Strange intermittent freeze problem

[ducksoup0]

I've had this MSI K7D Master-L with 2 MP2000+ Athlons for about 2 years now, and it ran great most of the time. Recently, I began experiencing intermittent freezes in Windows XP Pro, and hard-drive clicking. I replaced the hard-drive, but the noises continued and so did the freezes. Strangely enough, when I booted into Linux, I did not experience any of these problems (I have a Linux partition and a Windows partition). So I figured there was something wrong with the files on Windows, and reinstalled/repaired. No luck; now it wouldn't even boot at all. I reformatted and reinstalled, but still the crashes and clicks continued. I tested the hard-drive in another computer and it worked flawlessly. So I figured it was the controller: I obtained a PCI IDE controller, plugged the hard-drive into it with a new cable, attempt to install, and still get clicking. Having eliminated the hard-drive, controller, and cable, I don't know what is left. Could the actual motherboard circuitry have gone bad in some way that would affect Windows XP so badly and Linux not at all? Or maybe this is a PSU issue (Antec True430)? I tried removing non-essential components but still had clicking. The 5V rail seems to be undervoltage, about 4.5V on average, maybe this is a clue?

 

[rhino56]

i would run memtest86 , prime 95 and whatever other diagnostic problem finders you can.
is it overclocked at all?

 

[ducksoup0]

I have run memory testing and it was fine. I did not overclock it. Besides, Linux was working, and this motherboard needs registered ECC RAM so I do not think that the RAM is the problem.

 

[rhino56]

how often does the problem occur? and is it when you run a specific program within windows or just at any point.
edit, also what are your other rails at?

 

[dug777]

had xactly the same prob here guv. It was the PSU- crappy no name job. Worked fine for ages, i got my 9800 pro- no probs, i o/c'd from 2000+ to 2600+ on air, no probs, then i dropped in another blu 80mm case fan- probs.

It would only crash- in xactly the same HDD style as yours, when i was running a GPU intensive app- about 30 secs into 3dmark03, or playing Sims 2!

But i solved my problem short term by disconnecting my FDD and burner, and putting the kard on a separate power cable- rather than daisychained with a HDD, FDD, and a 80mm fan- runs flawlessly at 2600+ no matter what now.

All my rails are screwed according 2 Sandra, and asus probe- but your 5v rail does seem very low. I guess the best you can do is try a new PSU- if u have already tried disconnecting stuff, good luck

 

[ducksoup0]

It used to occur fairly randomly. Sometimes, I could stimulate it by trying to do too many things at once (I think), especially right at start-up (when you want to get going on things, and you start hitting keys, but the system is still sluggish... sometimes it would just freeze right then). But most of the time, it was completely random. I could use the computer for several hours, fine, and then freeze. Or I would walk away for a while, come back and it was frozen. Now that I attempted to fix it, I cannot boot windows anymore to complete setup. Or if I manage to complete setup, it will not boot the first time after that.

The other rails were close enough to their respective voltages not to be noticeable.

 

[rhino56]

i have heard of other problems with the antec 430's i run the antec 550's with no problems at all and they are running a lotof stuff.
i would try a different psu. either a fortron or a antec 550

 

[ducksoup0]

Alright, I am going to get the Antec 550. I learned long ago not to skimp on the PSU, the hard way, but I always thought of the 430 as being high-power. I guess that is no longer true.

 

[rhino56]

well in certain rigs it seems fine, but it had compatibility issues with some boards and it never got resolved. the mb company said it was antecs fault and antec said it was the mbs fault. i will never buy a 430 antec because of that reason. but the 550's can kick out some serious juice thats for sure.
let us know how it goes.

 

[ducksoup0]

The 550 is really nice. I don't get the clicking problem anymore. Thanks for the tip.

However, if it's not one thing, it's another. I Ghosted my partition from a backup drive, and now Windows is being screwy.
It thinks the boot-up drive is G: and the backup is C:, and it stores the page-file on C:... Currently trying an alternative (dd) to copy the partition over, this should produce an exact mirror.

 

[Anubis]

yea i woudl have said it was a PS issues as well
however im supprised the Antec 430 gave you trouble, i have the Truepower 430 and its still rockin after 2 years, the 550 is one of the best PS ever made tho

no idea about your ghost issue tho