Built a new PC for MAMECAB and it's DOA!

[Xochi]

Well, I went the DIY route on coming up with a new machine for my MAMECAB. I'm using an nForce2 mother board with IGP so I figured there would be very few components to fail (Mobo + 1 DIMM + PS + HD + DVD + CPU). Unfortunately, it's not going too well.

After assemblage and power up, the machine crashed during the OS install . After multiple retries I got the OS installed (Win2K Pro) and now every 10 to 15 minutes of operation I'm getting STOP errors and Blue Screens of Death all over the place.

Any experienced system builders want to hazard a guess what's wrong? The bios has a temp sensor and everything looks good there. I'm thinking it could be the mobo or the DIMM. I ordered all parts from newegg but I'm not sure what to return.

Here's a collection of the STOP errors I'm seeing running Win 2K Pro:

KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

I'm really not super experienced at this so any help is much appreciated even if it's just pure speculation.

[tmasman]

How "big" is your PS? (example: 300Watt)...

I've seen similar issues with bad Mobos, and with bad Power supplies...
Usually with bad memory, it just wouldn't work (wouldn't boot).
That's been my experience anyhow.

[SirPeale]

I agree with tmasman.  A cheap power supply is just asking for trouble.

Same with RAM. A lot of people will buy the cheap stuff.  I always recommend Crucial to anyone who wants to buy RAM.  Lifetime guaranteed.

[Xochi]

The PS is 350W it's a RAIDMAX.  Anything I can check in the bios display as far as specific voltages or anything to help determine if the PS is bad? The BIOS has a pretty detailed display. It lists specific voltages and temps for various things.

I did go cheap on the mem... didn't realize it was that big a risk.  Here's how newegg describes my RAM:

All Components 256MB PC-2700 Memory module. 184-pin -OEM

[Lilwolf]

1st... remove all cards you can.

Does it work?  put them back in one at a time...  (*note... video card is not a "you can")

Doesn't help?  Keep them out anyway... easier to get to the other stuff...

2nd... remove all memory but one stick (if you have multiple).

Does it work?  readd them until you find the bad one... and it MIGHT fix the problem... mis-seated memory can cause problems.

Doesn't help?  

Swap it with one of the other and try again.

3rd.  It came with all the CDs right?  Any chance they !@# it up setting up the harddrive.  Try reinstalling an os and updating the drivers.  You might find that they didn't start you off with justice... WARNING:  Make sure you have all the CD's  some cheap !@# computers send a harddrive with the first line saying that you should backup your computer to keep your copy of windows.

Case next probably... Power supplies really can cause problems... Sad but true... Never was the problem until the last few years.  

After that... Your really going to want to swap stuff with a good machine.

[DAmnb]

Like suggested already, check the ram, I have had mulitple pc builds in the past with similar problems due to ram issues.

[hyiu]

I got RAM issues before also....

now... I get Kingston Ram which is lifetime waranty....

[Malachai]

What kind of heatsink and/or fans are you using?  Could be a heat related problem.  Make sure you CPU heatsink is seated well and flush with the CPU.  It would be worth checking.  BSOD and freezing are pretty common issues with overheating processors.

[DeathMonk]

It's your RAM.

[Radical]

First make sure all connections are tight and everything is aligned (no parts touching things they shouldn't).  Make sure the CPU is seated correctly.  Make sure the memory is seated correctly.  Make sure the system is cooling properly.

Remove every single card you can from the system.  Run minimal so it's easier to narrow the problem down.

I also have seen this most often with bad memory.  What I do is take some memory from a known working computer and try it on the problem system.  If everything works then you know it was the memory.   If not then I continue down the chain of easily testable things.  Try another power supply.  Try another hard-drive.

Then I try hard(er) stuff which I may not always have extra parts to test with.  Try another CPU.  Try another mainboard.

99% of the time it's a single component so it's usually relatively easy to narrow the problem down.

I've found that going cheap on memory isn't that bad a deal.  I've had more problems with high quality memory than cheap stuff.    I've found that it's more likely to be the vendor or shipper that breaks stuff rather than the quality of the component.

Don't go cheap on power supplies though, crappy quality ones have a tendancy to start fires (I've personally seen it happen several times) and burn out more expensive components.

I probably repeated what others have said... ah well, that's just my experience.

[Mooters]

My suggestion is if you have another O.S. try it if not don't go get another just try sompthing like dos.

Cody
P.S. i just work with older stuff so i probably wouldnt know all about it.

[Cisco Kid]

In my opinion nForce2 motherboards are cheap and nothing but a pain in the --I'm attempting to get by the auto-censor and should be beaten after I re-read the rules-- ... the majority of users usually have to buy 2 - 3 boards before getting one that actually works (doesn't matter if its Abit, Asus, or Epox ... there all same)

I betting though that you missed something in the BIOS related to the RAM timing (or your being to aggressive with it) and thats whats causing it to crash ... I'm almost certain of it.  If its not that then its the motherboard.  (Take that one stick of DDR to a friends house and swap that stick of RAM into his machine and take your pick of memory-checking programs and run that and see what results you get.)

btw ... you do have it inserting into the correct DIMM slot right?  Since your not running Dual-Channel setup ... it does recommend a certain slot to use (usually).

It can't be heat related ... most of the motherboards today have a self shutdown if it senses the CPU getting to hot.  I imagine you have that set or at least I hope you do.   The problem of crashing would get progressively worse too ... so you would be able to get farther into the OS if that were the case ... it would just get to the point of freezing at the POST screen.

Why don't tell us the following :
------------------------------------------------------------
CPU (give us an idea of what the temps should be)
Heatsink (link to it if you can)
Motherboard (link to it if you can)
RAM (link to it if you can)

If not worried about the PSU  

also the actual temps, voltages, and your RAM settings.  We need details or its nothing a but guessing game.

[JLR2000]

Have to agree about the RAM, download a ram test proggie....they usually are free and fit on a diskette.  Just boot up with it and let it go.

I had the exact same symptoms and bad ram was the problem.

The Program I use is DocMemory....and its free.

http://www.simmtester.com/page/products/doc/docinfo.asp

Good Luck.

[shmokes]

I also think it's the RAM, but if not, try replacing those metal spacers between the motherboard tray and the motherboard with plastic ones.  I  had a machine acting just like this (it was even an nforce 2   ) and someone suggested checking that.  Apparently those things sometimes cause the motherboard to short out.  Anyway, I replaced them and voila!  Everything worked.

[Chris Goodwin]

I will second (third? eighth?) the RAM.  Crucial, Kingston, PNY are all good.  OEM bad. RAM is one area where spending a few extra bucks can make all the difference.  

[Xochi]

It's your RAM.

It was my RAM.

Replaced the DIMM and the box is running like a champ. I left it up for 48hours as a sanity check. No probs. A HUGE thanks to everyone who took the time to post to this thread with tips and advice! It was really educational and was a big help! The BYOAC forums are awesome!


PS: A link to a good free memory tester is:

http://www.memtest86.com

The cool thing is they have a bootable ISO image so I could boot straight to a burnt CD (I didn't bother putting a floppy in my MAME box).