[BrianDP1977]

Hello All,

I am very frustrated with my computer and cannot determine what is wrong with it. Here is the issue I am having:

The problem first started as an issue where the computer would load up Windows but then would freeze up shortly after getting into Windows.

After a few hard boots (pressing the power switch until it shut down) the point at which the computer froze would happen sooner and sooner (a few tries only made it to the Windows splash screen and then it would not even get to the splash screen before freezing up).
Now, the computer won’t even start up at all. Instead, when I hit the start button it makes a long beep noise and no signal even gets sent to the monitor.

When I tried swapping video cards with a new card here is what happens:

The computer once again sends a signal to the monitor. However, as with the old video card, it only gets a little past the splash screen but then freezes up as soon as the main Windows starts to load.

When I load in Safe Mode, it fully loads into Windows but after about 20 sec it freezes up again.

When I load in Safe Mode with Command Prompt, everything loads and works fine. However, if I try to copy files from my main drive to a storage drive I have on the system, it once again freezes up.

Also, if I try a system restore, it shuts down and starts to restart just fine. However, when it loads (in safe mode as this is the only mode I can actually get the computer to load in without freezing right away) it says that the system was unable to accomplish the system restore.

Again, this is all with the new video card installed. If I place the old video card back in the system it just gives the long beep and does not send a signal to the monitor (even though it previously worked fine with the old card other then that the computer would freeze during Windows restart).

I also tried swapping out the RAM with some new RAM. This did nothing.

Also, I do not believe that the hard drives are the problem. Here is why:

First, with the new card installed, I removed the storage drive from the computer and booted the system with only the OS drive. This resulted in the same behavior as before (freezing at start up).

Next, I removed the OS system from the cable and attached the storage drive as the main drive. This resulted in a boot up and the standard error saying that there was no OS system on the drive (as expected).

Next, I installed the old video card. Both hard drives (no matter which one I had set as the master) resulted in the long beep and no signal to the monitor. As such, I do not believe it is the hard drive. If it had been an issue with one of the hard drives, the non-broken one should have started a boot without the long beep and a signal to the monitor (as the new video card did). I expected that the broken drive would have been the OS drive and the storage drive would have at least started the boot process with both the new and old video cards. However, it did not.

I also no longer think the issue is with the video card since both video cards resulted in the computer freezing.

I have also cleared the CMOS and that did not fix the problem either.

I am down to thinking the problem lies with the motherboard, the CPU, a random cable (possibly the cable with the drives since the comp seems to freeze anytime I try copying files between drives in the Safe Mode with Command Prompt), or maybe it is a power issue.

I built the computer about 3 years ago and have had no issues with it until now. That will teach me to leave it home with my wife while I am gone.

If anyone else has any ideas I am very open to suggestions. At this point I am very confused as to what is going on. I was hoping to not have to completely tear down the system but it is gradually getting to that point unless someone is familiar with this problem.

Thank you,

Brian

[Dave Hybrid]

Sounds like you have covered most things, have you cleaned the CPU fan, even a small amount of dust can cause overheating and freezing/crashing.

Hard drives don't normally cause this, only other thing to try is a new PSU.

[BrianDP1977]

The only reason that I don't think it is a heating issue is because of how strange the video cards are acting. One won't even send a signal to the monitor while the other video card gets all the way to the start of the Windows boot process and then freezes.

If both video cards at least acted the same then I could narrow it down to something like the CPU or a heating issue.

The strange thing about it being the power supply is that the new video card is a newer, more powerful card (an 8800 GT) vs the old one which is only a 6800 GS. I would think that if it were a power issue it would have a harder time powering up the 8800 vs the 6800. However, it powers up the 8800 just fine. However, when powering the 6800 no signal gets sent to the monitor.

[Dave Hybrid]

99% of all crashing and freezing issues are down to heat, trust me I see it all day every day.

For the time it takes to properly clean a CPU heatsink and fan I'd definitely do it.

[BrianDP1977]

I will defintiely give it a shot. I am game for anything at this point since I will most likely have to rebuild the system anyway unless I can nail the issue down to one thing for certain.

Thank you very much for the help.

[philthomas]

What is the make/model of your PSU .... do you know the total ampage on the 12v rail(s) ?

