----- Original Message -----
> From: "Stan Hoeppner" <stan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> I don't see any other possibility than a hardware problem. And given
> the age of that hardware, it's cheaper in dollars and time to start
> over with new gear.
Only if you have it, Stan. Only if you have it...
> > I'll try swapping it; this mobo has always gotten whacky if we went
> > over 512M, which is why we haven't.
>
> The manual says up to 2GB DDR2. Board has two DIMM sockets, which means
> 1GB DIMMs supported. If anything over 512MB (2x256MB DIMMs) causes
> problems then the board had a flaw, or needed a BIOS update, etc. And
> now it's physically damaged.
The BIOS was up to date when we installed it new.
> You'll be extremely hard pressed to find a current board with more
> than 3 PCI unless you buy used. Hmmm...let's see....here we go:
I know. :-}
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135329
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113283
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148194
>
> -- $155
>
> For less than $50 more you not only get all the slots/ports you need,
> but also a much faster dual core CPU and GPU, plus HDMI. And you'll no
> longer have disks on the slow PCI bus. Looks like a winner.
It does.
> > I forget what's in 5, but I think it was the only VGA card I had
> > with
> > S-Video out.
>
> If you absolutely need Svideo/composite output then you'll need to use
> an external converter or switch box, something like this:
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0U00JZ2490
I don't know if the set has HDMI in or not; it's an older Philips; 37"
I think. Probably.
> > I'll try the RAM. It's really odd, though, that the badblocks workload
> > and both memtests couldn't find a problem, if it is the memory plane...
>
> This isn't odd at all and actually quite common. The problem likely is
> not in the DRAM modules or individual transistors in the DRAM chips.
> The problem is likely unstable signalling to/from the DIMM sockets, or
> unstable power to the CPU or Northbridge, caused by old and now
> damaged power delivery circuits on the mainboard.
>
> Download and run burnp6 for 5-10 minutes. That'll tell you if the CPU
> is getting sufficient power. Make sure the CPU fan is in working order
> first. It's called BURNp6 for a reason. The Athlons didn't have
> thermal shutdown capability, and this will literally destroy the CPU
> with heat build up if the fans aren't working properly. If cooling is
> good, and the system hard locks or exhibits other strange behavior,
> then you know it's time to replace the board. But I think you know that
> already. This will simply be the exclamation point.
Well, oddly, it's up to about 1.4TB moved now overnight, and not a whisper
of an error in any channel. It does need to be replaced, but the question
is can I make it limp along reliably until she gets another job...
Cheers,
-- jra
--
Jay R. Ashworth Baylink jra@xxxxxxxxxxx
Designer The Things I Think RFC 2100
Ashworth & Associates http://baylink.pitas.com 2000 Land Rover DII
St Petersburg FL USA #natog +1 727 647 1274
|