STOP errors maybe related to faulty cache memory? NEED HELP

[Sampson 0]

Since you're resisting Harry's methodical but very sound approach, if you wouldn't mind - Bring up your System Information program. Click on the plus next to Components and the plus next to MultiMedia, then CDRom. What does it say? Do the same for Storage and Drives. What does this say?

[shassouneh 0]

I'll update sysinfo.txt and post a link to it very soon You cane asily look at the sysinfo.txt file and see for yourself everything

[Sampson 0]

It was in looking at a previous Sysinfo.txt, that the dicrepancy was found. All I am asking is that you run the System Information program. It refreshes its reading of your system each time it runs. Click on Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information. Then, click on the plus next to Components and the plus next to MultiMedia, then CDRom. What does it say? Do the same for Storage and Drives. What does this say?

 

Consider this a fishing expedition.

[Dirty Harry 0]

Don't know what Shassounes real issue is, but he is not reading the advice given or even care to reply on several important matters. I get the feeling that there's something he doesn't wanna tell..

 

It is really a waste of time to try to help here before we know:

 

Why he claims its a fresh windows install, then posts a link to a several weeks old sysinfo which is everything but fresh. He also says he has a "minimal set of hardware (hard drive, DVD drive, and video card") and again the sysinfo shows loads of other stuff.

 

Secondly, why is the CPU voltage wrong ? Apart from proving that he did not clear the CMOS as he claimed, it strongly suggests that the system is or was overclocked. Maybe somebody sold him a stepped up CPU ? We don't really even know what CPU he has, do we?

 

And thirdly, he steadfastly refuses to determine if it is a hardware or a windows issue which easily could be done by booting to DOS (or his Linux partition). Neither do we get answer to what the CPU settings are in bios and how the CPU is identified on boot.

 

H.

[Sampson 0]

You've nailed it before, and your probably right. Time to move on.

[shassouneh 0]

Quote:

Don't know what Shassounes real issue is, but he is not reading the advice given or even care to reply on several important matters. I get the feeling that there's something he doesn't wanna tell..

It is really a waste of time to try to help here before we know:

Why he claims its a fresh windows install, then posts a link to a several weeks old sysinfo which is everything but fresh. He also says he has a "minimal set of hardware (hard drive, DVD drive, and video card") and again the sysinfo shows loads of other stuff.

Secondly, why is the CPU voltage wrong ? Apart from proving that he did not clear the CMOS as he claimed, it strongly suggests that the system is or was overclocked. Maybe somebody sold him a stepped up CPU ? We don't really even know what CPU he has, do we?

And thirdly, he steadfastly refuses to determine if it is a hardware or a windows issue which easily could be done by booting to DOS (or his Linux partition). Neither do we get answer to what the CPU settings are in bios and how the CPU is identified on boot.

H.

Dear All, first of all, the reason i posted an old sysinfo.txt file is that with THAT configuration, the system was working perfectly fine at 1.4GHZ. As for the processor, it is OBVIOULSY 1.4GHZ since it was working at 1.4GHZ. Also, I did some research, and my board doesn't support overclocking to begin with.
Hiding something? huh? neg your pardon. I have tried my best to reveal as much infromation as possible.
As for resetting the BIOS, I HAVE done that by shutting down/power off, removing the power chord, and removing the jumper for 10 seconds before placing it back in. The result? The BIOS settiings where re-sert at 1GHZ (something I could have done myself).
As for booting to DOS its pointless. Yes I can boot into a command prompt just fine (that's how I formatted), BUT windows also boots succesfully at 1.4GHZ, but doesn't handle a large load (if the machine runs WITHOUT OPENING ANY PROGRAMS it will give a stop error in less than 20 minutes. Try to run RTCW and it will give a STOP error IMMEDIATELY).
I am currently about to restart my computer, and as soon as I do, I'll run System INformation, and make an updated sysinfo.txt file. I will post to a link to it here shortly!

[shassouneh 0]

I Have just updated the System information File(s). Below is a link to the zip file containing them. REMMEMBER: YOU MUST OPEN THE LINK BELOW IN A WEB BROWSER then you can use right click / save target as.

 

OPEN ME IN A WEB BROWSER

 

Note: The zip file contains two files, one is a .nfo file, and the other is a .txt file. They are identical. I included both just in case you prefer to view the .nfo file or vice-versa.

[Dirty Harry 0]

OK, we are getting back on the slow road forward again...

