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  • Why Does Wireless Gear Degrade Over Time?

    - by bahamat
    I saw this originally posted on slashdot, but their comment format is not conducive to actually getting a correct answer. Having directly experienced this phenomenon myself, I'm now asking here where I think I can actually get an educated answer. Here's the original question verbatim: Lately I have replaced several home wireless routers because the signal strength has been found to be degraded. These devices, when new (2+ years ago) would cover an entire house. Over the years, the strength seems to decrease to a point where it might only cover one or two rooms. Of the three that I have replaced for friends, I have not found a common brand, age, etc. It just seems that after time, the signal strength decreases. I know that routers are cheap and easy to replace but I'm curious what actually causes this. I would have assumed that the components would either work or not work; we would either have a full signal or have no signal. I am not an electrical engineer and I can't find the answer online so I'm reaching out to you. Can someone explain how a transmitter can slowly go bad? Common (incorrect, but repeated) answers from slashdot include: Back then your neighbors didn't have wifi, now they do. They drowning you out. I don't think this is likely because replacing the access point with a new one and using the same frequencies solves the problem. Older devices had low transmit power. Crank that baby. As mentioned by a FreeBSD wireless developer this violates regulations and can physically damage the equipment. It was also mentioned that higher power in one direction is not necessarily reciprocated. This shows higher bars, but not necessarily a better connection. Manufacturers make cheap crap designed to wear out. This one actually may be legitimate although it is overly broad. What specifically causes damage over time? Heat? Excessive power? So can anyone provide an informed answer on this? Is there any way to fix these older access points?

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  • OSX: cant create a partition because drive is locked

    - by Alain
    Problem: I have a USB key with Mountain Lion on it and I want to install it on my macbook pro. I deleted the existing partition on the laptop and wanted to created a new one were to install the OS but cant because everything in the partition tab for the drive is grayed out. Basically, I can't do anything until I unlock the partition So the question is: how to unlock a partition from disk utility or the command line.

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  • Computer starts, POSTs normal, no video

    - by Annath
    So, I recently tried to start up an old computer of mine. It would not power on, so I replaced the PSU. When I powered it on, all the fans spun up and the POST beeps indicated a normal startup. The problem was there was no video output. Every couple of minutes, I hear the post code again. I think it is restarting after POST, but without video I have no idea why. Does anyone have an idea as to why this is happening, and how to fix it? EDIT: The video card is a PCI-e card. There is no integrated graphics on the motherboard. If I remove the video card, the POST indicates a missing card. When I put it back, it goes back to normal, so I know that it recognizes that the card exists.

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  • EEE PC Keyboard malfunctioning - Ctrl key "sticks" after 10 seconds

    - by DWilliams
    I was given a EEE PC belonging to a friend of a friend to fix. The keyboard did not appear to work at all. I spent a while testing out various things, blowing the keyboard out, checking for damage, and so on. Nothing appeared to be physically wrong. At first I noticed that the keyboard appeared to work just fine for 10 seconds (on average, sometimes more sometimes less) after being powered on. It had been restored to the factory default xandros installation with no user set up, so I couldn't get in to mess with things since I couldn't type to make a user. I made an ubuntu live USB to boot it from, and managed to get the boot order changed to boot from USB in the ~10 seconds of working keyboard I had (I don't think I've ever had to rush around BIOS menus that quickly). After I got Ubuntu up on it, I played around a bit more and determined that apparently the ctrl key is stuck down (not literally, but it's on all the time). If I open gedit, pressing the "o" key brings the open dialog, "s" opens the save dialog, and all other behaviour you would expect to see if you were holding down the control key. The only exception that I noticed is the "9" and "0" keys. They function normally. Figuring that out I made a xandros user with a name/password consisting of 9's and 0's. I couldn't find any options in Xandros that could potentially be helpful. I'm not familiar with EEE PCs. Is it safe to assume that the keyboard is simply dead or could there be another problem? I don't want to purchase another keyboard for him if that isn't going to fix the problem. The netbook doesn't show any obvious signs of damage but the owner is a biker and very often has it with him on the road so it's been subjected to a good bit of vibration.

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  • eSATA hotswap using Jmicron JMB363 controller

    - by Stephen
    I have tried both IDE and AHCI modes in the BIOS. Also tried many different driver revisions. I can't seem to hot swap an external SATA drive. I can use the wizard to safely remove it, but reconnecting doesn't do anything unless I reboot. I use a thermaltake dock, and I would like to swap in my backup drive sometimes to do images (they take all day over USB). I can reboot, but I'd like to use hot swap. The controller is a Jmicron JMB363. I'm using the latest BIOS on my motherboard, as well.

