ECS PT800CE-A blue screen help

[da_ezman]

I'm running a PT800CE-A v1.0a with a Celeron D 2.53G proc, 2x512MB of PC3200 400MHz DDR. 160GB hard drive and ATI Radeon 9200-128MB video. I have had sporatic reboots from my system for a few months. I suspected a weak power supply so I replaced it with a new 550watt unit. No help. Things just started getting worse.
Within the last few days, the unit started rebooting 3-4 times a day. I have scanned for virus and used several anti-spyware programs to eliminate any possible malicious files from causing this. I started getting the blue screen of death also. No changes were made to the computer just prior to this starting.
I read on other forums that this mobo is particular to the RAM it will run properly with. I purchased a new 1GB stick and replaced that, no help. I can boot the box in safe mode, as it is at this moment, and can access everything and am presently typing this from the box. So, all is not lost, yet.
I am running v1.1e of the BIOS, dated 1-20-2005. I have tried reflashing to 1.10 and back to 1.20, no difference, still blue screen on a normal boot. I have another of these boards in a computer that is running fine. I swapped the RAM between the boxes and no difference.
I have reset CMOS also. I have swapped video cards and checked msconfig and turned off all items that do not need to start up on boot. I have also gotten the program Windows XP Repair Pro and run it, along with RegVac to tidy things up and look for problems. Nothing seems to help.
Can anyone give me some clues as to what I can try now? This is my movie archieve box. It has 100GB of movies presently that I need to burn to DVD and don't want to lose them. Any help and suggestions will be greatly appreciated. This unit has built about 6-8 months ago and has run well until the last 30 days.
Many Thanks!!!

[Mike22]

A few things to consider...

Have you checked the processor temperature in the BIOS? Celerons usually run quite cool (not sure about the Prescott versions though). If the temperature looks abnormal (i.e. steadily rising above 50oC after powering on, check the CPU fan to make sure it's running, if it is, try reseating the heatsink - remembering to clean off the previous layer of thermal paste before applying a new layer.

Might be worth checking the memory timings in the BIOS, especially since you've flashed it a couple of times it's likely to be using default timings again. Start with the memory at 100MHz (200DDR) and slack timings - try something like:

CAS - 3.0 (if it won't boot, reset CMOS and try 2.5)
tRP - 4
tRCD - 4
tRAS - 8 (or 7 if there's no option for 8)

If you're able to get into Windows, reboot, then raise the memory speed to 333, test, and if it works stably, try 400, again with the slack timings given above.

Another thing to check is your power supply amp. ratings. Make sure your +5V line provides at least 35A, and that your +12V line is pushing at least 18A. If you're using a good quality PSU from a reputable manufacturer, such as Antec, Enermax, OCZ or Tagan, then this component is unlikely to be causing your problems.

If all that fails, remove any unneccessary components (I/O cards, sound cards and the like), and you could also try a different hard drive. Are you getting any S.M.A.R.T. warnings at bootup from your hard drive? (enable S.M.A.R.T. status checking in the Advanced BIOS Features/Setup in your BIOS). It could possibly be the drive is dying and gradually as more and more files become corrupt this has damaged your install of Windows (just a thought - this happened to me recently).

Aside from all that, all I can think of is a fresh install of Windows (or a repair - not recommended unless you clean out old drivers and device manager - but you did mention you have media you'd like to keep hold of on your hard drive).

Good luck

[da_ezman]

Thanks Mike22. I'll try adjusting the RAM freq and voltage and see what happens. I don't suspect heat as an issue. Box is running 4 extra case fans and the proc fan is clean. The box also runs 24/7 in safe mode. It never shuts down or reboots in safe mode. I have acquired a memory test program and will run it tonight also.
Power supply is a new unit rated at 550w. Was getting the same results with the original 450w supply. Just replaced as a troubleshooting step.
Have attempted a fresh Windows XP load but I am directed to delete the present partition and set up a new one. My 160G drive is one partition and I didn't want to run the risk of losing everything by deleting the partition. My other thoughts are to install this hard drive in another box running the same mobo. This will narrow it down to corrupt OS, driver, dieing H/D or bad mobo. I have S.M.A.R.T. turned on and am receiving no messages.
Thanks, I'll try your suggestions and post my findings.

[da_ezman]

I adjusted the voltage to 3 and the box would not boot at all. Reset CMOS and put voltage back to 2.5. Also tried adjusting frequency between 100-133-166 & 200 but none of these settings seemed to help. I pulled the RAM and installed into another box I have running the same board. After a day, it started rebooting on it's own when I multi-tasked. The RAM had the same specs, 512MB-PC3200-400MHz-nonECC, but were from different vendors. They worked fine seperately but not as a set.
I also built out a new hard drive with Windows XP Pro, anti-virus, audio and video card drivers and a few other programs. Unit has run for over 48 hours error free. I plan on slaving my original drive back in to rescan for virus and to run a repair utility to try and fix. Otherwise, I will just pull my documents and video files over to my new drive and reformat the original one.
Long story short, make sure your RAM is matched and verified by the board manufacturer. I almost chunked a good mobo just because of the indications I was getting and the posts of others with this same board. Thanks again for the advise!!!