PC Wizard help please

[cumbriasteve]

My tower system is becoming very unstable, I know enough to be dangerous but not enough to go much further than guessing.

I would be grateful for any advice (in laymans terms) where I should start poking around.

Basically:
4 year old and previously been 100% perfect.
Problem started about 3 months ago, increasing in frequency.
Problems mostly in the mornings when first started, but not always.
Occasionally does a physical dump of memory
Strange screen appears ( see photos)
No strange screen but simply locks and does nothing
Keeps losing boot priority in bios ( motherboard battery changed)
If using the sleep function during the day it seems a bit more stable on restart.
Alarms have sounded a couple of times but not always, both continual alarm and bleep alarm
I have given it a good clean out inside the tower
Have run Defender and malwarebytes ( a few times)
No new or recent software added
No obviously known virus loaded sites visited

So folks that's about it, I am leaning to 3 things..the onboard graphics, knackered c drive or RAM gone faulty... but as mentioned..I know very little them so help appreciated in case it is something obvious.

 

[CKJDJK]

Get a back up made of your data asap just in case the hard drive is failing.
Download a free copy of Memtest and burn to disc. Its a boot disc so boot from it and run test. Will take ages but will prove RAM. There are similar software to test graphic card as well. My gut feeling is the graphics card is failing. You could try and install a different card and set up the BIOS to use it instead of your original (on board) graphics card.

 

[ajlelectronics]

I would saY graphics card or motherboard. Check the capacitors on the motherboard for swelling.

 

[printcom]

Over the years I have meet hundreds of computers that have developed similar symptoms,nearly all of them with AMD processors. Whilst I agree that the most likely cause is the on board graphics the spanner in the works is that you keep loosing the drive boot priority, in my experience this is not something that the graphics will cause and is indicative of a controller issue. My advice would be to run your memory tests and download and run WD's HDD utility then make sure your MB's BIOS is running the latest version. If that doesn't sort it replace the MB and ram, I doubt that there will be anything wrong with the processor. As I said earlier that I have meet a few of these and have found that the best way to P**s of a customer is to give them back a computer with an intermittent fault especially after charging them large amounts of money for a unsuccessful repair. If you consider the price of a new MB and RAM as opposed to labour charges and possible data loss implications - not to mention the throw it out the window syndrome

 

[Robotstar5]

My tower system is becoming very unstable, I know enough to be dangerous but not enough to go much further than guessing.

Put a beer mat under one of the feet to stop it rocking?


I'll get me coat.....

 

[julianf]

My work computer does not need to be fancy, and, im guessing that, if your system is 4 yrs old, it too does not need to be cutting edge?


If any of the motherboard / ram / gfx have gone, the issue will be that, on a 4yr old machine, getting a replacement part compatible with your aged hardware will probably cost more than a current spec part (as you have more options / competition on current spec parts)

Or you can get used. But then you may not be sure what you need. And you may end up spending more in postage than....

...if you just replace the three parts (motherboard / cpu / mem) with new parts.


If your machine is 4yrs old, going back to my first line, youre not needing cutting edge, so just get a new / cheap motherboard with integrated graphics / sound (which would probably be better than a 4yr old unit anyhow!) and a not-cutting-edge cpu, and some memory to match.

I guess, from last time i did this, youre probably looking at about £120 or so for the set (again, new, but not bleeding edge) and then you know the job is done, without suffering further issues, or multiple postal charges from ebay 2nd hand parts etc.


Ive done this a few times with my work machines, where i dont want them down for any length of time, and, whilst there may be a cheaper way of doing it, throwing a hundred quid at it makes the problem go away - and ensures (hopefully) youre not going to fix one thing, just to have another go later (and still be stuck with aged parts)

Again, im not someone who needs cutting edge, and im not normally someone to be casual with spending money, but in the case of comptuers, things move on so quick, that trying to buy older parts for an older machine generally just does not work out to be best value.

(im only talking replacing the three parts - not the whole machine)

 

[pedrobedro]

If it was running alright for the previous 4 years I would not rush to update the bios. Have you tried re-seating the memory ? Take it out and wipe the contacts with a pencil eraser and if it has a separate graphics card try re-seating that as well. Check your drivers are up to date. Changing boot order does sound like a motherboard fault though. Last time I had one to do it was cheaper to buy a new Zoostorm computer from ebuyer than to mess about. They aren't the fastest most cutting edge with onboard graphics but they do the job.

