From: noone@nowhere.nothere.com   
      
   On 24/11/2011 22:27, GuppyPilot wrote:   
   > On Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:21:34 -0600, Grinder wrote:   
   >   
   > [snip]   
   >   
   >> I would test the memory with something like MemTest86+.  If you can find   
   >> errors, pop the RAM out of the sockets and inspect for damage/dirt.   
   >> Firmly reseat RAM in clean sockets.  Retest RAM.   
   >>   
   >> Also, determining a pattern of the failure would be helpful.  Does your   
   >> machine run for a good while after a cold start, like first thing in the   
   >> morning, but then will fail quickly after the first crash?  If that's   
   >> the case, you might have a heat-related problem.   
   >   
   > Thanks for the advice.  I ran memtest through several times, no errors.   
   >   
   > Failure happened first thing this morning after boot-up.  As this is a   
   > new installation on a new hard drive, there are still Windows updates   
   > begging to be installed, in this case, SP3.  The SP3 installer went   
   > through much of the process, but as it got to the "processes after   
   > install" stage, the computer locked up.  After restart, the computer had   
   > to revert to SP2.  It is during this late stage of new software   
   > installation that most of the freezes seem to occur.   
      
   One possibility with weird faults like this is that the PSU is going   
   bad, or that capacitors on the motherboard are failing.  Failing   
   graphics cards can give similar symptoms, too - worth unplugging and   
   re-seating the card if you haven't yet tried that.   
   Can you borrow another PSU to test it with?   
   Have a look at the electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard,   
   especially those near the CPU socket.  If any are bulging or   
   show signs of leaking, this could be the problem.   
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague   
   They can be replaced, but it requires some skill at soldering.   
   HTH   
   --   
   Rob   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)