I just wanted to follow up on this, since people seem to all be headed down the "memory" path. If you are consistently getting the problem and fixing it by leaving the PC off in the manner below, you almost certainly do not have a memory problem, despite it manifesting with memory symptoms. You're either looking at an overheat, or a capacitance sort of thing. Start with the overheat. Is the system reasonably free of dust? Are the fans running when the computer is on? If memory serves, the 8400 has a single fan mounted near the CPU that is somewhat prone to failure. It's a proprietary dell fan; you can get them on ebay for $10-$15 and replace them in a few seconds. On capacitance, you could have either a power supply issue or a slightly broken motherboard capacitor. The former would be easy to test if you have a spare handy, annoying otherwise. You can usually spot the latter by looking, as someone else described. To give a bit more detail: the capacitors are little cylinders sticking up out of the motherboard. There are lots of them. They should be quite flat on top, and silver; if the top of one is bulging upward or there's any sign of whitish stuff on the top surface, that's your problem. They can be replaced if you have soldering skills and patience, but it's rarely worth the bother. On Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 04:11:11PM -0700, Marc Reinig wrote:
Check that the power supply fan, system fans and the CPU fan are running. My guess would be the CPU fan.
Marco ============================================== Marc Reinig Phone: (831) 459-4362 Laboratory for Adaptive Optics Fax: (831) 459-5717 UCO/Lick Observatory Email: mreinig@ucolick.org University of California, Santa Cruz 1156 High Street Santa Cruz, CA 95064
-----Original Message----- From: fractint-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:fractint- bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Jim Muth Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 3:38 PM To: fractint@mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Fractint] Fractal computer trouble
Fractal fans:
As I have been reporting the past few days, the main 2000mhz fractal computer is out of action and I am using the 200mhz backup machine. I am posting this list of symptoms hoping that someone on the list with more computer knowledge than myself might have an idea of what ails the machine and what if anything might be done to fix it.
When I first turn on the machine it starts up normally and runs for a few minutes. Then a blue screen with white characters appears. The message says there is a problem and windows is shutting down to prevent possible damage. The message says to try restarting the machine, but when I try, the machine is locked up. When I cut the power for a minute or so, the machine beeps 1-3-2 and the normally all-green lights on the back panel turn (left to right) amber,amber,green,green. Nothing else happens.
But if I keep the power shut off for a couple hours, the computer will again start up normally, only to go dead in a few minutes, with another identical blue screen.
The following is some technical information that appears on the blue screen. It is beyond my understanding.
STOP: 0x0000008E (0xc0000005,0xBF80232A,0xB797DC14,0x00000000)
win32k545 - Address BF80232A base at BF800000, Datestamp4341deff
Hopefully, I have copied all the characters correctly.
The machine is a Dell dimension-8400 series about 8 years old, running WindowsXP Professional. Any help would be appreciated and would also promote the fractal cause.
P.S. I have already tried reseating the memory cards.
JIM
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