Questionable CPU or MB Issues.

[Smokey J]

First off, I'm not trying to write a story here but I'm trying to give as much info in the first post as needed to arrive at the best possible guess.

Ok, I'm new here and obviously have issues (don't we all!) I am in need for some much desired input on my current puter problem. My puter has been inactive (unplugged) for the last 2 years as I couldn't handle dial-up issues any more (I purchased a laptop to curb my internet fix.) I recently purchased wireless broadband through sprint and because of said purchase decided to dust off the desktop. Here is my problem---

My desktop will freeze once the cpu temp nears 115deg F. I'm pretty sure this should not be an problem at this temp but I am also experiencing other problems like decreased speed when ripping CDs onto my HD, my MB stating there is no 80 pin IDE cable attached to my Primary HD (if it's not then how does it know!?!) during POST sometimes, and problems with some of my USB ports operating as 2.0 one min then 1.0 the next.

I built this system myself about 5 years ago and have had few problems until recently. I did pull the heatsink, cleaned the surface and applied new HS compund. I replaced the IDE cable on my primary HD, and I reflashed my BIOS and updated my OS (downloaded all required updates for Win XP and all drivers.) I even pulled my RAM and cleaned the contacts to ensure good connection!

I'm scratchin' my noggin' here. I really don't want to replace both processor and MB together as I'm pretty sure only one is at fault, but at times it appears the processor is taking a crap and at others I think my MB is on the fritz!!! HELP!!! I know there are so many more of you that know about this stuff as it's prolly your (un)official profession and I seek your knowledge! I'm no puter idiot but I'm hopin' that maybe one of you might know of a top secret govt funded limited beta release puter diag and fix all program, the the rest of us lackies are unfamilier with. Stick a fork in me, I'm done for the night but I'll check back in tomorrow and see what ya'll came up with. Thanks in advance for the input.

BTW, If I can get this worked out my next question will be on where I can learn how to overclock my puter!

[debs3759]

I can't help with this problem, but am posting your spec into the body of this reply, so if you ever change your sig and someone else that could benefit from replies looks at this thread, they will still see all the details

Soyo KT333 Ultra Plat.
Athlon 2400+ W/ Volcano 9 Cooling
512M PC 2100
400W Power
PNY Vid card
2 WD 40G HD
Plextor Burner
plexy case with more cooling fans then you can shake a stick at!
Win XP SP2 OS

[JAC]

I had a similar problem a while back when I changed my cpu cooler. The PWM mosfets ( usually three legged devices dotted around the cpu, also capacitors and small coils are nearby ), anyway, the mosfets started to overheat as they were not getting the airflow across them. Once I sorted that out my problem went away.

I assume all your bios settings are correct for the cpu.

One thing to try is to temporarily fit another hard drive, and install a clean xp/whatever onto it. If you are still having problems then you know its not likely a software problem.

Other hardware things to look at.... poor fitting of power connectors, faulty power supplies ( poor voltage regulation)...


have fun.

[Cobracon]

Try replacing your CMOS battery. It's probably one of the most overlooked components. Extended periods of computer 'unplugged' time can and will drain it. The obvious sign of a weak battery is incorrect time keeping, but the clock can be correct and the battery still be weak. Another symptom can be amnesia, wherein the computer forgets a HDD, mouse, printer, etc., is connected. Sometimes you'll get random error or hardware malfunction notices when none exist. For a couple of dollars you can rule out that problem and move on to bigger and better ones.

BTW, replacing the battery will more than likely clear your CMOS settings as in back to default mode, so it might be a good idea to enter BIOS before the battery swap, and write down all the current settings so you can return to the current state of affairs. Besides, if you're planning on overclocking (assuming your BIOS/motherboard is O/C friendly), you will be visiting your BIOS regularly anyhow.

[Smokey J]

JAC said :

[JAC]

Ok, sounds like a hardware issue then.

Go back to basics.. remove *everything* and put back one at a time. Obviously starting with the minimum. Where possible try alternate parts.

