724@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Well, did a "stress test" on the pc and it crashed. While Media Player was
> going thru a song list it started hiccuping on the 4th song, then all
> locked up, then the screen started doing strange things including partial
> black out and resetting to 640x 480 (I think) and a non-dithered 36 pt
> phrase appeared at the bottom of the screen, "Why are we contacting you?"
>
> By that time the pc was totally frozen and needed a hard shut down. Upon
> rebooting, Windows error reporting indicated it was a video device driver
> issue. But I just reinstalled that -- the same one that been working fine
> for years.
>
> FYI, active programs at time of crash =
> . Explore
> . Windows Viewer looking at a 3 MB photo
> . Word with 2 MB document.
> . PhotoImpact with 2 photos @ 3 MB and each edited 21 times (20 undos each
> in memory)
> . Media Player playing a playlist with the MP screen set to
> Alchemy-Random.
> Nothing was being done on the pc when it crashed, except for Media Player
> playing the songs.
>
> Irritating!!!!!!!
>
> Anyway, I opened Media Player again and playing the same song list and
> guess
> what -- there is nothing happening on the MP screen, it's blank, but it's
> still set to Alchemy-Random!? So, it goes thru the 4th song and I decide
> to activate the MP screen by selecting Musical colors - Colors in Motion.
> The only active programs are OE and MP. Then, while typing this, the pc
> froze before completing the 5th song.
>
> Arrgghhh!!!!!!!
>
> So, now I'm wondering is the graphics card the problem or Media Player!?
> Or
> is the motherboard the problem?
>
>
> Jack
>
> --------------------------------
>
>
> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:%23Vc5KBm1KHA.4724@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> What I'm wondering is whether the replacement of the 1700 cpu with the
> Athlon 2100 could have triggered something that would have corrupted any
> files.
> Of course the reason I got the 2100 is because some programs I'm
> interested
> in (like QuickBooks, Red Shift 5, etc) recommend/require a higher speed.
> If I don't get any failures, I'll put the 2100 back in. BTW, the 2100 is
> the
> max supported by the MB.
>
> Jack
>
> -----------------------------------
>
>
> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
> news:-O%234IGXk1KHA.220@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Another thing to consider- I don't know where you are located, but it's
> getting pretty warm and humid here in SC, not quite enough for the AC, but
> enough for the ceiling fan to be left on all the time. Is the room where
> you
> have the PC any warmer now than during the winter; got good circulation
> around the PC? Just a thought.
> --
> SC Tom
>
> "Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
> any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
> Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.
>
> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:eLs0x1g1KHA.5996@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> Tom,
>>
>> Yes, that's the driver I have now and the same one I've had since I've
>> had
>> the MX4000 which I got in 2006 or 2007. It is the driver I removed and
>> reinstalled. It is the latest driver for that card. No, I don't have
>> another card to use.
>>
>> Everything seems to be working now, but I haven't attempted to stress the
>> system yet. I'll probably do that tomorrow.
>>
>>
>> Jack
>>
>>
>> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
>> news:evOVP6f1KHA.264@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>
>> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>> news:euoJ17e1KHA.5328@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>>
>>> It's a GeForce MX 4000
>>>
>>>
>>> Jack
>>>
>>>

>> That's a pretty old card, for sure. Do you, by chance, have another PCI
>> video card you could substitute? Or you could get a new MX4000 from
>> Newegg
>> for $40: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814139174
>> .
>> Either way, the onboard battery is not going to be the cause of the
>> problem
>> you're seeing.
>> Another thing you might try is uninstalling the latest video driver and
>> installing the previous WHQL certified driver. Is this the one you have
>> now
>> http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_93.71_2.html ?
>> --
>> SC Tom
>>
>> "Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
>> any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
>> Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.
>>
>>

>
>
>
>
 
T

Terry R.

Flightless Bird
On 4/7/2010 4:26 AM On a whim, SC Tom pounded out on the keyboard

>>>> Did you change the PS on the Dell? I have never seen one in the last
>>>> 8-10
>>>> years with a switch on the PS.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Terry R.
>>> If I was still working, I could send you pictures of 11 Dell workstations
>>> (if they still have them all) that have the switch on the PS. I don't
>>> remember the model number, but they are all high-end CAD stations about 5
>>> or
>>> 6 years old.

>> I have seen hundreds of Dell's and never seen one with a power switch on
>> the PS. Of course I haven't seen every model, so you might be right.
>>
>> But why does that stick out to you on a computer that would cause you to
>> be so sure? The only reason I know is I have replaced the PS on a lot of
>> them. Nothing more frustrating that having to find one without the switch
>> so it will mount properly.
>>
>>
>> Terry R.