 

First of all, pretty much everyhting can be overclocked except your grandma. Including your board and CPU. Not that I recommend it, but for instance this LINK gives advice on how to OC your particular board, just for the record.

 

Your issue could be another OC one. A common trick to OC Athlons is to close a few bridges on the CPU with a pencil to change or release the multiplier. It could also be possible to run a Athlon made for a FSB of 100Mhz at a higher 133 Mhz speed. Eventually, the graphite from the pencil wears off, and BANG, you are in trouble. Thats why you should take off the heatsink and write down the text printed on the CPU. This is the only way we are ever going to be 100% sure what speed your CPU was intended to run. It doesn't make much sence to do this trick with a board where you cannot change the multiplier, but who knows? And once more, what makes you so certain that your CPU (not your mobo)is made for a 133 Mhz FSB?

Your theory is "As for the processor, it is OBVIOULSY 1.4GHZ since it was working at 1.4GHZ" ... sorry this is crap, my Athlon 1400 is running at 1600, what does that OBVIOUSLY make it ?

 

Secondly, if you boot into DOS from a floppy all extra hardware disconnected , and encounter problems (running for example a CPU testing program for an hour) you know for certain that it's the memory, the CPU or the MoBo thats defect. If you don't encounter problems, you can start with a clean XP install (without printers, sound cards and ZIP drives, like you now have). Only one HD, one basic CD player and graphics card. N o t h i n g extra, just as barebones as you can to install XP. Again, test and you'll know what hardware works OK. Nad leave the memory timings on slowest possible when you troubleshoot.

 

A few questions on another possibility, and please answer: exactly how is your CPU identified in Bios and boot up screen ? Something or somebody is setting (or has set) at least one parameter wrong. The correct voltage for your CPU is NOT 1.8V. Where did you get the 1.792 value from? Just look what its set to be at in Bios and report. Your CPU should be running at 1.75V. Can you manually set the voltages?

 

And last, you wrote about clearing the CMOS "As for resetting the BIOS, I HAVE done that by shutting down/power off, removing the power chord, and removing the jumper for 10 seconds before placing it back in". Well, if you literally did that, you wouldn't have resetted the bios on my board at least, you need to switch the jumper from pins 1-2 to pins 2-3 for 10 secs to clear the CMOS. See your manual for details.

 

I still suspect that your main problem is that your CPU is not identified as a 10.5 x 133= 1400 Mhz Athlon because your bios settings are wrong. The second thing I'd test is a different power supply, if you have one handy. The third thing to do, IMO, is to take out the CPU, clean it (note the numbers) and make sure that the temp diode beneath it is in contact with the bottom of the CPU. BTW, don't you get 2 or 3 temp readings - what are they ?

 

H.

[shassouneh 0]

Ok, Lemme first start by collecting some data. I'm about to shut down, wait for the system to cool a bit, then take out the chip and record everything on it. Before I do that, I am going to go in the CPU PnP setup and report all the values I get.

NOTE: When I reset the bios (above) it said something like "run setup" and it set the default settings at 1050MHZ @ 100MHZ/100MHZ.

 

Anyways, let me colle3ct some data and get back to you, ASAP

[shassouneh 0]

Here is the information I was able to cllect. The First part is the processor information,

 

the second is a PARTIAL list of my BIOS settings. Of coarse, it wouldn't make sens to post

 

all the BIOS settings, as that would take me FOREVER to write down and type. Please feel

 

free to also look over the recently-updated sysinfo.txt or sysinfo.nfo (posted above).

 

Processor Information:

NOTE: It was really hard to read this, I appologize if a few letters or digits may be off. I

 

have done my best to get them right. This is from the central rectangle (on the processor chip):

 

--DATA Segment Starts Here--

 

Processor Information:

 

AMD Athlon

A1400AMS3C

AYHJA0132BPLW

Y6717730639

(copyright symbol) 1999

 

BIOS information:

 

 

Advanced Setup:

 

Quick Boot: Enabled

1st Boot Device: IDE-0

2nd Boot Device: floppy

3rd Boot Device: CD ROM

Try Other Boot Devices: Yes

BootUp Num-Lock: On

Floppy Drive Swap: Disabled

Floppy Drive Seek: Disabled

Password Check: Setup

Boot To OS/2 > 64MB: No

L1 cache: Enabled

L2 cache: Enabled

System BIOS Cacheable: Enabled

GraphicWin Size: 64M

DRAM Timing Configuration: Normal

SDR/DDR CAS Latency: SPD

SDR/DDR RAS Active Time: 4T

Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Clk: Enabled

Clk GEN Spread Spectrum: Enabled

 