 

[julianf]

yes, as above, always a good first option - take it apart (as in all the connections - memory chips, cables, cpu, cards) and then put it all back together again (you can do each cable one by one - dont need to all be apart at the same time)

simply re-seating electronics can work.

 

[mike os]

The display fault is classic graphics adapter failure, if it is onboard ( on the motherboard) then you should still be able to add a separate card in an expansion slot.... If it's a separate card it's easy to change


The other issues may be related, particularly if you are having to power off to shut down or hit the reset button

 

[cumbriasteve]

Thanks folks, I am leaning towards the graphics end of the motherboard myself..with my limited knowledge that is and I know my mate has a few cards so when I do the take to bits, clean up and reseat everything that will be my next move if it's still playing up.

I no longer have high demands on a PC, this system was built for me and was at the time a fairly top set up apart from the graphics which as a non game player I told him not to bother spending money on.

I did buy a Zoostorm (cheap but does the job well) for a family member and yes that is probably what I will end up doing if all attempts to resolve the problem fail.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Put a beer mat under one of the feet to stop it rocking?


I'll get me coat.....

Now you see...that's exactly why I asked you experts..I was going to use a coffee mat not a beer mat.. I could have done untold damage

 

[DanielW]

Hmmm! I would suspect graphics as well,maybe the card? is the fan on it clean? maybe try an updated driver? for the card,could be its built on mem at fault?

First off though I'd try another monitor.

 

[rtbcomp]

If you do pull cards & ram to clean the edge connectors, remove the mains plug. There are still voltages on the motherboard with the power switched off at the front panel. I found out the hard way by zapping a video card.

 

[printcom]

If it was running alright for the previous 4 years I would not rush to update the bios

Sorry Pedrobedo, I have to disagree with that statement. If the OP's computer update service has downloaded and installed a newer driver that needs the latest BIOS ........

 

[mike os]

That's not a bios or driver fault

 

[500e]

Fiddling in internals without earthing yourself is bad practice the potential difference can Zzzzzap Memory & other chips
A wrist band cable should be the least protection used, you can \ may get away with it but as they say in the song It ain't necessarily so

 

[CRB]

The amount of muck which gets pulled into a computer is unbelievable, especially if it is on the floor. Smokers and pets create even more muck. A thorough clean out is worth it anyway while reseating everything. All the fluff and hair can cause overheating, more so with cards with fans. Passively cooled components tend to allow the air, and detritus, to circulate more freely.

Oh, and it does sound like a motherboard issue affecting the graphics and SATA controllers.

 

[mike os]

What I usually do in these situations is buy the graphics card I would buy if I were building a new machine... that way I have the card if it shows no improvement...

 

[PhillipM]

Had the exact same issue with a couple of boards with a HD4200 on the northbridge (Asus board perchance?) - all it was was the heatsink had come loose and wasn't making full contact, so the northbridge was running hot, leading to beeps for temperature warnings, unstable operation and that rendering issue when the graphics core overheated. A reseat with new thermal paste and adhesive sorted one of them, but I also had one that seemed to have been damaged by the constant high temperatures (although, apparently that one had been doing it for months before they brought it to me....so...)

 

[cumbriasteve]

Ok:

I took the unit into the workshop and have given it a good blow through (after draining the comp tank), a fair amount of muck and dust went airborne, especially from behind the fan between the chip cooling fins.

I have reseated everything that could be reseated, after hopefully discharging any body static by a good molesting of the steel workbench ( yes very amateur I know)

Put everything back together and it has fired up straight away, I suppose this actually means little because it occasionally did that anyways but hoping something has been sorted with luck...it does sound a little different though (the fan noise) and told me a restart was required to implement the changes ??????..anybody's guess but I suspect because I disconnected something and reconnected it.

Phoned mate and he has a cupboard full of graphic cards and I can take it through if needed and he will also put fresh paste on the chip in case it has dried out over the 4 years since it was built.

Good idea Mike about buying a decent card if I do need one.

Also am now going to copy all my files to a portable drive I have as suggested...a just in case scenario.

Now the technical bit....I also gave the area of the on board graphics a little tap for luck, I know you pc guys will now cringe but never underestimate the usefulness of a good bashing.