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Pastimes : Dream Machine ( Build your own PC ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Doug Soon who wrote (13440)	7/1/2002 12:57:03 AM
From: Robert Graham	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14778

I have swapped the motherboard. I think this was actually the problem all along. But this fix did not solve the remaining problem with that "machine check" message that would still show up after burn-in testing. In the past this message was coincidental to other signs of data corruption. This last time there were no other signs of problems. But I still went ahead and installed Windows 2000 Pro. I ran the burn-in test for 7 1/2 hours with no problems. I think the motherboard was operating marginally within spec, which IMO is very rare. That is why the changes I made with memory and heat and power supply made some difference but did not solve the problem. Ever since I changed the motherboard (same model but a new copy), the video card problem has disappeared. So I hope I have finally solved the problem. Bob Graham

To: Doug Soon who wrote (13440)	7/1/2002 2:17:14 PM
From: Robert Graham	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14778

Here it is the second day and the system booted with no errors in the event log file. None of the "odd" behaviors that I have seen earlier. Video continues to work. If I have solved the problem, I have two thoughts as to the solutions. One solution was the swap of the motherboard. I suspect the rectifier on the motherboard may have been the problem. The other solution many will disagree with me on. I suspect my hardware, perhaps something to do with the 815EM and 815EP "B Stepping" versions of the Intel 815 chipset, is not completely compatible with Windows XP. Perhaps this is not the case with every copy of the chipset. But I find it very coincidental that both the rented portable and my PC had the same unusual error message and data corruption problem. The only things in common was the Windows XP operating system and the Dell having a mobile version of the chipset that my desktop PC uses. Both chipsets are the later versions of the 815 family of chipsets. Also the install of the Windows 2000 OS works very well, better than Windows XP on my machine, from what I can see so far. I think there are Windows XP drivers that do not work as well as the Windows 2000 drivers on my hardware, or at least the same driver works better with Windows 2000. One example is the video driver. On Windows XP, the video driver would go through some machinations which included blanking the screen for a period of time before it settled on an operating mode during bootup. For Windows 2000, this does not happen. Shutdown happens much more quickly, which is a little strange since Windows XP was designed to bootup and shutdown more quickly. When I went to examine the event log, the icon for the event log would change color moments after I opened the folder it is in. This does not happen with Windows 2000. Any thoughts? Bob Graham PS: It is interesting that the Dell Inspiron 2500 also uses a NVidia video controller. Perhaps it is the combination of hardware that is the problem with Windows XP? I think this would be a more likely scenario than the chipset itself.