Computer Getting Twitchy, What's The Problem? Options

[Rokkaholik]

Lately my computer has been having little quirks and they're startin to tick me off. This morning, my wife couldn't get it to start. She hit the button, and it wouldn't even get the video going on the monitor (boot screen, etc...) and the PC would flash off and then restart itself over and over. I ended up unplugging the PSU, taking out the memory, holding down the power button for 20 seconds and then reinstalling the memory and for some reason, it booted just fine that time.

Yesterday, I had to restart the PC several times because the internet was goofy. I could get the home page to come halfway up, and then it would stop. I couldn't go anywhere from there. When I'd restart, it would be fine for a while, only to do it again an hour later, etc...

2 weeks ago, I went to turn the PC on and I had lost my audio. I'm using a Soundblaster X-fi Xtreme Auduo PCI card. I checked all over in the device manager and it was nowhere to be found. I went to the Creative Audio Console and tried to use it and it errored and said there was no device. I ended up taking the card out, cleaning it off and then putting it back in and had the same problem. So I again took it out and ended up putting it in the other PCI Slot and when the PC booted up, it found it right away and reinstalled the drivers for it.

For the last 6-8 months, my front 2 USB ports are very picky as to what device gets plugged into what port. Windows makes the DaDink sound when something gets plugged in, and then will do the DaDonk like I unplugged it. Sometimes it'll say Device Not Recognized. But if I take that specific device and plug it into the other port, it works fine. Then I can take a different device and use the first port just fine.

Also for the last 6-8 months, my computers browsing cookies seem to get reset, even when I'm using the PC. I have certain sites such as this one to remember me so I don't have to enter the passwords when I go to them... I have specific Google search settings done, etc... Quite frequently, I'll be surfing to a different site and find I have to sign in again. NOT just the password, but the login and everything. My Google search settings will be gone,... I empty my temp and cache files just about every day, but it's set not to do cookies. I do the cookies less often than the rest. The odd part is that the cookies get erased when I'm NOT even using the program or the Windows Internet Option to do it.


I just completely redid the operating system 2 weeks ago, so I know there's nothing funky with that...


I'm leaning towards the motherboard and "possibly" the memory. Anyone have any ideas? The PC specs are in my signature.

Thanks in advance for any help.

This post has been edited by Rokkaholik: Nov 8 2009, 09:43 AM

[Keishii~89]

Sounds like the Mobo.

Do you have a spare you could use to rule it out?

The startup issues sound similar to a case I had about a month ago. The guy's PSU was on the blink. Although the random USB/PCIE 'Crashing' isn't the same.

I'd check the mobo first.

[Rokkaholik]

I just downloaded the latest bios right from the Gigabyte website and updated mine. Oddly enough, I had version 9 and they had already been up to version 14... I should keep track of those better I guess. I'm going to give this a week and see what happens.

With the PCI slot going out on the sound card and my monitor going weird and the post problems my wife just had, they were all from a startup after the computer has been off for a while. Whenever I do a restart, it boots just fine. I've replaced the mobo battery a few times already too just to make sure it wasn't the problem.


Sadly... out of the entire crapload of parts I have, a spare motherboard is not in the pile.

I would normally just get an identical one, but since Newegg doesn't have these anymore and I can't seem to find one on evilbay, I think I'm going to just grab a P45 Gigabyte mobo instead. Minor upgrade, but oh well...

My Core I7 machine is on hold right now due to me being a student in school and only having unemployment as income. The wife is calling the shots with the $$$ issue...

This post has been edited by Rokkaholik: Nov 8 2009, 11:09 AM

[Keishii~89]

That's a good option. Just get one that'll be easy on the wallet. After all. If it doesn't work, and it's other hardware, you can just RMA it. I did it with that PSU prblem. I replaced the mobo, only to work out that it was the PSU.

a P45 will be pretty good for you. Hell a minor upgrade from a non-working mobo, is STILL a good thing.l

Gigabyte have a good tracklife.
Asus have been known to be flaky. But my P6T has been good as gold, contrary to what most people have said about the P6T series. May just have a good batch.

[Rokkaholik]

There will never be another ASUS motherboard in one of my PC's after the last bout with their customer service and returning the same motherboard 2 times for the same problem, which they claim they fixed.

[Keishii~89]

There will never be another ASUS motherboard in one of my PC's after the last bout with their customer service and returning the same motherboard 2 times for the same problem, which they claim they fixed.

I been running 3.8ghz on this board for 2 months solid. not one flakeout. Add to that it's been running since May. I've had not one problem. The cases I see are always about the boards dropping brick after about a month. If it DOES go, There's soo many decent 1366 boards out now, for a decent dollar, I'm not too worried about it, although it'd tick me off some

[ccokeman]

Did you install the OS while overclocked..........

[Rokkaholik]

Now to add to the goofiness of this board, the internet seems to quit on me as well. I can surf for quite a while and have no problem, but the second I try to download a larger file or something, I cannot get a second window to load. The IE window comes up, but the progress bar hurries and gets DONE before anything appears leaving the window blank. All the buttons are there, File, Edit, etc... But the actual window stays blank and It will not refresh. Now the stupid part is that if I go to a SECURE server, that page will load fine and I can view things like my bank statement, or PayPal, but any regular HTTP window just stays white. I end up having to restsrt the PC and everything is fine after that.

[Rokkaholik]

Awesome, but not that awesome...


Gigabyte techs said that the board is having problems and that it IS still well within the 3 year manufacturer warranty.... On the down side, they do NOT do advanced RMA's, so I'd have to be without this computer for up to 2 weeks, which pisses me off. I've decided to go ahead and buy a newer Mobo for this PC, a P45, and then RMA this mobo once the new one is here and then sell the one that comes back from Gigabyte. So in a way, I get to upgrade this machine a little in the process.