[Qwerty]

I have a similar motherboard - SOYO KT333 Ultra Black - I'm using it for about 5 years and I've never encountered such kind of problems.

I had some troubles with the capacitors on my board. Because the CPU was very hot the capacitors near the CPU became a bit "bloated".
Fortunately I encountered this problem in time and replaced the cooler. I had a great luck - they were only slightly damaged that's why the board is working fine since then.

What's about your board? Are the capacitors OK? If they are too heavy damaged the board may show such kind of symptoms. Some badly damaged capacitors may even explode if not replaced !


Have you ever tried to reset the BIOS to the default settings? There is an option called "Load Fail-Safe Defaults". Try it and don't change anything else except the HD settings (you need to configure them to boot the OS).
Try to install a clean XP on your system.

Are you using a correct IDE cable? You need a 80-wire one.
Is it connected correctly? Each IDE cable has three plugs. The blue one must be plugged into the motherboard, the black one into your primary HD, and the grey one into your secondary IDE device.
It's very important to connect the 80-wire cable in that way. Each of these three connectors has a bit different pinout ! The connectors of an old 40-wire IDE cable are equal.

You should try to disable some of the built-in devices - especially the sound card and the RAID controller. They can cause trouble. I had problems using the built-in sound card under Win98 (sudden desktop freezes).
Another advice - don't use both USB controllers simultaneously. The board has two separate USB controllers. An 1.1 and an 2.0 one. The 1.1 controller can be disabled in BIOS, to disable the 2.0 one you should set jumpers on the motherboard.


I hope you will find the problem soon. Good luck!

[Smokey J]

I FIXED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


First I stripped off anything that drew excess power. (Thank you to Jac for stating the obvious to me! I should have thunk it myself!) I noticed that I started to have better HD operation. So then I started to be suspect of my power supply. I began to look at new power supplies but then for the cost I thought I might as well look at new cases with power supplies already installed. Nothing really hooked my sight until I was in Ann Arbor yesterday and drove by the Radio Shack, who just happen to be having a clearance sale. Low and behold, out on the table in front of the store sat a new Thermaltake 600W power supply for $39.97!!! I immediately purchased the product and later installed it into my case.

To this minute I have ran my puter fully loaded for the last 2 hours straight without any issue what-so-ever. I am ECSTATIC!

Also, one more thing. I thought I might have had an issue with memory leakage or something related to a bad stick of RAM, so I purchased a couple of sticks of PC2100 512M, stripped all the memory off the MB and installed the new buy. This made the puter run a little better (going from 512Mb to 1Gb) but still allowed the puter to lock up in the same ol’ fashion as before. Also after carefully watching the Task Manager performance screen and the SOYO hardware monitor for many, many times as my puter froze it became obvious that there was no common link in any of the reflected values to help in the determination of the weak power supply. It only allowed me to be led astray to think I had an over heating issue initially. Thank you all for your assistance in my problem. I appreciate it immensely.

Here is the before and after of the stats –

BEFORE –

1 ) SOYO KT333 Ultra Plat. MB Socket A
2 ) AMD Athlon 2400+ W/ Thermaltake
Volcano 9 Cooling Fan/Heatsink combo
3 ) 512Mb PC 2100
4 ) Raidmax 350W Power Supply
5 ) PNY Vid card
6 ) 2 WD 40G HD
7 ) Plextor CD Burner
8 ) Raidmax plexy case with more cooling
fans then you can shake a stick at!
9 ) Win XP SP2 OS


AFTER –

1 ) SOYO KT333 Ultra Plat. MB Socket A
2 ) AMD Athlon 2400+ W/ 2 ARX 50mm fans
mounted on Thermaltake Volcano 9 heatsink
3 ) 1.3Gb PC 2100
4 ) Thermaltake 600W Power Supply
5 ) PNY Vid card
6 ) 2 WD 40G HD
7 ) Plextor CD Burner
8 ) Raidmax plexy case with more cooling
fans then you can shake a stick at!
9 ) Win XP SP2 OS

[Cobracon]