Tech Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

So I bought a mobo+proc+vid card for 35$ (used), and I think I am starting to regret it.

Specs:
ASUS p4p800 mobo
P4 2.4 800mHz + HT
GeForce 6800 128 AGP
1gb pc2700
350W Power supply

So the problem is, every so often, when I turn on the comp, the video would not come on. I tried switching out the vid card and it still did it, however not as often. I used the GeForce vid on another machine and it also did it, however not as often either. That being said, I think both the AGP slot of the ASUS mobo and the 6800 card are going bad.

Q1: Is power an issue? I have one intake fan and one exhaust.
Q2: Could it also be a processor issue?
Q3: Any other suggestions on what to look for or do?

try a conical filter on your intake and a 5 inch tip on your exhaust....

no, seriously, u got me there.... try a cpu forum maybe

sounds like the graphics card. get a new refurb'ed one on newegg or their open box deals.

that system is kind of old dude. i had that setup back in 2003.

you're on the right track. use the bare minimum. 1 hard drive and unplug the extras. just use the CPU fan and run your case wide open.

The 6800 is a relative power hog compared to others in its class. A 350W P/S might be a bit undersized for that combination - what other accessories are you running? One or two harddrives, one or two optical drives, PCI cards?

This running two sticks of memory for 1GB total RAM or a single stick of 1GB RAM? It is a dual channel board - they sometimes do weird things when run in single channel mode.

Are you running the latest BIOS revisions ? Running the latest video drivers (I believe it is GeForce Release 175 WHQL right now for that card) ? How clean is the OS - fresh install? Running anything overclocked? How's the cooling for the system - aftermarket or OEM heatsinks for CPU and GPU?

Might just need to go into the BIOS and tweak it a bit - tons of info on that board and settings for particular cards.

Also, that particular mobo and video card combination seems to have a habit of locking up on boot - sometime you can't get it to go past boot. About 80% of the time, it is related to the videocard being finicky. Replace the card and you should be golden. The other 20% - P/S underpowered, bad memory, bad mobo.

I have yet to read into the single/dual mode. If you can explain this or have a link that explains this in a nutshell, that would be great.

I will dl the latest drivers for the vid in a bit and also the latest bios. Fresh install for the OS. Nothing is OC'd. Stock heatsink and fan. 45c for Command and Conquer 3 and WC3, mid 30's idle, high 30's running PCMark tests.

Ill re-read the manual.

From what I can tell, it does not lock up on boot, the video is just not on.

1 hdd
1 stick 1gb ram
1 dvdrom
1 floppy (yes, one floppy)
1 pci sound card
1 agp vid card
2 fans
1 cpu fan




Thanks guys. I have been playing for 4 or so hours now with no problem. I wonder If it will boot tomorrow... LOL