motherboard diagnostic?

mugatu

mugatu

Geek Trainee
i have a computer that is locking up during Windows XP bootup, and it locks up when i put the install disc in as well. it seemed like a hardware problem, so i ran Forefront's The Troubleshooter and i got a fail code while running the motherboard System Timer tests. it said:

Channel 2 Test: FAILED
Channel 2 Frequency (Hz): 897

i have no idea what this means, although it sounds like the mobo's bad. Is there any mobo diagnostic software i can download to double-check these findings so I can make 100% sure it's bad before i tell my friend she needs to order a new one? it needs to either run in Linux or be OS-independent, because good ole Windoze does not work at all, although i have been able to successfully boot to a live Linux CD (Mandrake Move 9.2 to be more specific)--hooray Linux! anyway, any advice would most certainly be appreciated. Thanks!
 
What are the specs?

I really don't put a lot of stock in motherboard diagnostic software simply because it may not be programmed correctly for the particular motherboard you have.

What it does sound like is a possibility of the hard drive being corrupted or not being properly recognized under BIOS. The other thing that might be an issue is the CPU isn't set to the proper speed or it's overheating, which can cause problems when trying to install the OS. It could also be that there is a RAM issue. Wether it's defective or just a case of some over-agressive timings, I can't say. What I would try is clearing CMOS and try to install Windows from there.
 
i can try clearing the CMOS and reinstalling Windoze, but i'm pretty sure it's not the RAM cause it tested OK. i'm also pretty sure it's not the hard drive because the system locked up with a brand new hard drive installed when i tried to reinstall Windoze. right now i have taken all the PCI cards out and disconnected all of the IDE drives--i only have the floppy drive connected. i wouldn't think that the CPU would be set to the wrong speed because this is an OEM Sony computer and has worked fine for quite a while. all of a sudden the owner turned it on one day and it locked up trying to load Windoze. it does seem reasonable that the CPU could be overheating, but the computer doesn't work normally even if it's been left off for a while. i'll try clearing the CMOS and post my results.
 
i found another Diagnostic that runs in DOS called AMIDIAG DOS 6.2. i ran all the mobo tests, including the timer test, and everything seemed to work fine. i would trust those results more since this software is current and The Troubleshooter software is a little outdated. i now think the majority of my problems may be due to an overheating problem--while i was tinkering around in the BIOS i discovered the CPU was running at 73 degrees Celcius. probably not a good thing:

http://www.hardwareforums.com/showthread.php?p=16153&posted=1#post16153
 
The thing with these diagnostic programs is they may not be designed with your motherboard in mind. I've got motherboards from several different companies, and they usually have some software specifically for their motherboards which may not work correctly on another company's boards.
 
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