Hardware Problem HELP!!

INFO:
p4 2ghz
512 ddr ram
intel mobo (dont know what model)
integrated intel POS graphics card 82815
XP at first now slackware

my mom bought me a Dell POS Dimension 2350 (i know thats part of the problem). ive had it for about a year and a half. a month ago i started noticing a lag when i have many apps open (no error messages). sometimes when i would play games either my comp would lag so bad or it would shut down. after a while it was getting really annoying so i booted from the cd and tried to reinstall windows. as the drivers were loading my comp shut down. so i d/l, burned and installed slackware 10. at first things were going well but when i tried to compile wxpython my comp shut down. later when i ran the makefile on wine my comp also shut down. i came to realize that whenever i would run something that required a lot of cpu work my comp would shut down. when i check mail, chat, or get on the net i would notice a lag but not that bad of one. i dont know whats wrong with this thing. its still under warranty but my mom and dad wont ship it back. they think that i have installed kazaa or some bs virus but i havent. any help is appreciated.

Lots of CPU usage causing shutdown, says to me that there is a heat problem.........

Open PC, check the fans are all running smoooothly and quietly.

Remove the CPU, carefully, clean off old heat transfer gunk.
Replace with Arctic Silver thermal compound. http://www.arcticsilver.com/

Vacuum out the box, remove all dust / dirt build up. Clean the CPU heat sink.

Ensure that all the airways are clear.

Ensure that all the lids and covers are on, airflow is reduced if you have the box open, or there are excess gaps.

foxyloxley maybe his processor is over the hill?...knowing big corps they by the cheepest built parts possiable...maybe something else is messing with his system and now his processor is paying the price....jsut my thoughts

sounds exactly like a heat problem to me also, follow foxyloxey's advice and be sure your fans are working and the CPU is making proper contact with the Heat Sink.

other than that, depending on circumstances it could be other problems, but i dont think its software related, have a look in the inside of the box and get back to us.

Remove your RAM, blow out the slots and put your RAM back in, may well solve your problem. Let us know if any of our solutions worked.

With 4 (now 5) dead-on 'it's a heat issue' responses, you can't go wrong. After you've addressed that, I would also suggest looking into adding memory, never hurts, helps the cpu swallow the big chunks better.

On ddr ram - isn't that the one that came out with the intel 2.2's, with the heat sink onboard each stick (looks like it's sealed in a pretty aluminum box)? If so, I was warned off of them long ago - major issues with heat there as well. (ddr, rdr, drd? I dunno, been awhile since I did the memory thing)

i already took out the ram and cleared the dust and snapped them back in and im still having probs.
:(

Did you take foxy's advice? If not clean it all out. If you aren't comfortable pulling out your CPU and stuff of that nature take it to a professional. It would be better to pay someone to fix the problem than to pull stuff out and ruin your system. If you are gonna try to do it yourself make sure you touch something metal before digging in your box.

|3lack|ce I think that is RAMBUS RDRAM you are talking about?



mikem0327 Your problem is most commonly caused by overheating, but it could also be your memory, which would also react to the higher workrate.

Other (less likely) possibilities are the power supply and the harddrive.

1. After it has run for a while open the case and touch the HDD to see if it is getting VERY hot (like it hurts :eek: )

2. Go to the HDD manufacturer's website and download their diagnostic tool. Run that and see if it finds any errors.

3. See if your BIOS has a temperature indicator facility..........if so what are your temperatures for the CPU and the system (MoBo)

If your machine is under warranty I would not mess around too much with the hardware, as you will invalidate the warranty. Speaking of which, you need to reinstall XP because Dell will almost certainly refuse to have anything to do with it with slackware installed as the main OS.

You might also run SpyBot S&D and AdAware and your AV all in SAFE MODE................I have seen machines virtually choked by ad/spyware.

Then defragment your drive, also in safe mode..............you might as well start with a level playing field?

If you still get the problems with WinXP, and it is under warranty, then send it back...........just point out to your mom that she actually paid for that warranty ;)

By the way, you are not overclocking anything are you?

Good luck

nihil - you're probably right on the ram name. I haven't worked with the junk (as in torn it out of a box and replaced it) in about 4 years now so the name eludes me completely. RDR sounds right tho.

As part of the package from Dell you should have a diagnostic disk. Providing you have not deleted the hidden partition that Dell have on all there hdd. You should be able to boot to the disk and run some comprehensive hardware diagnostics.