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  • windows PATH not working for network drive

    - by Brendan Abel
    I'm using an autorun.bat to append some directory paths to the Windows PATH variable so that I can use a few tools and bat scripts within cmd.exe I'm running into a problem where the above isn't working on a network drive. Ex. Using a program called mycmd.exe Ex.1 (this works) C:\folder\mycmd.exe SET PATH=%PATH%;C:\folder Ex. 2 (doesn't work) H:\folder\mycmd.exe SET PATH=%PATH%;H:\folder

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  • Linksys WAP54G v3.1 no access, power and link LED solid

    - by user142113
    I'm managing the Network of a small enterprise. A Linksys WAP54G v3.1 used to provide the WiFi network. I was called, because the device did not provide a WiFi network anymore. I first of all tried to ping the device via LAN, but there was no reaction. I've frequently reconnected the AP to the mains and always the POWER and the LINK LED keep solid, even if no network cable is connected. What I've done yet: Reset as documented: Pressed the RESET button for 10 seconds. After that I have tried to access the AP with a direct cable connection to my computer, that I've set to a static ip of 192.168.1.240, but i got no ping response on the default IP 192.168.1.245. Furthermore ipconfig reports "media disconnected". More complex reset method as described here http://bruceshankle.blogspot.de/2005/12/how-to-reset-linksys-wap54g.html as well had no effect. also tried to ping 192.168.1.1 without success Tried this method: http://www.daniweb.com/hardware-and-software/networking/threads/142437/linksys-wireless-access-point-problem#post680245 but there was no ping response when powering up. As well the tftp transfer timed out Finally tried to short pin 15 and 16 of the flash chip on the bottom side of the AP mainboard while booting to provoke a Checksum error. This should lead to the possibility to upload a firmware with tftp, as the AP stops booting and waits for a tftp connection on 192.168.1.1. But I've had no success. As well i've put pin 15 and 16 to ground while booting, also without an effect. After all that I still can't ping the AP, ipconfig still tells me "media disconnected". The POWER and LINK LED are solid. I would appreciate your answers

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  • My -tpl file won't update!

    - by Kyle Sevenoaks
    Hi, I am running the site at www.euroworker.no, it's a linux server and the site has a backend editor. It's a smarty/php site, and when I try to update a few of the .tpl's (two or three) they don't update. I have tried uploading through FTP and that doesn't work either. I have no knowledge of how servers work or anything, please help? It runs on the livecart system. Thanks!

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  • My -tpl file won't update!

    - by Kyle Sevenoaks
    Hi, I am running the site at www.euroworker.no, it's a linux server and the site has a backend editor. It's a smarty/php site, and when I try to update a few of the .tpl's (two or three) they don't update. I have tried uploading through FTP and that doesn't work either. I have no knowledge of how servers work or anything, please help? It runs on the livecart system. Thanks!

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  • Why are they putting "processors" on hard drives?

    - by Celeritas
    What does it mean when they have a processor on the hard drive, how does it work, and what benfit does it have? I don't understand - the CPU is the processor and the hard drive transfers it's contents to RAM. Do have additional processors, preprocess the data some how? Here's some examples Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB "Dual processor speed" NETGEAR ReadyNAS 312 2-Bay Diskless Network Attached Storage "Dual-core Intel 2.1GHz processor and 2GB on-board memory" and routers now have processors too, why's that nescecary? I guess it sort of makes sense - some logic needs to happen for the packets to be read in to know which ports to send them out on, but why did old routers not need them? Example or wireless router with processor: "Dual-core processor"

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  • Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4P won't boot from USB drive with RAID enabled

    - by Daniel Schaffer
    I've got a Windows 7 installation image on my USB hard drive, which is set up to be bootable. I know it works because I've used it on several computers, and it works on the computer I'm trying to install as long as the RAID controller is disabled. However, when I enable the RAID controller and attempt to boot from the USB driver, it hangs for 30-60 seconds and then gives me the "disk boot failure, insert system disk" error like it can't find any OS. Just for laughs, I disabled the RAID controller again and it booted fine. I'm having separate, unrelated issues burning a dvd with the ISO, so I would prefer to get this working.

