On Sat, 23 May 2009 20:11:45 -1000 david <gnome@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Not an overhaul, but probably a good checkup and cleaning. I run > machines older than that, but make sure to regularly open the cases up > and clean up guck on fans and such. And to run it with the cover off and > make sure that all the fans are working. > > I also take those little desiccant bags (that practically every piece of > electronic gadgetry comes with these days) and pile them in the bottom > of the case. I think that doing so has kept my systems running longer, > keeps humidity down in the case. > > Darren Landrum wrote: > > Overheating CPU? That's a thought. > > > > Well, I guess my system is a year old and could use a bit of an > > overhaul. Thank you very much for the help! > > > > -- Darren > > > > > > James Cameron wrote: > >> On Sat, May 23, 2009 at 09:50:45PM -0400, Darren Landrum wrote: > >>> Well, I decided to run memtest86, and it locked up during the test. > >> Ah, good, that reduces the component set to something quite smaller. > >> The things I would consider as cause for that are: > >> > >> 1. dust in the CPU cooling fins, (I take my systems outside and run a > >> vacuum cleaning in reverse, with a thin nozzle, and play the air stream > >> over the various parts of the heatsink), > >> > >> 2. non-rotation or slow rotation of the cooling fans, (if the system > >> has a BIOS sensor display, check that it shows a reasonable rotation of > >> the fan, typical rotation rates are from 1000 to 3000 RPM, in my > >> experience, and is fixable by replacing the fan, or cleaning it) > >> > >> 3. drying out of the thermal conducting grease between the CPU and the > >> heatsink, (I recently had to remove and reapply the grease on a Pentium > >> 4 3GHz desktop at home, symptom was CPU temperature consistently high > >> and random power downs), > >> > >> 4. failing power supply, (I unplug non-essential devices temporarily, > >> such as hard drive, to lower the average power draw, and see if the > >> memtest symptom goes away ... I also check the power supply voltages > >> with a meter), > >> > >> 5. corrosion or other damage to the memory DIMM socket or module, (I > >> wiggle the DIMMs during a memtest, with about the equivalent of up to > >> 200 gram force ... if the memtest result changes in a cycle with my > >> wiggling, I know there's damage), > >> > >> 6. a specific memory DIMM failed, (remove it, see if memtest > >> completes). > >> > >> Oh, and above all remember to use anti-static procedures, and try not to > >> unplug or replug things inside the unit while the power is on. > >> > >> Static discharge damage is particularly annoying because it typically > >> happens months after the static discharge happens. The discharge causes > >> damage which then takes a long time before it begins to make the > >> component fail. > >> > >> So "it works after I zapped it" isn't a reliable method of proving no > >> damage was done. This whole problem sounds suspiciously like memory failure to me. -- Will J Godfrey http://www.musically.me.uk _______________________________________________ Linux-audio-user mailing list Linux-audio-user@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://lists.linuxaudio.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-audio-user
