System Hesitating

[MikeCSr]

System info:
PIII 866 MhZ FC-PGA (Flip Chip)
MSI Mobo 133MhZ FSB (Intel 815e chipset)
512M Viking Ram (133 Mhz)
400 Watt Power Supply (3 months old)
Visiontec Geforce3 Video (latest NVIDIA drivers)
Linkseys NIC
Soundblaster Live Platinum
2-40 GiG, ATA 100 7200RPM Harddrives (Western Digital)
WinME (all updates)and fresh installed 2 weeeks ago

My PC runs fine at boot up, however, after running after approx 4 hours (less if playing Tribes2 or another heavy CPU load)my system starts to run sluggishly and if jsut in windows, the mouse cursor hesitates as I move it across the screen. I have added additional cooling and the CPU is running at 141 degrees F and the system is at 93 Degrees so I do not think that overheating is a problem. I have shutdown all open apps minus windows and systray and it still does it. Is this a WinME bug? I ran win98se forever and didnt have this problem nor the first 2 weeks of WinME.

 

[kelsen]

I think that heat may very well be your problem; check with Intel's pages on the recommended range of operation. My PIII-1Ghz CPU runs at 34 deg. centigrade (93 deg. fahrenheit) at idle and up to 43 deg. C (109 deg. F) at full load (playing graphics-intensive games). My motherboard stays at a pretty constant 33 deg. C (91 deg. F), similar to yours.

The operational behavior you describe is indicative of heat-related problems, although I do think the temperatures you describe (141 deg. F [60 deg C]) are within the operating parameters for the processor.

I would look at airflow in your case, and perhaps investigate some of the overclocker forums for tips on reducing temperatures.

RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen.
Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.

 

[MikeCSr]

I looked at Itel's website for info and it only gives a max core temp of 181 F and so I called them and they say that 141 degrees is well within that CPU's threshold. I am going to look into IRQ assignments and maybe remove items like my TV Tuner card and PCI ehternet card for the digital camcorder to see what happens.
Thanks for your reply!!

 

[Guest_imported]

I know you're not running an AMD chip... However, after reading the info on AMD's site re CPU temperature, I am of the opinion that the method used by mobo manufacturers to measure CPU temperature may leave a lot to be desired! Maximum CPU temperature apparently needs to be measured from within the centre of the heatsink at approximately 1mm above the top surface of the processor. In order to achieve this one must drill a small hole horizontally into the centre of the heatsink, fill with heatsink compound and push a thermocouple right to the centre! Placing a sensor underneath the CPU may not give quite the same reading...

After saying all that, I'd agree with Dave that your problem could well be heat related. You've lots of hardware in there that's creating heat besides the CPU. Heat output from the video card and those hard drives could just be allowing hot air into the heatsink fan intake, thereby compounding your problem. Look at airflow inside your case... Just to help establish if you're on the right track, you could take the lid off the computer and place a table fan to direct some cool air over the mobo.

Good luck!

ROGER - GØAOZ.

 

[teknikal]

Of course, another possibility is software. It is typical of Windows 9x/ME operating systems to fall victim of memory leaks. You need to check to see how much is running in the background at startup.

- immediately after bootup, hit CTRL-ALT-DEL and check to see how many processes are running (a good number is 10-15, but preferrably less than 10)
- next, check the amount of free resources available
- if this percentage is less than 75 % after a fresh boot, then you need to limit what's starting with Windows
- go to start->run and type msconfig
- go to the startup tab
- uncheck "unnecessary" items (post back if you're not sure about a particular one)
- reboot and repeat this procedure

* note: after the above, try disabling any virus scan software that might be running, and see if you can duplicate the problem



It still could be a heat problem, but if you're system takes more than 2 hours to overheat, I'd be more suspicious of software...

 

[JoaoTL]

1 - Do you have Mcaffee installed? if so disable it and see what happen.

2 - Install the Main Board VXD AGP Drivers. Best Regards

---
JoaoTL
NOSPAM_mail@jtl.co.pt

http://www.jtl.co.pt

http://www.jtl.co.pt/Access

 

[MikeCSr]

I think I found the problem. I used the WinME Restore program and restored the system to a date when the system was working fine then I went into system config and made it so only the basic system areas were checked and rebooted. It ran like a champ and then I manually started to open the other stuff I had on during boot-up (Nortan AV, Joystick programs etc) and it turned out that Nortan was causing a major memory leak so I uninstalled it and reinstalled /updated and all seems fine. I appreciate all the replies/ideas from you all =)