Computer keeps freezing 1

[bleeper4]

Hi all,
I have an IBM Aptiva (specs page can be found here

http://www5.pc.ibm.com/us/products.nsf/$wwwPartNumLookup/_2156D1N).

I've had this thing since about 1998, and for about 5 years it has been freezing and rebooting mysteriously. I have put win98, win98SE, and win2000 on it to try and solve the problem. It may be hardware, like overheating or something. When it messes up, it does one of three things:

1. it freezes windows, forcing me to reboot manually (in win98 and SE, seldom in win2k)
2. it cuts off and reboots spontaneously
3. it goes to a black screen with a cursor on the top left corner (so far only in 98 and SE)

Please help! If I don't get a new computer soon, this will have to last me at least another year or so.
Thanks

 

[Mulga]

Its hardware, most common cause is faulty RAM but it could also be video card, power supply, motherboard, CPU or overheating. In fact it could be just about anything...
If you have access to compatible parts you can try swapping parts in and out one at a time to see what cures it, otherwise its a job for the shop. Help us to help you, please post back and tell us if this helped.
All things are possible except skiing through a revolving door.

 

[bleeper4]

well, I've narrowed it down to a couple of things. I've turned off all screensavers and monitor services, and relied solely on the power switch to cut the monitor off. This has gotten rid of two of the problems, but it still sometimes quits and reboots. Further investigation is continuing, but now it's time to take final exams and build a new computer!
Josh

 

[paparazi]

Lots of things can be resonsible for random reboots the most common of which is a weak PSU but as previously said lots of other things could also cause this.
Try running with the side off and a desktop fan blowing into the case at close range, If overheating is the problem this should fix it temporarily allowing extra cooling fans to be fitted for a more permanent fix.
5 years old! maybe time for that new system anyway.
Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[Breakerfall]

the book says:

if it freezes up, it's probably heat problem
•try to get a cooper heat sink with a nice cooler on top.

if it reboots, it's probably a faulty power supply.
•try to get a power supply powerful enough to provide consistent power flow to all of your CD\RW\DVD(s) & HD(s)
400wats shoul do it.

keep us posted
thanks.



Breakerfall
®º°¨¨°º can you ping me now...GOOD! º°¨¨°º®

 

[bleeper4]

the Aptiva is one of those little flat almost-laptop-sized cheap things that are completely unupgradeable (I don't know about the power box). The processor has a green (feels like copper) heatsink but no fan, only a case fan in the back. What I've decided to do is this: I've "borrowed" a nice big 6" muffin fan from our school robotics kit, and I'm gonna put it in after school ends. If that doesn't make it any better, then screw it all, I need a new computer. Here's a link to some system specs:

http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=psg1DETR-3YYJC7

Thanks again guys.
Josh

 

[Dreamland]

bleeper4-

The old Aptivas had power supply stability problems - the power is uneven and 'noisy' because of the barely adequate rating. Swapping out with a known good PSU is usually a problem because of the size unless you know someone else with an available Aptiva.

A 'regular' sized AT-style power supply (same motherboard connector as yours) could be used for testing, but it's on/off button is usually mounted to the case it's in just like your Aptiva's. Even if you could find an old case with a full-size AT supply that worked, you need to do some surgery to get the thing out. Usually more trouble than it's worth unless you know someone that already has a 'loose' one.

Some other models of Aptivas have a slighly beefier supply (115W vs. your existing 85W) the same physical size, but it wouldn't be worth the ching to gamble unless you knew for certain the power supply was really the problem. You usually have to buy an empty case with the better PSU (eBay or whatever) - I don't see them sold separately too often.

Better cooling might help a bit with stability, but nothing on that board should be running really hot to begin with. If it helps, great. If not, then it might be time to think of moving on.

 

[Zych]

Being a tech the most common one I run into is rogue programs that do not follow proper MS rules or utilize a lot of Internet bandwidth. This is usually the hardest to find and figure out but since you have tried re-installing the OS and still get the same problem I doubt if it is this.

The second most common is bad memory. An easy test for this that rules out the OS is to download MemTest86. It is a free program that installs on a floppy that you would boot from. Do a search on google for it.

The third is the the PSU. If you have a P4 or and AMD this can easily be the problem since these CPU's need a good PSU to run properly. If you this is the problem get a Antec or Enermax PSU. These seem to be voted the best by most PC users.

If neither of these fix your problem I would go back to the first. At one of my customers sites it does not take long for a user to get a strange program installed on their system. They deny ever seeing it which may be true in some circumstances. I good program to get rid of "spy bots" is SpyBot. It finds these annoying programs and even has a feature to innoculate your system against 150 known spy bots. These things gather info about you and send it over the Internet back to their makers. You can download SpyBot here:

http://security.kolla.de/index.php?lang=en&page=download

Hope this helps.

Good Luck,

Zych

 

[Grenage]

Proper MS rules ?

 

[bleeper4]

just a little update, I opened it up and looked at the power rating on the PSU. I don't remember exactly what it was, but it was in the 215W range...wow. But since it turns out I'm not getting a new computer , I'll just hafta survive for another year until I get to college. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[bleeper4]

hehe no wait, that was my pentium 60mhz computer. This one is 85W. ouch.