Can anyone recommend a good system diagnostic tool? I need to check my systems memory as I suspect there may be problems. I have burned DVDs in the past on this system with no problems. Now it will never complete the process. Using Sonic software... it never finishes transcoding the video. In Nero 6.6 it finishes transcoding but never burns. On some occasions the system reboots itself out of the blue. I've scanned for viruses. Perhaps something may be simply corrupted. I'm just trying to avoid reloading my entire system. Any ideas or tips?

This is a NEC ND3500AG on a :
Tyan DUAL P3 1Ghz system with 500MB

well... at the moment I'm only running on one cpu. The other one needs to be replaced.

I used to do a lotta AutoCAD and 3D raytracing type stuff on this system. That's why I went with dual processor. But for DVD authoring, does anyone see any advantage to running dual CPUs ? Maybe I'm better off going with a new P4 3+ Ghz.

Did you change something? What about system ASPI?

(in reply to KennyG944)

Hmmmm... ASPI. I'll give that a check. I guess at this point, anything's worth a shot if it keeps me from having to reload everything. Just another note.... I took my old drive (a Pioneer A03) and dropped that in one of my other old systems. Again this other system is a Win 2K box but only has a P3 800Mhz chip in it with 128MB. I tried last night burning a Video CD on the old A03 with just one simple music video about 5 minutes long and it burned PERFECTLY on the first try. My P3 1Ghz 500MB with the ND-3500AG wouldn't even do such a simple thing without hanging. I went with burning the VCD as the CDs are far cheaper to experiment with than DVDs. I guess if all else fails, flush it out and start clean. Amazing how so much crap gets left behind when you install and uninstall stuff on a windows system.

(in reply to Iggy)

If your system is rebooting, that is a sure sign that you have a hardware problem...assuming that you're running Win2k SP4 and any recent hotfixes.

Here are some testers for your memory. I use them all the time when burning in new systems...even helped me diagnose memory problems on my current PC.
Memtest86 3.2
http://www.memtest86.com/

Memtest86+ 1.30 (fork of original Memtest86)
http://www.memtest.org/

Let it run for a few complete passes (couple of hours or so) to make sure you don't have any problems. Also what is your exact PC config (hardware & software).

tq

(in reply to KennyG944)

Ok... a little more system info...

NEC ND-3500AG with 2.18 on Secondary Master by itself.
Windows 2000 Professional (5.00.2195 Service Pack 4)
DirectX 9.0c
Nero Burning ROM 6, 6, 0, 1
PENTIUM III 1000 MHz, 133 MHz Bus, 511 MB
VIA VT82C694X, Award 6.00 PG

ASPI Information
----------------
System ASPI : ASPI is installed and working properly

wnaspi32.dll : 4.57 (1008) 48128 bytes December 22, 1997
aspi32.sys : 4.57 (1008) 23936 bytes December 22, 1997
winaspi.dll : 4.57 (1008) 5600 bytes December 22, 1997
wowpost.exe : 4.57 (1008) 4672 bytes December 22, 1997

Nero ASPI : ASPI is installed and working properly

WNASPI32.DLL : 2.0.1.68 160016 bytes July 28, 2004


I did notice that my older P3 800 system has a differnt ASPI installed and looks newer. Here it is:

ASPI Information
----------------
System ASPI : ASPI is installed and working properly

wnaspi32.dll : 4.60 (1017) 48128 bytes November 12, 1998
aspi32.sys : 4.60 (1017) 25920 bytes November 12, 1998
winaspi.dll : 4.60 (1017) 5600 bytes November 12, 1998
wowpost.exe : 4.60 (1017) 4672 bytes November 12, 1998

Nero ASPI : ASPI is installed and working properly

WNASPI32.DLL : 2.0.1.68 160016 bytes July 28, 2004

Maybe it's a combination of the two. Newer ASPI needed on the P3 1000 Ghz system and possible hardware problems. I'll be sure to try the memory tester to see if I can find any problems there. Maybe I should pick up another P3 CPU to replace the bad one. Would be better to have the board running on two again. I must say that I am rather curious as to why it failed in the first place. I think it's the only CPU I've ever had to fail on me. If you'd like, I'd be happy to send the output of Nero InfoTool on my system as I figured it would be WAY to long to post here. :-)

(in reply to tqhoang)

Your ASPI is defniitely old. Even the 4.60 is not the latest from Adaptec. Here's a link to the latest and probably the last Adaptec ASPI v4.71.2
http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/support/driverdetail.jsp?sess=no&language=English+US&cat=/Product/ASPI-4.70&filekey=aspi_471a2.exe

- For Win98-Me-NT4-2000:
Just run the ASPIINST.EXE to start the installer...no need to run "install.bat x86"
- For WinXP (IA32 & IA64):
You need to run "install.bat xp32" or "install.bat xp64" respectively.

BTW would this be one of those motherboards with a dual Slot-1 and Socket-370 socket? The computer I built for my Mom was a Tyan Trinity 400 S1854 (VIA Apollo Pro 133:VT82C694X+VT82C596B). If so, I'm pretty sure you can't use both slots/sockets to make it into a dual-CPU board.

Also have you ever installed the VIA 4in1 chipset drivers? I know older versions had some issues with the IDE drivers. I would recommend the latest for legacy VIA chipsets which is VIA 4in1 v4.43. Of course most people don't have problems installing the 4in1 drivers, but just in case, I'd recommend doing a backup (Norton Ghost or something like that) before installing the 4in1 drivers.
http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=2&Type=1

PS A bad CPU would probably cause a lockup rather than a reboot. Just make sure you have the latest BIOS for your board and make sure it completes the Memtest86(+) tests to eliminate a hardware problem.

(in reply to KennyG944)

Hey.... you're right! I do have a Trinity 400 S1854. BUT... that's the one I'm running the P3 800Mhz 128 MG on. My DUAL system is a Tyan Tiger 230 S2507D which is a true dual cpu motherboard. It does have the VIA Apollo Pro133A VT82C694X+VT82C686B onboard. I've been meaning to take the P3 1Ghz chips out of the Tiger one at a time and plug them into the Trinity just to make sure the one is truely DOA and not just some motherboard issue.

I know they are old and I do plan to update soon. I've just been a bit lazy. I'll try the new ASPI and see what happens. I hope to try the memtest soon. Packing for a holiday trip tonight. :-)

(in reply to tqhoang)

ASPI 4.60 is more stable than the newer version, according to many users.

(in reply to tqhoang)

I am using WinXP pro SP1 and have 2 DVD burners. My pc used to "freeze" everytime I accessed either of the burners. I uninstalled ASPI 4.71 and installed ASPI 4.60. Haven't had any "freezes" since. The experts were correct for me. WinXP and ASPI 4.7 does not work with my DVD burners. Motherboard: ASUS P4P800 Delux.

(in reply to Iggy)

You can download a complete ASPI fix program here (4.60) just READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and follow them:

http://members.aol.com/mp3mogul/aspi.zip

(in reply to EightPaws)