another dying puter

[jaded]

i've had to re register with a new username as i can't remember my old one, so hello again.

msi neo-2 motherboard,3200+amd, 1Gb, 3 hard drives, motu 828 mkii

After i got my 3rd card i'd get lock ups, freezes, bsod. I upgraded my 400w power to 560w (very quiet) still happened. temp - max 45 ,max temp - 48 so i didn't think it was that. My motu was in a gator case thought it might be getting to hot (it's bloody hot in my room in london) removed it - still happened.
Yesterday after many freezes the computer won't boot, it gets to the platinium screen of the board then stops or says dhlr (i think ) file not found. Tried detaching all hard drives except c, still not good./
when i tried a repair windows intall it found a windows on drive E but not C where it should be, so i stopped

I thought it might be the hard drive so im going to buy i new hard drive put just that in instal windows then transfer all the data off the other drive.
I'm a\\ bit worried as there the last couple of months work on that drive as well.
Am i going the right direction? or is it going to be the motherboard (hard drives are always useful and i could do with more space so it's not a bad buy )
thanks for any help joe :|

 

[LFranco]

Sorry to hear. I'm not a very knowledgeable computer guy, but based on what I've read online (specially from boards like Pro Rec and the DUC over at Digidesign) I've picked up some tips and stick only to brands that I hear work great for folks.

MOBOs = ASUS
Power Supplies = Zalman
HDs = Seagate (Barracudas are very quiet)

I've had my AMD Athlon-based DAW for 2 1/2 years now and can work for hours without it getting crazy.

Also, I use Norton Systemworks (never running in the background, just make conscious \"sweeps\" with the software about 2 times a month). It keeps my system running very stable when I use it and of course, defrag the drives often.

Hey, I don't mind the maintenance, I remember what it's like to clean recoding heads and capstans and later demagnetizing my decks! I'm sure some of you guys remember (or still do) that. Make sure there aren't any tapes around...make sure you turn on the demagnetizer a few feet away from the equipment and then walk slowwwwwly towards the deck, lol.

 

[h4nc0]

Are you overclocking?

My system is pretty stable @ stock speed. Running 24/7. Neo2 Platinum, X2 4400+, 3x UAD-1, Fireface 800, etc. Never really crashes, so I don't reset for 2-3 weeks.

 

[jaded]

no i'm not overclocking.
I bought a new hard drive took everything out the computer reinstalled clean on that one, all other drives ok, uad installed ok installing samplitude and cubase in a bit.

i was booting from a sata drive, if that's anything? and i'd recently updated to kontakt 2 - but it seemed like a hardware problem

it was working well until the 3rd card, but i'm hoping this will smooth things out, i'll post tomorrow. cheers joe

 

[Agent Cooper]

Hi jaded,
a bit more and precise info would go a long way.
Did your error message say \"ntldr not found\" ?
What PSU ? What VGA ? What RAM ?
1st thing I'd do is use only 1 empty HD, preferably IDE, only the essential components (no UAD, MOTU or other unnecessary stuff), default BIOS settings, install XP with SP2 and all necessary drivers and hotfixes and test your system thoroughly with Prime 2004 ( http://sp2004.fre3.com/ ).
Stable means 4, better 8 hrs at least.
If your system fails at this test it's a hardware problem and relatively easy to track down by exchanging the few basic components one by one, always doing Prime tests (yes, for several hrs !)
If you have it stable, add your other components one by one, always doing Prime tests afterwards. Absolutely don't rush this process, you want definite results, no guesswork.
MOST IMPORTANT : Take notes of everything you do, all relevant settings and error messages ON PAPER ! Just like a scientist would. Precise and complete.
This will help you big time later on with tracking down a possible problem.
Hope that gives you some direction.
There are faster ways of testing, but if you want a really dependable system, do it right from the start.
Cheers, Cooper

 

[Cat5]

Also, download memtest86 and make sure your ram can pass 24 hours error free. If you get one error, that's a problem. I have had ram die plenty of times, probably due to EMP. I live in the lightning capital of the world, and even components on UPS's can still get popped by the nearby EMP of a close strike. I have found new ram to error too, at default MB timings.

You may just need to bump up ram voltage or relax the timings a bit. If the Windows installation fails (saying it can't find a file, or that a file is corrupt) then it is almost certainly ram failure.

The advice above about setting everything up and then running prime for 12-24 hours is good too. It's not just for overclockers! You can never be sure your problems aren't hardware related until you memtest and prime. Even with new components. For HT, and dual core processors remember you'll have to run two instances of prime to get reliable data.

 

[Agent Cooper]

Cat5,
at http://sp2004.fre3.com/ there's also a beta of Prime 2004 optimized for multiple cores / hyperthreading called SP2004 Orthos Edition ( http://sp2004.fre3.com/beta/beta2.htm ).
Both are newer and much improved versions of Prime95, which is not being developed any longer afaik.
Cheers, Cooper

 

[Cat5]

Cat5,
at http://sp2004.fre3.com/ there's also a beta of Prime 2004 optimized for multiple cores / hyperthreading called SP2004 Orthos Edition ( http://sp2004.fre3.com/beta/beta2.htm ).
Both are newer and much improved versions of Prime95, which is not being developed any longer afaik.
Cheers, Cooper

Awesome! Thanks for the info. I'll start using this from now on. Looks like it uses the original source code so it should work the same, except cause less hassle in installing and running two primes.

 

[jaded]

thanks for all the info.
i'll run that stress test later.
A clean reinstal has got everything working lovely, (a few musicxp.com tweaks). I added everything 1 by 1 and even at 70% + on the uad everythings seems fine at the moment.
thanks joe :lol: