stability issues

[infiniD]

Just purchased and assembled a duron 900 system using the msi k7t turbo (no raid), three sticks of 128 mb mushkin basic 133 mem, cardexpert geforce2 mx, and turtle beach vortex1 card. I was able to install the system (after some mem problems with a doa stick) and get windows on it. Afterwards it was very problematic so I tried redoing windows again (98SE). A couple of times it stopped within 25% of the installation giving me a vxd error. I changed the graphics card but that still was problematic. Eventually I got it to install but it runs slow compared to a friend's TB 750 with 192 megs of RAM, crashes after two of the 3dmark tests, and takes a long time to boot. Also have a 3com network card. Bios was flashed to 2.7

Thanks in advance

 

[DJFuji]

excessive heat? To troubleshoot, take everything out but the essentials and run tests while adding hardware one by one to isolate your problem. Intuition says to run tests on your RAM to make sure something isn't screwed up.

 

[BadThad]

Do you have anything in PCI slot 1?

 

[NeMeSi]

Some answers/suggestions to your problems:

"A couple of times it stopped within 25% of the installation giving me a vxd error."

Definitly RAM. Take it back and either exchange it or get your cash back!

"
Eventually I got it to install but it runs slow compared to a friend's TB 750 with 192 megs of RAM"

Have you installed the updated VIA drivers. I think the version is now at 4.31. Also, check the temp. of the CPU. Also, make sure your HDD is running at ATA66 on the 80 PIN ribbon cable.

"crashes after two of the 3dmark tests"

Try updating to the latest nvidia reference drivers. As well, touch the card of its been running for a while, is it hot? If so, need to fine a way to put active cooling on it. I think most Geforce 2 MX cards only have passive cooling (heatsink w/ no fan).

"takes a long time to boot. Also have a 3com network card."

A long time to boot meaning minutes? Probably because you have the network in there. On a Win9X box, on bootup, it sits there and trys to "look" for a network that is attached to your NIC. That's why it's probably taking so long. Try taking the card out and see if it speeds it up. Addtionally, connect a CAT5 cable in it, that'll speed it up too.


Finally, like the other guy said, make sure there is no PCI card pluged in next to your video because they share IRQ's. Also, make sure the MOBO is mounted properly in the case, with no touching!

HTH

 

[BadThad]

Nemesi - "A couple of times it stopped within 25% of the installation giving me a vxd error."

Definitly RAM. Take it back and either exchange it or get your cash back!

You cannot conclusively say that. A VxD error is a Virtual Device Driver problem. The driver in use is conflicting with something in the system, but this doesn't mean it's 100% for sure a problem with the ram. As a matter of fact, I've repaired MANY PC's with this problem by simply updating/changing drivers for the offending device. Most of the cases of bad ram produce "Page Fault" type errors.

When one receives the VxD error, it's absolutely critical to take note of the offending file so that you can track down what hardware is the source.

 

[NeMeSi]

badthad: Before you talk,look at his original post:

"Afterwards it was very problematic so I tried redoing windows again (98SE). A couple of times it stopped within 25% of the installation giving me a vxd error."

It clearly stated that he had VxD errors on an install of Win98se. Therefore, no device drivers could have been loaded. I'm not saying 100%, but on a initial install of an OS, and you get VxD errors, 9 times out of 10, it's RAM.