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  • External hard drive becomes unwriteable after awhile

    - by Brandon
    I have an external USB hard drive mounted in Ubuntu 9.10 with full read/write abilities over SMB. If it stays on for awhile though, I lose the ability to write to it. I end up having to ssh in and unmount, mount, reboot in order to have write ability again. Any reason on what might be causing this and how to fix it?

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  • powerpoint make computer shut down on dell optiplex 760

    - by yael
    At my office we upgraded group of computers to windows 7 + office 2010, few of us have problem that when we work on powerpoint - once in a while the computer suddenly shut down (with out any message). Some of us - has no such problems. We checked and fount that the people who experience problems - use Dell Optiplex 760 PC, and everyone that have no problems use other models. We also found out that the processors of the 760's are not the same - some are Intel E7400 and one is Intel E8400, so I suspect that maybe the mother board is the problem Does any one no this problem? Does any one have an idea about it? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks, Yael

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  • Windows 7 remains powered on when restarting

    - by BombDefused
    I'm running windows 7 x64 on an MSI P67A-GD53 motherboard, in an Antec P280 Super Midi Towercase with a Corsair 650w PSU. I've just installed a second instance of windows 7 x64 on a separate disk (this is to keep my games separate from my work OS). The problem is that it appears now that I cannot restart from either instance of Windows 7. The shut down command, and sleep commands work as expected. When I try to restart, the shutdown happens but the system never reboots. Everything remains powered on, until I hold down the power button to force the power off. Ithink (but am not 100% sure) this has only started since I installed the second OS, and am assuming this has something to do with the motherboard needing to know which OS to run up again? Some other forums I've read suggest that the PSU has a major role in restart and could be at fault. Changing the boot order of the disks in the BIOS does not change anything. Any suggestions greatfully recieved! Update: I now have a reproduceable issue: I think the secondary OS install may have been a red herring. It was when windows tried to reboot during the install that I noticed the issue. After playing around with installing drivers, and rebooting many many times, I have found that it is the OC genie setting on the MSI motherboard that seems to trigger the problem. This makes sense as I only started using the OC genie feature a couple of weeks ago, and probably hadn't used restart in that time. However... simply turning off OC genie does not make the issue go away. I have to turn off OC genie, shutdown, start enter bios, go to the "Save and Exit" menu "Restore Defaults" yes to "Load optimized defaults", which will reset to clear the problem. Now when the PC boots into windows, I can restart as normal (and from the OS on either HDD). I only know how to control the issue, and don't still know the root cause. I'd like to be able to use the OC genie function if anyone can suggest a why I'm seeing this problem. Could it be that I'm drawing too much power when using OC feature?

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  • rm failing inside cron script

    - by Nicholas
    I have a cron job calling a bash script which runs fine, except for one line inside it that is suppose to remove all fines in a directory. The result of this line is always 'no such file or directory' even though I have verified (many times) that there are files in that directory. The line in question is as simply: rm /dir1/dir2/dir3/* The script works fine when run manually in the terminal, so it must be something about how the cron is run. I've tried giving 'dir3' and all the files inside it every permission possible, so it shouldn't be a permission problem. (The directory and files are also owned by the user). I've tried specifing 'SHELL=/bin/bash' inside 'crontab'. There is no sticky bit set and there is no alias on the rm command. Interestingly changing the 'rm' command to 'ls' gives the same negative result (unless you remove the trailing '*', and then that works). What am I missing here?

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  • Acer Aspire One (mini) mfgd 9/03 locks up also when plugged in

    - by LAURIE ANN
    My problem is almost the same as the Toshiba user (Toshiba A205-5804 freezes when plugged in): Well I have a Toshiba A205-5804 and the problem is that the screen freezes anytime I plug the pc into the external power supply, not as most of the computers having the same issue, my computer DOES freeze in safe mode, and I really can't bear this problem for much longer... It's not an overheat problem, the computer is not getting hot or anything related, I've tried already to change the AC adapter, to boot only with AC and no battery, and also all of these suggestions: The only difference in my case is: I can be using the battery and when it runs down, I can just close the lid and the system goes into hibernation mode. I then plug it in and let it charge. When I think it's finally charged, I can UNPLUG it, open the lid and all is running fine on the battery again. Note: the system was NOT shut down and it still runs as long as I remove the power plug before opening the lid. I have ALL the same issues as the other Toshiba user, also. I was a tech for 9 yrs in my own business and this one has not only stumped me, but anyone I have asked has never heard of this problem. Every repair center wants to charge me for diagnosis, even is they cannot fix it. I would really like to run this system along side of my new Acer Aspire 17" laptop as I need it to finish my grad school work. Any ideas would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanx, Laurie Ann

