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Post by saborwolf on Feb 12, 2007 4:55:21 GMT
well, what i thought was a hard drive problem turned out to be a 9 hour waste of 100 bucks replacing it.
still have the same problem, dunno what it is, motherboard prolly going out, so anyway instead of going through that nightmare again im just keeping this hard drive, so no guild wars for a few days atleast until i get this thing settled in and whatnot
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Post by Twisted Sister Jane on Feb 12, 2007 7:50:57 GMT
What is going on, Sabor? What are the symptoms?
Not only maybe someone here can offer some advice, but it is always nice to know about hardware/software problems and experiences of others, because the very same may happen to us too.
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Post by saborwolf on Feb 12, 2007 9:15:19 GMT
Well, when playing games, any game, it randomly locks up, the second it locks up, the hard drive makes a squeak, the same sound it makes when you shut your PC down. as its locked up the sound also sticks, and repeats a split milisecond of sound really fast, then the hard drive clicks and it returns to normal, a few seconds later it does it again, and this happens more and more often over course of 20 seconds until the PC completely crashes, then does the same thing as its booting up.. so i thought either A) HD problem or B) overheating problem, but i see nothing wrong with the temperatures, at all, so i assumed it was the HD, i went out and got a new one, went through a nightmare installing windows on it, thats after getting the stupid thing to recognize it was installed at all, and now im in the process of getting things on the computer.. so i updated video drivers, installed call of duty 2 and jumpped into a game annnnnnnnnnnnd CRAP! did the same thing  |
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Post by Twisted Sister Jane on Feb 12, 2007 11:39:20 GMT
From the symptoms, I would not suspect overheating as a problem, and you checked that with a look at the temperatures. I have a hardisk that squeaks often also, two separate sounds, and this happens if there is a lot of hardisk activity, like two tasks which require read/write activity. I take this to not be a mechanical problem making a squeak, but to be an audible warning of the hardisk that there was an error and a re-read or re-write was requested. In your case, if the hardisk is not at fault, and the operating system is not faulty or virus infected (you cannot even be sure of a complete re-install, if you got some virus into your Bios, if that is possible), then the next thing to suspect is your motherboard. The controller for your hardisks may be at fault. Unless these are offboard controllers, it is time for a new motherboard. If you suspect your hardisk of not being as healthy as it should be, here is a nice tool that I have been using: www.hdtune.comIt doesn't require a major installation effort, and it monitors and checks nicely any of the hardisks attached to your machine. It can do an extensive error check, and I used this with a new defective Western Digital hardisk that we bought for work and wouldn't install properly. The error check with HDTune indicated a large handfull of bad blocks on the disk so I sent it back for a replacement. |
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Post by Zalis on Feb 12, 2007 12:42:12 GMT
Your computer shouldn't squeak when you turn it off, Sabor.  |
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Post by Cerryl Nyrim on Feb 12, 2007 17:23:55 GMT
Maybe it's your mouse? Sorry couldn't help it.  |
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Post by Tanin'iver BlindDragon on Feb 12, 2007 19:31:28 GMT
Personally, I would suspect the power supply here. The "squeak" from the hard drive is probably the noise it makes when it powers down and parks itself. And one reason for it to do that would be if the power supply to it failed or went low. The other reason I suspect power supply is that there is more drain on the PSU when playing a game than at any other time - both the CPU and GPU will be under full load.
Have you got a modern, powerful graphics card that needs a lot of power? Also, how many watts is your PSU, and how good is it? I see people saying things like "yeah, I have a 500 watt supply", and then you find out it's a no-name £15 part that probably can't deliver half the rated supply with any kind of reliability.
You might want to try a test which will stress your CPU only (like prime95) for a while and see if that reproduces the crash, then try with a gaming benchmark such as 3DMark.
Let us know how you get on!
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Post by Radicc Tyranntt on Feb 12, 2007 21:15:05 GMT
You may want to check the event log. If something is making your system crash theres usually a little bit of useful info in there.
You didn't over clock your cpu did you by any chance?
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Starbuck
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Starbuck the Fool
Posts: 212
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Post by Starbuck on Feb 13, 2007 1:53:04 GMT
Sabor I have to agree with taniniver. I have not done much hardware lately but it sure sounds like the drive is loosing power and parking and then initializing again. Like you, I would have first suspected the hard disk but then I would look to the power supply. You can try leaving the computer open with a meter on the +12V lead of any free drive power connector and see if it dips just before the drive makes its parking noise. If you replace it get a good one and again agreeing with taniniver get more power than you think you need and get a good brand or one with many positive user recommendations.
Good luck Sabor. ;D
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Post by saborwolf on Feb 13, 2007 6:06:35 GMT
ya i have a 500watt dynex PSU which is fairly new, i recently had to replace my other one, but if i recall this happened once with the other PSU too, so far i havnt had the problem in 2 days, onlything ive done differently is leave the side open and have a box fan blow in it, so im starting to suspect overheating as an issue which is weird because the temps are quite a few degrees below normal temps, even on max load
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Post by Twisted Sister Jane on Feb 13, 2007 7:32:17 GMT
Does indeed sound strange! Keep us posted, its always good to learn of other peoples experiences with such problems.
The sqeaking with my hardisk concerns me a lot of course, never had this before, and I don't know the cause of it. But it is a very quick high pitched squeak, sort of like a peep, very short, and so I imagine it is an audible signal of sorts designed into the hardisk itself to indicate an error has occurred. It is too quick for me to believe it is caused by another mechanical thing like parking.
Yes, if the problem seems to go away when you do something like leave the side open or add another fan, then it does sound like it is an overheating problem.
Best of luck!
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Post by saborwolf on Feb 13, 2007 12:39:33 GMT
yea, this squeaking is the thing inside the hard drive actually returning to the position it goes when the HD is shut down, it seems to be fine so far, im starting to lean towards over heating |
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Post by Zalis on Feb 13, 2007 13:23:44 GMT
Buy some fans or think about moving your case to a spot w/ better airflow. Lots of folks stick their PC towers in "computer cabinets". AKA - PC Death Boxes. If there's no ventilation, your fans are just blowing the same hot air around. And maybe reorganize your cables etc in your case for better airflow. The less mess it is in there, the better the air flows. And quit overclocking if you're doing that. |
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Post by Twisted Sister Jane on Feb 13, 2007 13:40:38 GMT
My PC is under a desk near a huge window, and in the summer the sun beams in and catches the entire nearest side of the cabinet. Until I noticed this and then moved the cabinet away from the direct sunlight. It isn't something you maybe would think about, but with the full sun on the box, my PC was hot! Real hot! One needs to think about these things.
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Post by saborwolf on Feb 16, 2007 12:02:52 GMT
Yea, decent airflow going in there right now, that is for sure.. those fans you put under your open window seal, and close the window on top of it, i have one of those at the side of my open PC case blasting air in there, temps are way below normal and i havnt had a problem yet, but even without it the temps are pretty normal, nothing high, but cant argue with results and the results say this is working as of now =)
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