That's a possibility, thanks. I'll run some diagnostics on it sometime.


The system isn't a very powerful one at all, so I would imagine 500W to 600W to be on the safe side. Does that sound about right?

Thanks,

Peter.

Having a look on my blog at what I bought for my server, I got an Antec 380W. Click on the blog link to see what my server specs are, if your computer is of similar spec, that may be enough (I've upgraded to four of those hard drives since that post). I paid about £28 from ebuyer for that one.

I left the PC on all night running SeaTools, which should test my hard drive thoroughly for any errors. On the most advanced testing level, no problems have been found.

Apart from replacing the PSU, which I will be doing shortly, does anybody have a clue why it freezes randomly?

Thanks,

Peter.

The last time I saw a PC freeze up randomly, the thermal paste on the CPU was no longer up to the job. Problem is, as soon as you check it you immediately have to apply more, but then that's generally a good idea anyway. Might be that

Now I don't know what to do! When I built the computer, I'm sure I never put any thermal paste on the heatsink at all, to be honest. Would my system have lasted over 12 months without the paste?

If it helps, I have been trying to start my PC up all afternoon, but about a minute into using it each time, it dies on me.

Thanks,

Peter.

Did you move your computer just before the problems occurred? If you didn't put thermal paste on then I think you may have been OK, but a sudden shift could have moved the heat sink away from the CPU a little further than it should have been...

If it was a brand new boxed CPU you installed yourself, there should have been a blob of thermal paste already on it where the fan's plate (if you will) makes contact with the chip - as I say, it wouldn't do any harm to take the fan off, clean off any paste that's already there on the bottom, and reapply some new paste.

You can get cleaning/paste kits like that off eBay for one place, but I'd suggest a fresh round of Googling to try and solve the problem beforehand

The PC has always stayed in the same position, but I do sometimes walk into it, which makes me think I may have knocked it as you describe.


I skimped a bit on that and bought an OEM-boxed version. I assume that would not have thermal paste applied?


Considering my relatively low specification, would any thermal paste do the trick? If so, I can get a tube on eBay for pennies and slap a thin layer of that on.

Thanks,

Peter.

I just had a bit of a brainwave and decided to try the system in Safe Mode. I played on it for at least ten minutes and the system never froze once, whereas it would after five minutes on Vista.

Does this mean I need to re-install Vista for the third time?

Peter.

^ Any CPU should come with the paste included on the plate I'd have thought. Put it this way, I hope you remembered to remove the paste's protective sticker before placing it on the CPU

I would maybe spend a little bit more on the paste just to be certain you won't have to do it all over again in about a years time, but remember you'll also need a cleaning solution for any old paste that may already be on there.

Again, Google before doing anything as the paste may not be the problem, and there's bound to be a guide for what I'm talking about somewhere if you're unsure.

Just thought of something, was the machine ever overclocked?

EDIT - Just read your new post. I'd Google the problem, specifically mentioning Vista - it could be something as simple as a driver or hardware conflict (though I'm only guessing)

I wouldn't be so sure, seriously. I don't remember removing any stickers from the CPU, but I would imagine the CPU would be in flames now if I never?


I did experiment in overclocking the PC in the first week after it was built, however quickly re-set my BIOS and got it running at its normal speed again. I didn't notice any improvement after the overclock, so it seemed somewhat pointless risking my equipment to squeeze 500MHz out of the computer.


I'll have a look thanks

Peter.

quote="pg2114"





There's a covering sticker on the paste attached to the plate that connects to the CPU usually.





Ah, then it's not likely to be that.





Good luck

I have just finished installing Windows XP on the machine and am pleased to say that there have been no freezes so far! I am extremely pleased with the speed of it compared to Windows Vista, plus this 32-bit version is compatible with my scanner and old printer.

Thanks for all of your advice and I will definitely replace my PSU and thermal paste within the next week

Peter.

One more issue I have, unfortunately.

Before I re-formatted my computer and installed Windows XP, I had a fancy extended desktop between my computer monitor and my television.

I have got it all set back up, however the picture quality on the teleivision is awful. I have got the most up-to-date drivers for my graphics card and tried auto-adjusting the display on the television, all to no avail. It is definitely set to the correct resolution and worked perfectly with Windows Vista.

Any ideas, please?

Peter.

I take it it's not an HDTV?

If not, plugging it in via S-Video or *the yellow one* (forgot its name ) is rubbish. I get crap graphics on mine.

What graphics card is it? If its an nVidia card, you can use ForceWare to tell the graphics card it's connected to a telly.

(also, get on MSN you n00b! )