Birdy rig failures :'(

[yurimxpxman]

That stupid birdy rig won't run stably. It will only boot about 5% of the time, and it gives me blue screens often when it actually does run (yes, I had to use XP because Linux isn't compatible with my chipset).

It's the strangest thing, because it works fine sometimes (except for some DX problems). I'm really scared about it being the motherboard. When I installed the CPU, I got a couple drops of thermal grease on it, but I cleaned it up really well. I'm afraid I missed a spot, but I sure can't find it. And if that's the problem, then why does it work fine sometimes?

The blue screen messages are different every time, if it gives one at all. But it's not a software problem; it also locks up in the BIOS also.

I've tried flashing the BIOS, switching the graphics card and slots, moving the RAM to each different slot, running the system bare bones, and a whole lot of stuff.

What in the world is wrong??

[beatnuts96]

all you have hooked up using the 12v rails are the cd, hd, and vid card?

[yurimxpxman]

I tried running it with nothing but the graphics card (no drives) and it wouldn't even show any kind of screen. It's very strange; it'll stop outputting anything to the monitor for the next 10 boots, and then it'll boot half way (not making it to the OS at all) and lock up. And sometimes it shows artifacts on the screen, but it's not the graphics card because I've tried several different cards.

[beatnuts96]

u got any other ram laying around that u can try?

also.... in your bios, is there an option to use default values or something along those lines?

[yurimxpxman]

No, this is the only stick of DDR2 I own. And I'm using the default BIOS values.

[beatnuts96]

got any friends that have ddr2?

[yurimxpxman]

My cousin built an AM2 rig for his girlfriend. I'm not sure whether I could get hold of that for testing or not. But I don't believe it's the RAM. It really stinks, but I think it's actually the motherboard :'(

[beatnuts96]

have u checked on ur motherboards manufacturers forums to see if anyone else has experienced similar problems? Perhaps the newest bios isnt necessarily the best.

If your cousin lives close, it may be worth a shot to swap out rams to be sure, before you have to rma/replace a mobo....

[onebxr]

Maybe the harddrive? You got an extra one of those you can try? Or an old computer that you can try it out on?
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[beatnuts96]

also, when it doesnt boot up, do u get any error beeps...... u can get a general idea of what the problem is from the beeps during post......

or does ur mobo have any diagnostic lights on it...... they do the same as the beeps and give a error code.....