Help making system stable

bartok · 2003-07-04, 18:33

Greetings. I have an Athlon xp 2400+, A7N8X Deluxe MB, 512 MB DDR, GeForce4 4200Ti, Lite-on 48X CD/RW drive, 52X DVD drive, 60GB Maxtor 7200rpm HD, and I can't think of what else.

Herein lies the problem. I downloaded Prime95 to see if my system was stable. I ran it in Windows XP, and when i run my processor at stock (2005Mhz) I get errors right around 50min-1hr consistently. I ran Memtest86 for around 12hrs, and my memory returned no errors. Thus, i began to experiment. I bumped the processor down to 1800+ (around 1500Mhz, i think) and tried again. Now Prime95 runs for around 5-6hrs before crapping out. So i've been thinking maybe it's the voltage. perhaps i have need of a greater power supply. I'm currently using a 450W power supply. [28A +3.3V, 50A +5V, 18A +12V] Should this be enough? In MBM i get temps around 55 C when i'm at full load at stock speed. Seems somewhat high, but well within AMDs guidelines. Also, i am currently using Linux, thinking that perhaps Windoze screwed up Prime95 like everything else. Still, it quits after around 50 mins of testing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

outlnder · 2003-07-04, 19:51

If you know how, flash your Bios with the lastest version.

Then make sure you have the most recent drivers.

I have an Albatron 4200Ti and cannot use the latest Nvidia drivers. If I do, I get errors. So I only use the drivers from the CD that came with the vid card.

trif · 2003-07-05, 01:31

I second Outlnder's suggestion.

Are you doing anything else at the time that the errors are reported, or is the box idle except for Prime95?

QuintLeo · 2003-07-05, 02:54

Also, WHAT SPEED is your DDR and what FSB are you running the XP2400+ at?

What is your power supply?

For point of reference, the XP1800+ stock is 133 FSB x11.5 for 1533 Mhz.

bartok · 2003-07-05, 19:08

my external cpu frequency is 133mhz. my ram is PC3200 running at 200mhz. Power supply is an Allied, model AL-B450EATX. Prime95 was running by itself while i slept. I flashed the newest version of BIOS from ASUS onto my motherboard last night, and Prime95 stress test ran for 12 hrs perfectly. Problem must be fixed. Thanks guys. Oh, why would the BIOS screw up the stability of the system? (Probably a stupid question, but you never learn if you never ask)

outlnder · 2003-07-05, 22:32

Probably the old Bios couldn't handle the 200 FSB.

OR, the old Bios had a bug or two.

OR, a piece of hardware you have wasn't compatible with the old Bios.

My guess would be that the old Bios couldn't handle the CPU and Ram combination with the speeds you were running.

All that really counts is that you got it fixed and to remember how you did it.

QuintLeo · 2003-07-06, 06:35

*nod* Looks like it was a BIOS prob to me too.

The BIOS sets up a LOT of stuff on your Motherboard - if it's wrong, it gives the wrong settings to other parts - for example, it might have been saying "run the AGP bus at 100 Mhz 'cause thats memory speed /2" when it should have been saying "run the AGP bus at 66 Mhz 'cause that's CPU speed / 2".

trif · 2003-07-06, 07:05

Some drivers are known for not correctly restoring the state of the FPU after an interrupt is handled. There are a million and one ways that bad metal banging code can muck with computations.

2003-07-04, 18:33	#1
bartok Jul 2003 2 Posts	Help making system stable Greetings. I have an Athlon xp 2400+, A7N8X Deluxe MB, 512 MB DDR, GeForce4 4200Ti, Lite-on 48X CD/RW drive, 52X DVD drive, 60GB Maxtor 7200rpm HD, and I can't think of what else. Herein lies the problem. I downloaded Prime95 to see if my system was stable. I ran it in Windows XP, and when i run my processor at stock (2005Mhz) I get errors right around 50min-1hr consistently. I ran Memtest86 for around 12hrs, and my memory returned no errors. Thus, i began to experiment. I bumped the processor down to 1800+ (around 1500Mhz, i think) and tried again. Now Prime95 runs for around 5-6hrs before crapping out. So i've been thinking maybe it's the voltage. perhaps i have need of a greater power supply. I'm currently using a 450W power supply. [28A +3.3V, 50A +5V, 18A +12V] Should this be enough? In MBM i get temps around 55 C when i'm at full load at stock speed. Seems somewhat high, but well within AMDs guidelines. Also, i am currently using Linux, thinking that perhaps Windoze screwed up Prime95 like everything else. Still, it quits after around 50 mins of testing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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2003-07-04, 19:51	#2
outlnder Aug 2002 100111110₂ Posts	If you know how, flash your Bios with the lastest version. Then make sure you have the most recent drivers. I have an Albatron 4200Ti and cannot use the latest Nvidia drivers. If I do, I get errors. So I only use the drivers from the CD that came with the vid card.

2003-07-05, 01:31	#3
trif Aug 2002 2×101 Posts	I second Outlnder's suggestion. Are you doing anything else at the time that the errors are reported, or is the box idle except for Prime95?

2003-07-05, 02:54	#4
QuintLeo Oct 2002 Lost in the hills of Iowa 2⁶·7 Posts	Also, WHAT SPEED is your DDR and what FSB are you running the XP2400+ at? What is your power supply? For point of reference, the XP1800+ stock is 133 FSB x11.5 for 1533 Mhz.

2003-07-05, 19:08	#5
bartok Jul 2003 2 Posts	my external cpu frequency is 133mhz. my ram is PC3200 running at 200mhz. Power supply is an Allied, model AL-B450EATX. Prime95 was running by itself while i slept. I flashed the newest version of BIOS from ASUS onto my motherboard last night, and Prime95 stress test ran for 12 hrs perfectly. Problem must be fixed. Thanks guys. Oh, why would the BIOS screw up the stability of the system? (Probably a stupid question, but you never learn if you never ask)

2003-07-05, 22:32	#6
outlnder Aug 2002 318₁₀ Posts	Probably the old Bios couldn't handle the 200 FSB. OR, the old Bios had a bug or two. OR, a piece of hardware you have wasn't compatible with the old Bios. My guess would be that the old Bios couldn't handle the CPU and Ram combination with the speeds you were running. All that really counts is that you got it fixed and to remember how you did it.

2003-07-06, 06:35	#7
QuintLeo Oct 2002 Lost in the hills of Iowa 2⁶×7 Posts	nod Looks like it was a BIOS prob to me too. The BIOS sets up a LOT of stuff on your Motherboard - if it's wrong, it gives the wrong settings to other parts - for example, it might have been saying "run the AGP bus at 100 Mhz 'cause thats memory speed /2" when it should have been saying "run the AGP bus at 66 Mhz 'cause that's CPU speed / 2".

2003-07-06, 07:05	#8
trif Aug 2002 2·101 Posts	Some drivers are known for not correctly restoring the state of the FPU after an interrupt is handled. There are a million and one ways that bad metal banging code can muck with computations.