I believe the 8800GT requires 24 amps on the +12v rail(s)

[BrianDP1977]

The power unit I am using is 12 V:

<Link hidden. Register for free to see this link!>

The 8800GT I was using to trouble shoot should work fine with 12 V according to the specs:.

<Link hidden. Register for free to see this link!>

The thing is that the system booted just fine with the more powerful 8800GT however would freeze once it booted or started booting Windows. This is the same thing that was happening with the less powerful 6800 GS before I started troubleshooting with the 8800GT. That is the reason I figure it is not an issue with the video card.

The thing that makes no sense to me is 1) why was the system freezing when starting to boot up WIndows (both cards had this issue) and 2) why would the 6800 GS all of a sudden completely stop booting the system at all (i.e. for a while both video cards acted the same and would start the boot process ... however, after a day of sitting the 6800 stopped booting up the system completely ... that is why I eventually had to buy the 8800 GT to troubleshoot)?

As it stands, the 6800 won't boot up a single thing. It gives a long beep when the LED on the mobo reads 25 and 26 and hangs up completely on a 7F code.

However, the 8800 will boot up accordingly:

In normal mode it usually gets to the Windows splash screen and freezes.

In Safe mode it will boot up Windows fully but will freeze after about 20-30 secs.

In Safe mode with Command Prompt it boots up fully and runs fine up to the point of trying to copy files from my OS drive to my storage drive. After about 10 sec of transfer it freezes up.

The mobo I am using is a EVGA NF51:

<Link hidden. Register for free to see this link!>

The 6800 GS I am using is a EVGA 6800 GS:

<Link hidden. Register for free to see this link!>

The CPU I am using is an Intel Dual Core:

<Link hidden. Register for free to see this link!>

Again, everything worked just fine for 3 years until I left for about 9 days on a work trip. During that time my wife says it froze on her one night, she did a hard reboot, and the result is what I have described.

She assures me she installed nothing new on the computer.

Thanks for all the help.

Brian

[philthomas]

According to the spec of your PSU, it should be able to handle the 8800GT and normally Antec PSUs are good, but this particular model has a high failure rate ..... this is born out by many of the reviews at newegg.com .

You have to start somewhere, with the process of elimination and the PSU will certainly be cheaper to replace than your mobo/cpu.
If you have a decent computer shop nearby, they mabe able to test the PSU or may exchange it, if it turns out to be the mobo.

One other thought, you say you changed the RAM .... did you test the old Ram and did you ensure the new Ram was compatible with your mobo ?

[BrianDP1977]

I will look into swapping out the PSU to see if that is the issue. Just curious, however, why would the power unit be able to power up the 8800 video card before crashing but not the 6800. I would think if it were a power issue it would not power either one up.

As for the ram, troubleshooting with it resulted in the same with the old and the new stick (i.e. both sticks of ram - no matter which was installed - would not boot up with the 6800 but would boot up and freeze with the 8800 video card). I also tried putting both in at the same time and this had the same results as well.

Thank you again for the help.

[philthomas]

Difficult to say why, but if the PSU has gone bad, it might be giving off erratic voltage or spikes ... it may even have fried your 6800.
If the unit is not delivering sufficient power, the 8800 will fight the cpu for any power that is available and will most likely produce obscure/unpredictable results.

Nobody on here can guarantte you that the PSU will solve the problem, but if it were my box, I would certainly try that first.

[kanoakavirus]

This happened to me about a month ago but not so bad, i re applied my thermal paste and gave my CPU/hsf a good clean and its worked perfectly since if not better and cooler.

[Desertfish]

One long beep at startup refers to either a problem with the PSU or the CPU. I can't quite remember which but I suspect it's the CPU. Besides, the symptopms you're describing are quite similar to the ones I recently had with a laptopn. The system would hang either at any stage during the bootup process or shortly after. In this case it was an overheating CPU. This problem got fixed by gently scraping of the termal paste, clean the CPU and heatsink, re-apply termal paste, clean the CPU fan and Bob's ur uncle...

Try cleaning the termal paste first, then try a new PSU. If that doesn't work, them splash out on a new CPU. Your problem is ost likely one of those three.

Cheers:
Chris