testing hardware - use what software ?

[Robin Laing]

max bianco wrote:
> On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 11:47 AM, Tim <ignored_mailbox at yahoo.com.au> wrote:
>> On Sat, 2008-05-24 at 00:08 +1000, David Timms wrote:
>>> Yes, and shoot it with the heat gun and so on. But is there some
>>> software designed to do stress testing ?
>> I've often asked something similar from PC shops, as their testing
>> seemed to comprise of just seeing if it'll boot and stay running for
>> half an hour...
>>
> Yes, people do not realize how hard it is to pinpoint a hardware
> problem. Many are under the impression there is some magic involved
> and results should be instant and/or provide instant "Star Trek" style
> solutions. We are not quite there yet , especially as far down the
> totem pole as your average pc repair shop. I try to use the computer
> as much as possible but time is money and you can easily run up a bill
> that exceeds the cost of a cheap machine quite quickly. However if you
> feel you have a genuine hardware problem then I would do the
> following. The order will vary depending on where you think, based on
> your observations, the problem lies.
> 
>

SNIP.


> 
> All comments, criticisms, questions, pointing out of incorrect info
> welcome and appreciated.
> 
> 
> Max
> 

Very good points.

Back in the 386/486 days, I had an ISA board that would run a bunch of 
hardware and software tests to check the hardware.  Not perfect but sure 
helped.

A good digital volt meter to measure the voltage rails.  A power supply 
that is close to being out of limits could drift enough to cause the 
computer to freeze at strange times.  The BIOS voltage readings are not 
always that accurate.

Also, when cleaning out the dust.  Make sure that you know where all the 
jumper settings are on the motherboard.  Cost me many hours when one of 
the jumper shorting connectors came off on my computer.

Also confirm that the latest BIOS is installed.  Even on new 
motherboards.  This fixed a freezing issue on a new computer for me. 
Worked okay with 4Gig of ram but not 8 gig.  Memtest worked great.

-- 
Robin Laing