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  • No space left on device with encrypted disk that takes all space

    - by Yosef
    I use Ubuntu 11.04. There's no space left on device. I have encrypted the disk that takes up space (maybe it's good to disable it, but I don't know how). In shell, I get this message: No space left on device I run df -I: Filesystem Inodes IUsed IFree IUse% Mounted on /dev/sda1 3055616 602499 2453117 20% / none 210161 890 209271 1% /dev none 214789 8 214781 1% /dev/shm none 214789 53 214736 1% /var/run none 214789 3 214786 1% /var/lock /home/myuser/.Private 3055616 602499 2453117 20% /home/myuser df -I Edit: When I run only df: Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on /dev/sda1 48060296 45618928 0 100% / none 1538340 684 1537656 1% /dev none 1547596 808 1546788 1% /dev/shm none 1547596 104 1547492 1% /var/run none 1547596 0 1547596 0% /var/lock /home/myuser/.Private 48060296 45618928 0 100% /home/myuser Edit: I thinking about few solution but I don't know which better and how exactly to do them: to enlarge partition size (I cant install gparted - no more disk space) remove encryption of partition - I really not need that

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  • CD/DVD burn error in ImgBurn and Nero

    - by bobby
    I am getting the errors shown below when I try to burn a CD/DVD on my DVD writer. I am seeing this error for every CD/DVD I try to burn. I am not able to write any CDs or DVDs using ImgBurn. The burn log below is a failed burn in Nero. What could be causing this error? Nero Burning ROM bobby 4C85-200E-4005-0004-0000-7660-0800-35X3-0000-407M-MX37-**** (*) Windows XP 6.1 IA32 WinAspi: - NT-SPTI used Nero Version: 7.11.3. Internal Version: 7, 11, 3, (Nero Express) Recorder: <HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H12N> Version: UL01 - HA 1 TA 1 - 7.11.3.0 Adapter driver: <IDE> HA 1 Drive buffer : 2048kB Bus Type : default CD-ROM: <ATAPI-CD ROM-DRIVE-52MAX > Version: 52PP - HA 1 TA 0 - 7.11.3.0 Adapter driver: <IDE> HA 1 === Scsi-Device-Map === === CDRom-Device-Map === ATAPI-CD ROM-DRIVE-52MAX F: CdRom0 HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H12N G: CdRom1 ======================= AutoRun : 1 Excluded drive IDs: WriteBufferSize: 83886080 (0) Byte BUFE : 0 Physical memory : 958MB (981560kB) Free physical memory: 309MB (317024kB) Memory in use : 67 % Uncached PFiles: 0x0 Use Inquiry : 1 Global Bus Type: default (0) Check supported media : Disabled (0) 11.6.2010 CD Image 10:43:02 AM #1 Text 0 File SCSIPTICommands.cpp, Line 450 LockMCN - completed sucessfully for IOCTL_STORAGE_MCN_CONTROL 10:43:02 AM #2 Text 0 File Burncd.cpp, Line 3186 HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H12N Buffer underrun protection activated 10:43:02 AM #3 Text 0 File Burncd.cpp, Line 3500 Turn on Disc-At-Once, using CD-R/RW media 10:43:02 AM #4 Text 0 File DlgWaitCD.cpp, Line 307 Last possible write address on media: 359848 ( 79:59.73) Last address to be written: 318783 ( 70:52.33) 10:43:02 AM #5 Text 0 File DlgWaitCD.cpp, Line 319 Write in overburning mode: NO (enabled: CD) 10:43:02 AM #6 Text 0 File DlgWaitCD.cpp, Line 2988 Recorder: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM G SA-H12N; CDR co de: 00 97 27 18; O SJ entry from: Pla smon Data systems Ltd. ATIP Data: Special Info [hex] 1: D0 00 A0, 2: 61 1B 12 (LI 97:27.18), 3: 4F 3B 4A ( LO 79:59.74) Additional Info [hex] 1: 00 00 00 (invalid), 2: 00 00 00 (invalid), 3: 00 0 0 00 (invalid) 10:43:02 AM #7 Text 0 File DlgWaitCD.cpp, Line 493 >>> Protocol of DlgWaitCD activities: <<< ========================================= 10:43:02 AM #8 Text 0 File ThreadedTransferInterface.cpp, Line 