>
> I had to replace the MB on two of them, the PS on one, the graphics card on
> two or three of them, and RAM on at least half of them, so I was in, out,
> and around them a lot more than I should have been. I can remember on the
> one with the bad PS that the one that came out had the switch, but the
> (upgraded?) one they sent me as a replacement didn't. Just thought it
> strange that it wasn't an identical replacement since that unit was less
> than a year old at the time.
> I wish I could remember the model number since I had an inordinate amount of
> hardware go bad on such a small group of workstations, especially
> considering the price we paid for them. Didn't exactly give me the warm and
> fuzzies later on when I was told we were getting a single Dell server to
> replace the two out-dated solid-as-a-rock HP's we were currently running.
> The Dell server also had switches on the power supplies. I remember that
> because I had to install the redundant one, and while sliding it into the
> rack, I must have accidentally turned it off somehow. I slid it back out a
> little, reached over it, and turned it back on.


Boy, I'd like to know where those machines came from. Same with the
server, as I've never seen a Dell server with one either.


Terry R.
--
Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.
 
J

Jack B

Flightless Bird
Whoa -- HWMonitor is big bucks. And CoreTemp appears not to support AMD
Athlon XP series.

So far, without using Media Player, no crash.


Jack

-----------------------------------------


"SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
news:e0cbj3o1KHA.6104@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
Have you scanned for malware? There's a chance you may be infected with
something that's corrupting the drivers.
Try a temperature monitoring program. A couple that I like are HWMonitor
http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php and CoreTemp
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/. HWMonitor gives more different temps like
the video card, hard drives, etc. than CoreTemp, plus power supply voltages.
It's possible that the motherboard is bad, but just as possible the video
card is on the way out. The only way to know for sure would be to replace
them with known good components, but by the time you go through the expense
of doing that, you would probably be near the cost of a bare bones system
from somewhere like Tiger Direct. Here's a selection:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=31&name=Barebone-Kits .
--
SC Tom

"Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.

"Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:%23DwfhPo1KHA.4724@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Well, did a "stress test" on the pc and it crashed. While Media Player was
> going thru a song list it started hiccuping on the 4th song, then all
> locked up, then the screen started doing strange things including partial
> black out and resetting to 640x 480 (I think) and a non-dithered 36 pt
> phrase appeared at the bottom of the screen, "Why are we contacting you?"
>
> By that time the pc was totally frozen and needed a hard shut down. Upon
> rebooting, Windows error reporting indicated it was a video device driver
> issue. But I just reinstalled that -- the same one that been working fine
> for years.
>
> FYI, active programs at time of crash =
> . Explore
> . Windows Viewer looking at a 3 MB photo
> . Word with 2 MB document.
> . PhotoImpact with 2 photos @ 3 MB and each edited 21 times (20 undos each
> in memory)
> . Media Player playing a playlist with the MP screen set to
> Alchemy-Random.
> Nothing was being done on the pc when it crashed, except for Media Player
> playing the songs.
>
> Irritating!!!!!!!
>
> Anyway, I opened Media Player again and playing the same song list and
> guess
> what -- there is nothing happening on the MP screen, it's blank, but it's
> still set to Alchemy-Random!? So, it goes thru the 4th song and I decide
> to activate the MP screen by selecting Musical colors - Colors in Motion.
> The only active programs are OE and MP. Then, while typing this, the pc
> froze before completing the 5th song.
>
> Arrgghhh!!!!!!!
>
> So, now I'm wondering is the graphics card the problem or Media Player!?
> Or
> is the motherboard the problem?
>
>
> Jack
>
> --------------------------------
>
>
> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:%23Vc5KBm1KHA.4724@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> What I'm wondering is whether the replacement of the 1700 cpu with the
> Athlon 2100 could have triggered something that would have corrupted any
> files.
> Of course the reason I got the 2100 is because some programs I'm
> interested
> in (like QuickBooks, Red Shift 5, etc) recommend/require a higher speed.
> If I don't get any failures, I'll put the 2100 back in. BTW, the 2100 is
> the
> max supported by the MB.
>
> Jack
>
> -----------------------------------
>
>
> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
> news:-O%234IGXk1KHA.220@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Another thing to consider- I don't know where you are located, but it's
> getting pretty warm and humid here in SC, not quite enough for the AC, but
> enough for the ceiling fan to be left on all the time. Is the room where
> you
> have the PC any warmer now than during the winter; got good circulation
> around the PC? Just a thought.
> --
> SC Tom
>
> "Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
> any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
> Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.
>
> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:eLs0x1g1KHA.5996@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> Tom,
>>
>> Yes, that's the driver I have now and the same one I've had since I've
>> had
>> the MX4000 which I got in 2006 or 2007. It is the driver I removed and
>> reinstalled. It is the latest driver for that card. No, I don't have
>> another card to use.
>>
>> Everything seems to be working now, but I haven't attempted to stress the
>> system yet. I'll probably do that tomorrow.
>>
>>
>> Jack
>>
>>
>> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
>> news:evOVP6f1KHA.264@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>
>> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>> news:euoJ17e1KHA.5328@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>>
>>> It's a GeForce MX 4000
>>>
>>>
>>> Jack
>>>
>>>

