PC Hangs in dos or Win

Point value changed by question poster.

Hi,

It could be a failing power supply.

I wouldn't discount overheating on a hunch. Opening the case doesn't help. I did the same and my temp actually went up for the CPU! Your motherboard may have downloadable diagnostic software that will monitor the CPU's temperature - check the manufacturer's site.

Also utilities like SiSoft's Sandra will tell you the CPU temperature...

http://www.sisoftware.demon.co.uk/sandra/

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Over time, high temperatures take their toll on CPUs and they'll start to fail periodically...
This is especially true if you turn the PC on and off a bit...

Although its very annoying, I'd re-install windows to make sure one of the fundamental drivers hasn't become corrupt.
Run diagnostics (SiSoft Sandra again) to stress the machine and see if it fails during any one test... video or memory or CPU for example.

Hope these suggestions help,
Cheers,
Tim.

This may or may not be a heating problem, as you've suspected. There are many possible reasons for those dreaded computer hangups, overheating just being one of them. Among other possible causes are:

Hardware: Defective or mismatched components in your computer.

Aluminum Migration & ESD: Premature ageing and “Electro Static Discharge” can make a computer very intermittent.

Operating System: Some versions of Windows have bugs that can cause these problems.

Drivers: Buggy or down-level drivers can cause many problems.

Software: Some programs have bugs in them that can cause these problems.

Memory Fragmentation: Do you often see the message, "System is dangerously low in resources" If so you are probably suffering Memory Fragmentation.

CMOS Settings: Improper CMOS settings can cause many problems. Changing CMOS settings can also be used to help diagnose some hardware problems.

Loading Order: The order in which the software components of your computer are loaded into memory, at startup each day, can cause a multitude of odd problems.

A Combination of the above: Defects in any of the above may only show up under specific circumstances.

Chack out this site for troubleshooting tips on this problem:

http://www.jrwhipple.com/computer_hangs.html

(REMOVE SPACES from the pasted URL.)

Also, don't overlook the (not so) obvious. Clean up the hard drive by deleting temporary files and temporary Internet files, clear the Internet history files, delete unused program files or data files, those jpg files that clutter the drive, empty the recycle bin, and do a thorough disk defrag. And do a scan disk as well (do this first) to clean up and delete those lost clusters.

Good luck,

Maxwell

What kind of motherboard do you have? I find that the Windows drivers that are installed for a motherboard might not give you the max performance you need. See if you installed the motherboard chipset drivers... It usually comes on a CD with the motherboard. If you just recently reformatted, you may of forgot to install the motherboard chipset drivers.

Also, try flashing your BIOS to the latest rev.

AND, turn on your PNP settings in your BIOS.

I am just brainstorming... let me knowif any of the above helps

The other answers were quite good, so this one will sound lame compared, but sometimes it's a matter of simplicity? Heh...well, it sounds good anyway! Try going to start then to run and typing in sfc in the run box, have your windows 98 cd rom ready in case the computer finds damaged files. (And I think it just may). Think back to when it started having this problem, did you install anything new, any new prog or any new piece of equip, did you open any strange email? Is your computer acting strange besides just that? The most important thing is did you scan for viruses and scandisk and defrag? Just some of my scattered thoughts...hope it helps!

Disable the secondary (L2) cache and video BIOS shadowing in the BIOS settings. Then re-boot

If it behaves your CPU is shot

Good luck

Derek

its not windows.

check your bios, look for halt on: any error

possible culprits are a pci bus cycle failure, if this happens the cpu cannot trust data and might halt. that might mean a driver conflict.

but its not windows, or you would have an error log. did you check any error logging? well dont, cause if it locks up in dos, then its hardware. you should enable power management, so that any unusual power level triggers an interrupt so you can check it later in a log somewhere.

the most likely thing is memory or the timing settings. some people push the cpu settings, try slowing things down.

it could be a motherboard problem, a metal screw on some contact. you might want to remove the hard disk from the motherboard until the system is stable so nothing is erased by accident, make a dos floppy, start from m/b, work out.

The power supply or MB could be the culprit, but I would try a new CPU first.

One quick test would be to feel the base of the heatsink after a few minutes of operation. It should be warm but not hot to the touch.

If the base of the heatsink is too hot to touch, then either the CPU, or the core voltage regulator on the MB is bad.

You need a voltmeter, and schematics of the MB to check the core voltage.

If the core voltage was set to high to begin with, it would shorten the life of the CPU.

Best Wishes

I've had exactly the same problem before and I'm always changing bits and pieces. There's quite a few answers to read through and I can't remember if you've tried the power supply, but if you check your HDD light and see if it stays on when you computer locks up then it'll be some connection to an IDE device. For me it was a slightly dodgy power connection in my CDROM. but it may also be an internally faulty IDE cable or something as well. So try all of them.

And an underpowered PSU may also be the culprit.

Hope this helps

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