785 Nero Report 1 Nero Burning ROM Setup items (after recorder preparation) 0: TRM_DATA_MODE1 (2 - CD-ROM Mode 1, Joliet) 2 indices, index0 (150) not provided original disc pos #0 + 318784 (318784) = #318784/70:50.34 not relocatable, disc pos for caching/writing not required/not required -> TRM_DATA_MODE1, 2048, config 0, wanted index0 0 blocks, length 318784 blocks [G: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H12N] -------------------------------------------------------------- 10:43:02 AM #9 Text 0 File ThreadedTransferInterface.cpp, Line 986 Prepare [G: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H12N] for write in CUE-sheet-DAO DAO infos: ========== MCN: "" TOCType: 0x00; Se ssion Clo sed, disc fixated Tracks 1 to 1: Idx 0 Idx 1 Next T rk 1: TRM_DATA_MODE1, 2048/0x00, FilePos 0 307200 6531768 32, ISRC "" DAO layout: =========== ___Start_|____Track_|_Idx_|_CtrlAdr_|_____Size_|______NWA_|_RecDep__________ -150 | lead-in | 0 | 0x41 | 0 | 0 | 0x00 -150 | 1 | 0 | 0x41 | 0 | 0 | 0x00 0 | 1 | 1 | 0x41 | 318784 | 318784 | 0x00 318784 | lead-out | 1 | 0x41 | 0 | 0 | 0x00 10:43:02 AM #10 Text 0 File SCSIPTICommands.cpp, Line 240 SPTILockVolume - completed successfully for FSCTL_LOCK_VOLUME 10:43:02 AM #11 Text 0 File Burncd.cpp, Line 4286 Caching options: cache CDRom or Network-Yes, small files-Yes (<64KB) 10:43:02 AM #12 Phase 24 File dlgbrnst.cpp, Line 1767 Caching of files started 10:43:02 AM #13 Text 0 File Burncd.cpp, Line 4405 Cache writing successful. 10:43:02 AM #14 Phase 25 File dlgbrnst.cpp, Line 1767 Caching of files completed 10:43:02 AM #15 Phase 36 File dlgbrnst.cpp, Line 1767 Burn process started at 48x (7,200 KB/s) 10:43:02 AM #16 Text 0 File ThreadedTransferInterface.cpp, Line 2733 Verifying disc position of item 0 (not relocatable, no disc pos, no patch infos, orig at #0): write at #0 10:43:02 AM #17 Text 0 File MMC.cpp, Line 17806 StartDAO : CD-Text - Off 10:43:02 AM #18 Text 0 File MMC.cpp, Line 22488 Set BUFE: Buffer underrun protection -> ON 10:43:03 AM #19 Text 0 File MMC.cpp, Line 18034 CueData, Len=32 41 00 00 14 00 00 00 00 41 01 00 10 00 00 00 00 41 01 01 10 00 00 02 00 41 aa 01 14 00 46 34 22 10:43:03 AM #20 Text 0 File ThreadedTransfer.cpp, Line 268 Pipe memory size 83836800 10:43:16 AM #21 Text 0 File Cdrdrv.cpp, Line 1405 10:43:16.806 - G: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H12N : Queue again later 10:43:42 AM #22 SPTI -1502 File SCSIPassThrough.cpp, Line 181 CdRom1: SCSIStatus(x02) WinError(0) NeroError(-1502) Sense Key: 0x04 (KEY_HARDWARE_ERROR) Nero Report 2 Nero Burning ROM Sense Code: 0x08 Sense Qual: 0x03 CDB Data: 0x2A 00 00 00 4D 00 00 00 20 00 00 00 Sense Area: 0x70 00 04 00 00 00 00 10 53 29 A1 80 08 03 Buffer x0c7d9a40: Len x10000 0xDC 87 EB 41 6E AC 61 5A 07 B2 DB 78 B5 D4 D9 24 0x8D BC 51 38 46 56 0F EE 16 15 5C 5B E3 B0 10 16 0x14 B1 C3 6E 30 2B C4 78 15 AB D5 92 09 B7 81 23 10:43:42 AM #23 CDR -1502 File Writer.cpp, Line 306 DMA-driver error, CRC error G: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H12N 10:43:55 AM #24 Phase 38 File dlgbrnst.cpp, Line 1767 Burn process failed at 48x (7,200 KB/s) 10:43:55 AM #25 Text 0 File SCSIPTICommands.cpp, Line 287 SPTIDismountVolume - completed successfully for FSCTL_DISMOUNT_VOLUME 10:44:01 AM #26 Text 0 File Cdrdrv.cpp, Line 11412 DriveLocker: UnLockVolume completed 10:44:01 AM #27 Text 0 File SCSIPTICommands.cpp, Line 450 UnLockMCN - completed sucessfully for IOCTL_STORAGE_MCN_CONTROL Existing drivers: Registry Keys: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon Nero Report 3

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  • USB wiped itself but still showing that its full?

