[pichu]

Hello

I am having some very bad computer problems and would be eternally grateful if anyone here could help me.

My PC is constantly shutting itself down (complete power down) or freezing (I have to restart it, its completely frozen and nothing works. The temperatures of the CPU ranges between 50-61 Celsius when it freezes, which I don't think is too hot. Alot of the freezes happen when I am watching a video or playing a game, although not just then, it can freeze while doing anything. I have tried to download the latest drivers for my video card, this hasn't worked, but made it worse. And I have tried downloading my latest chipset drivers from MSI, this causes the computer not to get past the XP loading bar. I am very irritated by this problem, and if I could only know what the problem is so I can fix it, it would be great.

I have made an everest report, it is here.

I think it is also worth mentioning that while running this report, my computers fan speed was reduced to 150 rpm, im not sure how normal this is.

--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Computer Type ACPI Multiprocessor PC
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack [ TRIAL VERSION ]
Internet Explorer 7.0.5730.13 (IE 7.0)
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name COMPY
User Name jonesy
Logon Domain [ TRIAL VERSION ]
Date / Time 2008-09-01 / 14:17

Motherboard:
CPU Type DualCore Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 840, 3200 MHz (16 x 200)
Motherboard Name MSI P4N Diamond (MS-7160) (2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 2 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, Dual Gigabit LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset nVIDIA nForce4 SLI Intel Edition
System Memory [ TRIAL VERSION ]
BIOS Type AMI (04/06/06)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT (256 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT PCI-E
Monitor Samsung SyncMaster 150s/151s/155s/MagicSyncMaster CX151S [15" LCD] (HJGW301686)

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter Creative SB Live! 24-bit (CA0106) Integrated Audio Processor on MSI motherboard

Storage:
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
IDE Controller Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
Storage Controller ACDZGMZC IDE Controller
Storage Controller MagicISO SCSI Host Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive Maxtor 6V250F0 (250 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Optical Drive HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4167B (DVD+R9:8x, DVD-R9:4x, DVD+RW:16x/8x, DVD-RW:16x/6x, DVD-RAM:5x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
Optical Drive OM1356E KSE755C SCSI CdRom Device
Optical Drive SONY DVD-ROM DDU1615 (16x/48x DVD-ROM)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) [ TRIAL VERSION ]
D: (NTFS) 16002 MB (549 MB free)
E: (NTFS) 72190 MB (3189 MB free)
Total Size [ TRIAL VERSION ]

Input:
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Keyboard Logitech HID-Compliant Keyboard
Mouse HID-compliant mouse
Mouse Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse

Network:
Primary IP Address [ TRIAL VERSION ]
Primary MAC Address 00-13-D3-13-59-74
Network Adapter Marvell Yukon 88E8053 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Network Adapter NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller - Packet Scheduler Miniport (192. [ TRIAL VERSION ])

Peripherals:
Printer Adobe PDF
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
Printer Send To OneNote 2007
FireWire Controller VIA VT6306 Fire II IEEE1394 Host Controller (PHY: VIA VT6307)
USB1 Controller nVIDIA MCP04 - OHCI USB Controller
USB1 Controller nVIDIA MCP04 - OHCI USB Controller
USB2 Controller nVIDIA MCP04 - EHCI USB 2.0 Controller
USB Device Habu Mouse
USB Device USB Audio Device
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device

DMI:
DMI BIOS Vendor American Megatrends Inc.
DMI BIOS Version 080012
DMI System Manufacturer MSI
DMI System Product MS-7160
DMI System Version 100
DMI System Serial Number [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI System UUID [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI Motherboard Manufacturer MSI
DMI Motherboard Product MS-7160
DMI Motherboard Version 100
DMI Motherboard Serial Number [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI Chassis Manufacturer To Be Filled By O.E.M.
DMI Chassis Version To Be Filled By O.E.M.
DMI Chassis Serial Number [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI Chassis Asset Tag [ TRIAL VERSION ]
DMI Chassis Type Desktop Case
DMI Total / Free Memory Sockets 4 / 2

[Fordy]

I think its almost certainly a GPU problem. I know you said you tried latest drivers but is it possible that the card just all together cannot cope with whats being asked of it?

You could try quite simply reducing the screen resolution.

Or depending on your make of card opening the control panel (I know this works with nVidia) and open the 3D settings tab, move it more in favour of performance and, therefore away from quality, if its already right up on high performance, stick it right in the middle.

[philthomas]

What Ram have you installed ?

[Hybr!d]

I'd start by cleaning your CPU fan from dust regardless of any reported CPU temps.

[Carbon]

Seconding the cleaning but also would highly suspect the PSU.

I think its almost certainly a GPU problem. I know you said you tried latest drivers but is it possible that the card just all together cannot cope with whats being asked of it?

No, this isn't possible.

[pichu]

My ram is 2x Corsiar twin XMS2 CL4 512mb.

Could it be a PSU problem, this would be surprising because my psu stopped working once and I brought just about the most expensive one I could find, a Tagan TG580-U22, 580 Watts.

Im running at only 1024x768 resolution.

Also, if it helps, when it crashes (either freezes or switches off) and I switch it back on and it loads a desktop, it will freeze or shut down while loading the desktop, this will happen a few times.

[Hybr!d]

Clean the CPU fan spotlessly, take it apart if you need to.

[philthomas]

Try removing one stick of Ram and see how it behaves. If no better swap them around, still running on one.

[pichu]

Ok, I have done everyone now and the problem still exists, I even brought new fans to help air flow. Any idea what I can do now? Could it be a HDD problem at all?

[pichu]

Ok, so now my PC shut down like it always does, I rebooted it but the bios had reset. I dident bother to change it back, so my processor is running at 2800 mhz, rather than the usual 3200, and under device manager and task manager only one core is running, rather than 4 cores. But, the freezing and shutting down has completely stopped. However I dont want to use this PC with only 1 core running, with it running at 400mhz less than its intended to be run at. Anyone think this can narrow down the problem? Is it still heat?