(Free Computer Help - Problems relating to Overclocking your Processor)

Hello Wizard!

I have recently put together what I thought was my ideal machine. The components were ordered from DABS direct and I was informed by both the sales and technical departments that there were no conflicts between any of them.

Briefly the spec is:
AMD K6-2 400MMX (100Mhz) OEM
Asus Socket 7 Motherboard inc heatsink & fan
DIMM 16MX64(128MB)SDRAM PC100 Memory
13Gb Quantum Fireball HD
Viper V550 Graphics Card 16Mb AGP TV Out RP
SB Live! 256 PCI RP (full edition)
Phillips 40x CDROM
US Rob ext modem
Iiyama 17" monitor

However, now it is all together, and running, it very frequently locks up and crashes. The lockups effect most software, notably Word, notepad, wordpad, AOL and various games. All this ran fine on my last machine, a Dell 133. More often than not I have to power off using the big white button and suffer the agonies of running scandisk an each restart. I had heard that the graphics card may have been the culprit, but DABS tell me that this is not the case. They reckon I installed it from DOS and don't have it in FAT/FAT32 and that I should re-install. I set it up from the CD though and definately selected FAT.

I recently was told that AMD chips and Windows 98 don't make good partners and I am more inclined to believe this is true. Before I went pulling the system all apart and spending many happy hours re-installing everything I thought I'd surf for a bit and see if I could find any answers. Somehow, I ended up in the villagenet site and found you in Merlins Cave! Any chance you might have come across this before?

Yours hopefully

Mark Stevens - in 1066 Country!

Mark,

I am afraid I havn't come across this configuration before, however I have had problems with an AMD 133 running on Windows 95. I have also had problems with sound cards and Windows 98 locking up - probably driver conflicts.

Firstly, I have known this to happen with the wrong mother board jumper settings, so Check carefully the processor speed, processor type settings, and the bus speed settings on the motherboard.

Secondly ensure the processor has a cooling fan mounted on top, as overheating can cause processor lock ups.

If the above do not work, then there is some form of incompatibility in the PC. To try to resolve the problem, I suggest you first remove the sound card, and delete the sound card devices in the Control Panel - System icon, then test again to see if the PC still crashes.

If this does not work, try replacing the graphics card with a different type from another PC, and test again.

If this doesn't work, please e-mail again, and I will try to find out further information.

Regards

Wizard

Hi Wizard,

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I'm now stuck on a ship off the coast of Angola and wont be back in Herstmonceux until September, but I'll check out your suggestions as soon as I get back.

One thing you said about the processor settings reminded me of soemthing that may well be the problem. A 'friend' who has an AMD chip in his system recommended I over-clock the processor to 450 as he reckoned it could easily handle it. I'd forgotten all about that. There is a heavy duty fan on the chip by the way.

Anyway, thanks again for the advice. If I've blown something I may be into the cave for some replacement bits!

Cheers
Mark