    - by Brian Takan
    My Data saved from laptop to usb, and then I pulled it out, then something popped up on the screen saying that it was full and that I needed to delete stuff, so I put the USB back in and went to computer and all to go into it and when I did it isn't showing anything on the usb but when I go to computer it still shows that the usb is full. Does anybody know what is going on ? How can I get my data again?

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  • System shuts down immediately after few sconds

    - by Anil
    I have a computer with following specification and was working fine after re-installing the system and refitting sink fan unit. Recently it shuts down automatically after a few seconds. I checked PSU by shorting pin no.s 13 & 14 as well as 14 & 15. It worked well means the PSU fan moves. But I never checked the voltages at different wires. I refitted the heat sink fan by applying thermal paste. but it behaved the same. Again I refitted the Heat Sink Fan, then it worked for 2 minutes and again shut down. Now it shuts down immediately after switching on. Mother board : M26GTM-3VP CPU : AMD athlon PSU : 450 watt Can anyone help?

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  • How to diagnose computer lockup/freezing problem

    - by Scott Mitchell
    I built a desktop computer a couple years back with the following specs: CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80580Q9300 Motherboard: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard Video Card: Two EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SCC 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card PSU: SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550HT 550W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply Memory: Two G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ Since its inception, the machine has periodically locked up, the regularlity having varied over the years from once a day to once a month. Typically, lockups happen once every few days. By "lockup" I mean my computer just freezes. The screen locks up, I can't move the mouse. Hitting keys on my keyboard that normally turn LEDs on or off on the keyboard (such as Caps Lock) no longer turn the LEDs on or off. If there was music playing at the time of the lockup, noise keeps coming out of the speakers, but it's just the current frequency/note that plays indefinitely. There is no BSOD. When such a lockup occurs I have to do a hard reboot by either turning off the computer or hitting the reset button. I have the most recent version of the NVIDIA hardware drivers, and update them semi-regularly, but that hasn't seemed to help. I am currently using Windows 7 x64, but was previously using Windows Server 2003 x64 and having the same lockup issues. My guess is that it's somehow video driver or motherboard related, but I don't know how to go about diagnosing this problem to narrow down which of the two is the culprit. Additional information re: cooling Regarding cooling... I've not installed any after-market cooling systems aside from two regular fans I scavenged from an older computer. The fan atop the CPU is the one that shipped with it. One of the two scavenged fans I added it located at the bottom tower of the corner, in an attempt to create some airflow from front to back. The second fan is pointed directly at the two video cards. SpeedFan installation and readings Per studiohack's suggestion, I installed SpeedFan, which provided the following temperature readings: GPU: 63C GPU: 65C System: 76C CPU: 64C AUX: 36C Core 0: 78C Core 1: 76C Core 2: 79C Core 3: 79C Update #3: Another Lockup :-( Well, I had another lockup last night. :-( SpeedFan reported the CPU temp at 38 C when it happened, and there was no spike in temperature leading up to the freeze. One thing I notice is that the freeze seems more likely to happen if I am watching a video. In fact, of the last 5 freezes over the past month, 4 of them have been while watching a video on Flickr. Not necessarily the same video, but a video nevertheless. I don't know if this is just coincidence or if it means anything. (As an aside, each night before bedtime my 2 year old daughter sits on my lap and watches some home videos on Flickr and, in the last month, has learned the phrase, "Uh oh, computer broke.") Update #4: MemTest86 and 3DMark06 Test Results: Per suggestions in the comments, I ran the MemTest86 overnight and it cycled through the 8 GB of memory 5 times without error. I also ran the 3DMark06 test without a problem (see my scores at http://3dmark.com/3dm06/15163549). So... what now? :-) Any further suggestions on what to check? Is there some way to get a stack trace or something when the computer locks like that? Thanks

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