>> That's a pretty old card, for sure. Do you, by chance, have another PCI
>> video card you could substitute? Or you could get a new MX4000 from
>> Newegg
>> for $40: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814139174
>> .
>> Either way, the onboard battery is not going to be the cause of the
>> problem
>> you're seeing.
>> Another thing you might try is uninstalling the latest video driver and
>> installing the previous WHQL certified driver. Is this the one you have
>> now
>> http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_93.71_2.html ?
>> --
>> SC Tom
>>
>> "Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
>> any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
>> Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.
>>
>>

>
>
>
>
 
S

SC Tom

Flightless Bird
"Terry R." <F1Com@NOSPAMpobox.com> wrote in message
news:-OkmU37q1KHA.5972@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> On 4/7/2010 4:26 AM On a whim, SC Tom pounded out on the keyboard
>
>>>>> Did you change the PS on the Dell? I have never seen one in the last
>>>>> 8-10
>>>>> years with a switch on the PS.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Terry R.
>>>> If I was still working, I could send you pictures of 11 Dell
>>>> workstations
>>>> (if they still have them all) that have the switch on the PS. I don't
>>>> remember the model number, but they are all high-end CAD stations about
>>>> 5
>>>> or
>>>> 6 years old.
>>> I have seen hundreds of Dell's and never seen one with a power switch on
>>> the PS. Of course I haven't seen every model, so you might be right.
>>>
>>> But why does that stick out to you on a computer that would cause you to
>>> be so sure? The only reason I know is I have replaced the PS on a lot
>>> of
>>> them. Nothing more frustrating that having to find one without the
>>> switch
>>> so it will mount properly.
>>>
>>>
>>> Terry R.

>>
>> I had to replace the MB on two of them, the PS on one, the graphics card
>> on
>> two or three of them, and RAM on at least half of them, so I was in, out,
>> and around them a lot more than I should have been. I can remember on the
>> one with the bad PS that the one that came out had the switch, but the
>> (upgraded?) one they sent me as a replacement didn't. Just thought it
>> strange that it wasn't an identical replacement since that unit was less
>> than a year old at the time.
>> I wish I could remember the model number since I had an inordinate amount
>> of
>> hardware go bad on such a small group of workstations, especially
>> considering the price we paid for them. Didn't exactly give me the warm
>> and
>> fuzzies later on when I was told we were getting a single Dell server to
>> replace the two out-dated solid-as-a-rock HP's we were currently running.
>> The Dell server also had switches on the power supplies. I remember that
>> because I had to install the redundant one, and while sliding it into the
>> rack, I must have accidentally turned it off somehow. I slid it back out
>> a
>> little, reached over it, and turned it back on.

>
> Boy, I'd like to know where those machines came from. Same with the
> server, as I've never seen a Dell server with one either.
>
>
> Terry R.
> --
> Anti-spam measures are included in my email address.
> Delete NOSPAM from the email address after clicking Reply.


From CDW. That's where we bought most of our hardware.
--
SC Tom

"Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.
 
S

SC Tom

Flightless Bird
There's a free version of HWMonitor, not HWMonitor Pro.

"Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:-O38N5Wr1KHA.6108@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Whoa -- HWMonitor is big bucks. And CoreTemp appears not to support AMD
> Athlon XP series.
>
> So far, without using Media Player, no crash.
>
>
> Jack
>
> -----------------------------------------
>
>
> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
> news:e0cbj3o1KHA.6104@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Have you scanned for malware? There's a chance you may be infected with
> something that's corrupting the drivers.
> Try a temperature monitoring program. A couple that I like are HWMonitor
> http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php and CoreTemp
> http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/. HWMonitor gives more different temps like
> the video card, hard drives, etc. than CoreTemp, plus power supply
> voltages.
> It's possible that the motherboard is bad, but just as possible the video
> card is on the way out. The only way to know for sure would be to replace
> them with known good components, but by the time you go through the
> expense
> of doing that, you would probably be near the cost of a bare bones system
> from somewhere like Tiger Direct. Here's a selection:
> http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=31&name=Barebone-Kits .
> --
> SC Tom
>
> "Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
> any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
> Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.
>
> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:%23DwfhPo1KHA.4724@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>> Well, did a "stress test" on the pc and it crashed. While Media Player
>> was
>> going thru a song list it started hiccuping on the 4th song, then all
>> locked up, then the screen started doing strange things including partial
>> black out and resetting to 640x 480 (I think) and a non-dithered 36 pt
>> phrase appeared at the bottom of the screen, "Why are we contacting you?"
>>
>> By that time the pc was totally frozen and needed a hard shut down. Upon
>> rebooting, Windows error reporting indicated it was a video device driver
>> issue. But I just reinstalled that -- the same one that been working
>> fine
>> for years.
>>
>> FYI, active programs at time of crash =
>> . Explore
>> . Windows Viewer looking at a 3 MB photo
>> . Word with 2 MB document.
>> . PhotoImpact with 2 photos @ 3 MB and each edited 21 times (20 undos
>> each
>> in memory)
>> . Media Player playing a playlist with the MP screen set to
>> Alchemy-Random.
>> Nothing was being done on the pc when it crashed, except for Media Player
>> playing the songs.
>>
>> Irritating!!!!!!!
>>
>> Anyway, I opened Media Player again and playing the same song list and
>> guess
>> what -- there is nothing happening on the MP screen, it's blank, but it's
>> still set to Alchemy-Random!? So, it goes thru the 4th song and I
>> decide
>> to activate the MP screen by selecting Musical colors - Colors in Motion.
>> The only active programs are OE and MP. Then, while typing this, the pc
>> froze before completing the 5th song.
>>
>> Arrgghhh!!!!!!!
>>
>> So, now I'm wondering is the graphics card the problem or Media Player!?
>> Or
>> is the motherboard the problem?
>>
>>
>> Jack
>>
>> --------------------------------
>>
>>
>> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>> news:%23Vc5KBm1KHA.4724@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>> What I'm wondering is whether the replacement of the 1700 cpu with the
>> Athlon 2100 could have triggered something that would have corrupted any
>> files.
>> Of course the reason I got the 2100 is because some programs I'm
>> interested
>> in (like QuickBooks, Red Shift 5, etc) recommend/require a higher speed.
>> If I don't get any failures, I'll put the 2100 back in. BTW, the 2100 is
>> the
>> max supported by the MB.
>>
>> Jack
>>
>> -----------------------------------
>>
>>
>> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
>> news:-O%234IGXk1KHA.220@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> Another thing to consider- I don't know where you are located, but it's
>> getting pretty warm and humid here in SC, not quite enough for the AC,
>> but
>> enough for the ceiling fan to be left on all the time. Is the room where
>> you
>> have the PC any warmer now than during the winter; got good circulation
>> around the PC? Just a thought.
>> --
>> SC Tom
>>
>> "Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
>> any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
>> Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.
>>
>> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>> news:eLs0x1g1KHA.5996@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>> Tom,
>>>
>>> Yes, that's the driver I have now and the same one I've had since I've
>>> had
>>> the MX4000 which I got in 2006 or 2007. It is the driver I removed and
>>> reinstalled. It is the latest driver for that card. No, I don't have
>>> another card to use.
>>>
>>> Everything seems to be working now, but I haven't attempted to stress
>>> the
>>> system yet. I'll probably do that tomorrow.
>>>
>>>
>>> Jack
>>>
>>>
>>> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
>>> news:evOVP6f1KHA.264@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>>
>>> "Jack B" <jslimp01nospam@earthlink.net> wrote in message
>>> news:euoJ17e1KHA.5328@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>>>
>>>> It's a GeForce MX 4000
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Jack
>>>>
>>>>
>>> That's a pretty old card, for sure. Do you, by chance, have another PCI
>>> video card you could substitute? Or you could get a new MX4000 from
>>> Newegg
>>> for $40: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814139174
>>> .
>>> Either way, the onboard battery is not going to be the cause of the
>>> problem
>>> you're seeing.
>>> Another thing you might try is uninstalling the latest video driver and
>>> installing the previous WHQL certified driver. Is this the one you have
>>> now
>>> http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_93.71_2.html ?
>>> --
>>> SC Tom
>>>
>>> "Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed
>>> any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician."
>>> Lt. Col. J.D. "Jeff" Cooper, USMC, Ret.
>>>
>>>

>>
>>
>>
>>

>
>
 
J

Jack B

Flightless Bird
My pc crash problem appears to be fixed.

Solution: Deleted 6 GB of files on the hard drive so there is now 9 GB of
free space.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed!


Jack
 
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