I just built my little brother a desktop computer, and when I try to do some things ie..(virus scan, internet, media player) after a minute or so it freezes and i have to press the reset button. I just did a format and fresh install of Windows XP.

Here is some info about the setup:
Windows XP with SP2
DFI Lanparty nf4 sli-dr expert
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
2 Gig of PQI ram
Sapphire radeon X300 SE PCI-E video card
240 Gig Western digital SATA hard drive
I/O Magic lightscribe dvd+-rw/+-r dual layer dvd burner
16X dvd-rom drive
500 watt power supply
Airlink101 wireless network card

any help would be greatly appreciated

I made a similiar statement. I have windows xp sp2 with "killer" supporting hardware. It has been up running for a few years now. I recieved it as a gift from Dad so I get NO real manufacture support for any of my issues. And I have had alot of them because I have added various hardware to it.

The most recent is the freezes during scans for the same sort from various titles that look for viruses and such. Pchelp forum has been my only lifeline to real help. From here I been able to focus on the problems so long as I can get my pc to boot and run long enough to check my threads.

Point is between all the possible causes, I have checked into all of them and learned more about my situation with each probe.
The first thing I did was start scans to look for malware.....and all that it implies. All this did was create more lock ups with each deep scan for viruses and drive me crazy.

The second thing was hardware. I had been suspecting my HDD for the longest time. Then I got speedfan software. It checks for a harddrive condition with a database of statistics derived from your specific HDD man. Then gives you some idea of what you should expect in performance at this date and time.

Mine turns out to have a very good track record. But I saw some very high temps going on in there. Before I went inside the case, I was told to check the RAM sticks contacts as they may be loose or oxidized. The last time I had this issue, it turned out to be a "dried rotted" or "bad" ide cable that pulled apart when I tugged it.

So I thought to check for things like this when I went in. Turns out the Fan on my graphic card had quit ! I took out the card and used the onbaord video and I havent seen it freeze up yet although my wife tells me it froze shortly after I left the house that day. That was yesterday, so today I am waiting to see it freeze.

Meantime, the temps are very much lower. I am looking at 91F right now from 130+F yesterday.
With all the restarting I have had to do, I also learned that my cmos batt is weak and it doesnt always remember minor settings changes or even boot properly to the HDD.

I hope you gain some sense from reading this that I sympathise with your issue.

I am going to find advice on what graphic card I need next or to find a new fan for this outmoded geforce 5200 that I see is still being sold by some distributors. It was a good card for me, it did perform well while it lasted. Its probably still fine if I can just get a strong fan put back on it.

Speedfan:
http://www.almico.com/speedfan428.exe

I was also given this link to test RAM but I havent figured out how to burn it to a disk and boot to it to run the test YET !
http://www.memtest86.com/


Good Luck I hope your little bro, appreciates all your hard work.
My current temp is still 91F.

I have found the problem. It was the dual channel ram. I was about to just buy a new MB, and i was looking at some peoples reviews of the MB i have and found the solution. With dual channel ram the MB doesn't run correctly unless they are in slots 2 and 4 instead of 1 and 3.

thanks 4 the help

Good of you to post the solution

Marked as [Resolved]