Computer freezing

[boofhead]

I have three PCs with XP running Xplane 8.6 and networked together to drive a big three screen display on a PA18 simulator. I have had to replace all three computers because of wear and tear. Of course I cannot replace them exactly and while getting the funding to buy new solid state computers I am trying to eke out more time with the present lot, all different and all running different hardware.

It was running well, but recently the two support PCs have started to freeze. Only a manual restart gets them going again.

I do not have any monitoring programs installed.

Can anyone suggest a monitoring program I can use to see the logs of the failures? Any way to determine the cause? Maybe the PCs are overheating, or the power supplies are failing (not likely, they are all new) or maybe the building is not supplying the right quality of power? (they are connected through a 220 volt supply which the trailer breaks down to 110 for the electronics and uses the 220 volts to run the motion base).

Is there anything built in to XP that I can access to see the history of failures?

What would be the most common causes of a computer freeze? In my experience it is usually the graphics card but these are all new and should be able to handle the load. One of the computers gives a message about bad Open GL files after it is told to shut down, are they loaded with the drivers or should I try to upgrade them also?

[mixture]

There's software out there you can use to stress test computers.... try that for an extended period of time (e.g. overnight) and then see where it fails.

Oh, and the obligatory .... get ...rid...of ... XP ! :cool:

[boofhead]

The programs I am using do not run on anything other than XP. The computers are not on the web only networked to each other.

This is a new problem unrelated to XP. The system has been running for years with no failures to speak of. Now I have three used computers, all using different graphics cards, new power supplies, etc and suddenly this crops up? Something must be common to affect two out of the three computers at the same time.

I searched for software to monitor the computers but cannot find anything that gives me what I want. All the monitoring programs are designed to do is watch keystrokes and the like to see where the computer is going while I want to see failures, power outputs and needs, temperatures and such to get a lead on what might be going wrong. Do you have a suggestion as to what program I might download and try?


For example if the building power is low, would that not put a load on the PC power supply and maybe give a lower output to the graphic card, causing it to fail?

One of the usual reasons for freezing in my experience has been failures of the graphics card, sometimes the card just refuses to work in that particular PC any longer although it still works in some other PC. But there are other reasons for freezing and maybe I need to look for them.

I have a time constraint, a big job for the Simulator later this month and need it to work.

[mixture]

I've used Passmark BurnInTest in the past .... have a peek at their site and see if that's what you're after, I reckon it might be.

OEMs use solutions from Ultra-X .... so if you're serious about hardware diagnostics then that's probably what you really want, but I suspect you might find the pricing overkill for your one-off requirement.

[llondel]

A few obvious things to check/try.

1. Carefully attempt to remove all the dust from the system. Be careful with vacuum cleaners generating static though.
2. Re-seat all the connectors and RAM. Again, make sure you're properly earthed to the case before handling components.
3. Check the power supplies - eventually the big capacitors dry out and system regulation goes unreliable.
4. Also check the motherboards for vented capacitors - many of them have a scored lid so that if internal pressure builds up they vent through a known weakness rather than just explode.
5. Make sure all the fans are rotating cleanly and at a sensible speed. You can get programs to monitor fan speed and system temperatures.

I always keep a spare power supply and selection of fans on hand because they're the items that fail the most. If it's been a bit warm or you've had a sudden surge of dust due to another cause, it's possible that two machines might have gone close together.

[Saab Dastard]

Check the system event log.

SD