-=PCTechTalk=- Re: Computer Problems following upgrade
- From: GuitarMan <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 21:45:19 -0400
Sandi,
My first thoughts are that your system is overheating more now than it
was before the new PS. When certain components get too hot, they start
emitting odd problems and you're getting odd problems all over the place.
So, have any of these issues cropped up between the time you turn on your
cooled down system and about 15 minutes later? Chances are they happen
after it's been running a while, instead. Again, this would strongly
indicate a possible heat issue. I'll also mention that upgraded devices
usually emit more heat than the less capable parts they replace. This means
you now have a better (hotter) video card and a stronger (hotter) power
supply as well as a faster (hotter) CPU running the whole show. To be fair,
parts also run hotter than normal when they're stressed (their capabilities
are maxed out) and that includes the power supply if it's being asked to
power more parts than it was designed to can handle. I'm including that
last statement so that you don't get the wrong impression that I'm
questioning the upgrades he suggested.
The first suspect would have to be the transfer of heat between the
newly installed CPU and its heatsink/fan combo. If there is not enough or
too much thermal grease between them, the CPU will not be able to shed
enough of the heat it produces and you'll get all sorts of issues occuring
(well, until the chip burns out completely). I would also look at the
efficiency of the air movement within the case. If you have two fans
sucking hot air out of the back of the case, but there are no intake fans to
replace that hot air, you'll end up with a vacuum that causes less heat
being able to escape as well as more 'dead spots' where no air is able to
move at all. The opposite idea causes similar problems. If there's more
air being forced into the case than there are fans to exhaust it, you end up
with a high pressure cooker that again causes much less air movement than
what is optimal. The ideal is a balanced intake/exhaust fan setup that
allows for more of a 'wind tunnel' effect that continually replenishes the
exhausted hot air with cooler fresh air moving from the front to the back of
the case.
If both of those check out fine (doubtful to me), then this is more than
likely the result of a driver incompatability issue. Since the video card
utilizes the most complicated of all drivers in a system, I would start by
uninstalling it (uninstall its drivers and then physically remove the card)
and see how the system acts with your old graphics in place. If all issues
disappear, the card or something within its drivers is causing the problems.
As for the lack of any perceptable perfomance boost, some components
need a little tweaking before they get to really "strut their stuff". To
help determine if that's the situation here, please send in the mainboard
make/model or, if unknown, the entire system's make/model for reference.
Peace,
Gman
"The only dumb questions are the ones that are never asked"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sandi Beach" <sandib2@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "pctechtalk" <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 6:38 PM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Computer Problems following upgrade
> This is what is happening. Dave came about 2 months ago and added 1 gig
> of
> Ram and installed a new CD/DVD burner. He brought a new processor but it
> did not work so he said he would be back. With the new burner I was able
> to
> finally install that confounded card program that I had ordered and
> received
> before Christmas. So all was well. Dave suggested that a new video card
> would probably be a good idea so I told him to bring that along, too, when
> he came back with the new processor. So He did that. When he opened the
> case that day he said it felt pretty warm in there and in checking, I
> needed
> a new power supply. He left the case open and came back with the power
> supply the next morning. So he actually made 3 trips to my house but only
> charged me for two.
> I now have (from BeLarc Advisor) 2.67 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4. System
> Model is Intel Corporation. Running Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2.
> I
> have Lite-on DVDRW LH-20A1P (CD-ROM Drive). I have 80 GB internal hard
> drive and a Maxtor 160 GB external hard drive. Memory is 1024 MB in slot
> 1
> and 256 MB in slot 2. New Monitor is an Acer 20 inch flat screen. Video
> Card is ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 (display adapter).
> Since the new processor, new power supply, and new video card was
> installed
> I have experienced several "lockups". The first thing I noticed though
> was
> that my machine was asking me to reactivate windows. I did that and put
> in
> all the information they also required. I am pretty sure Dave had to
> revalidate XP when he was here but this was different. Then when I
> started
> to play scrabble the pointer just stopped and would not budge. I tried
> CAD
> and ESC but to no avail. I hit the reset button and was back in business.
> A day or so later I came back to my computer and had a black screen. It
> was
> locked up again so reset brought it back. I defragged and I ran check
> disk
> letting it repair anything it found. I have run virus check and none
> there.
> I have run spyware checks and only get rid of a few cookies each time.
> Over
> this past week end I managed to play clear through a couple of games of
> scrabble. Today when I tried it locked up immediately. I went to play
> Spider solitaire and it locked up immediately and then asked me to
> reactivate windows after the reset. This is at least the 4th time it has
> ask me to reactivate windows.
> I have kept Dave apprised of what is happening but I have not heard back
> from him. I think he probably has no clue as to what needs fixing (but
> maybe he is just very busy--I need to be kind and give him the benefit of
> the doubt).
> Now--please help me figure this out. I can live without games but I
> really
> don't want to and should not have to. This was supposed to make things
> better, not worse. I don't detect any better performance either except
> that
> I now have a CD/DVD burner that works.
> Sandi
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