Re: [LAU] Hard lock-ups plus MOTU UltrLite Mk3

Not an overhaul, but probably a good checkup and cleaning. I run machines older than that, but make sure to regularly open the cases up and clean up guck on fans and such. And to run it with the cover off and make sure that all the fans are working. I also take those little desiccant bags (that practically every piece of electronic gadgetry comes with these days) and pile them in the bottom of the case. I think that doing so has kept my systems running longer, keeps humidity down in the case. Darren Landrum wrote: > Overheating CPU? That's a thought. > > Well, I guess my system is a year old and could use a bit of an > overhaul. Thank you very much for the help! > > -- Darren > > > James Cameron wrote: >> On Sat, May 23, 2009 at 09:50:45PM -0400, Darren Landrum wrote: >>> Well, I decided to run memtest86, and it locked up during the test. >> Ah, good, that reduces the component set to something quite smaller. >> The things I would consider as cause for that are: >> >> 1. dust in the CPU cooling fins, (I take my systems outside and run a >> vacuum cleaning in reverse, with a thin nozzle, and play the air stream >> over the various parts of the heatsink), >> >> 2. non-rotation or slow rotation of the cooling fans, (if the system >> has a BIOS sensor display, check that it shows a reasonable rotation of >> the fan, typical rotation rates are from 1000 to 3000 RPM, in my >> experience, and is fixable by replacing the fan, or cleaning it) >> >> 3. drying out of the thermal conducting grease between the CPU and the >> heatsink, (I recently had to remove and reapply the grease on a Pentium >> 4 3GHz desktop at home, symptom was CPU temperature consistently high >> and random power downs), >> >> 4. failing power supply, (I unplug non-essential devices temporarily, >> such as hard drive, to lower the average power draw, and see if the >> memtest symptom goes away ... I also check the power supply voltages >> with a meter), >> >> 5. corrosion or other damage to the memory DIMM socket or module, (I >> wiggle the DIMMs during a memtest, with about the equivalent of up to >> 200 gram force ... if the memtest result changes in a cycle with my >> wiggling, I know there's damage), >> >> 6. a specific memory DIMM failed, (remove it, see if memtest >> completes). >> >> Oh, and above all remember to use anti-static procedures, and try not to >> unplug or replug things inside the unit while the power is on. >> >> Static discharge damage is particularly annoying because it typically >> happens months after the static discharge happens. The discharge causes >> damage which then takes a long time before it begins to make the >> component fail. >> >> So "it works after I zapped it" isn't a reliable method of proving no >> damage was done.