PCI/Plug n Play Setup:

 

Plug and PLay Aware O/S: yes

AGP Select: 4x

Primary Graphics Adapter: AGP

Allocate IRQ to PCI VGA: yes

 

Features Setup:

 

Onboard FDC: Disabled

Onboard Serial Port A: 3F8h/COM1

Onboard Serial Port B: 2F8h/COM2

Serial port 2 Mode: Normal

Onboard Parrallel Port: 378h

Parrallel port Mode: SPP

Parallel port IRQ: 7

Parallel port DMA: N/A

Onboard Game port: 201h

Onboard MIDI Port: 300h

MIDI port IRQ: 10

Onboard PCI IDE: Both

Onboard AC' 97 Sound: Disabled

Onboard AC' 97 Modem: Disabled

Onboard LAN: Enabled

USB Function Support: Enabled

USB Function for DOS: Disabled

 

CPU PnP Setup:

 

CPU BRAND: AMD k7

CPU Type: Athlon

CPU Speed: 100/100 MHZ

CPU Core Voltage: 1.792 V

CPU Ratio: 10.5x

CPU Frequency: 100 MHZ

DRAM Frequency: 100 MHZ

 

Hardware Monitor:

-==System Hardware==-

Vcore: 1.792 V

Vcc2.5v: 2.496 V

Vcc3.3v: 3.264 v

vcc5v: 4.865 v

+12v: 12.352 v

SB3v: 3.472 v

-12v: -11.393 v

SB5v: 5.053 v

VBAT: 3.488 v

SYSTEM fan speed: 0 RPM

CPU Fan Speed: 5113 RPM

SYSTEM TEMPERATURE: 28C/82F

CPU Temperature: 55C/131F (sometimes this is 56C/132F)

 

--END OF DATA segment--

 

Note: The setting above make the processor work at 1 GHZ (1050MHZ) perfectly. It is STILL problemeatic with 133/133MHZ (1.4GHZ).

 

Please look over the data given above, and the sysinfo.txt (or sysinfo.nfo) through the link posted above.

 

Again, here is the link to the system information

 

OPEN ME IN A WEB BROWSER

 

Remmember: You MUST open the baove link in a web browser, THEN you can right click / save target as...

 

The zip file contains two files, a sysinfo.nfo and a sysinfo.txt, they are identical apart from how you open them. I included both to suit your preference.

[Sampson 0]

It is pretty late, and I didn't really have a chance to study the new sysinfo that well, but one quick discrepancy is the Parallel port. In your Bios setting you assign it an IRQ 7. This is not reflected in the Sysinfo. In your hardware device manager the parallel port can be assigned 3 different ways of communicating. I look at it more closely tomorrow.

[ironwalker 0]

umm few things;

PnP OS=no

3t on the memory timeing if possible

do you have pci graphics? if not ,turn off "Allocate irq to pci graphics"

do you use onboard lan? if not turn it off

if possible lower VCORE to 1.75 or tad less but try 1.75 first.

where did ya get 32degrees cel. thats the motherboard temp your cpu is 55degrees celsious,a tad high but normal for Athlon.

[ironwalker 0]

forgot to ask...is this jumperless mainboard and are there any jumpers on the board ad all?Is there one for cpu type and vcore settings?

[Davros 0]

Shassouneh,

 

About a year ago I had the same problems from cheap-a$$ generic memory. I had to underclock the system bus from 133mhz to 100mhz to get it to work for more than a few minutes. Buying good memory (Mushkin) fixed my problem. Another thing that comes to mind is possible chipset overheating, but I know you've heard plenty of that. I beleive your problem is hardware malfunction, so I will rule out software and settings problems immediately. Based on that, here are my suggestion for troubleshooting this headache:

 

1. Install a floppy drive for christ's sake! You will need it for some testing. You can get one for $15 at a pc chop-shop.

 

2. Establish a baseline.

Set your system bus to the unstable 133mhz, start the computer. Do some big winzip operations or something like that to stress the system. Don't run any type of cd software or games or audio. You want to time this so you know how long it takes for your system to crash.

 

3. Remove ALL expansion cards (not video obviously). Remove ALL drives except the HDD you need to boot with. Remove printer, scanner, etc. Start the computer, let Windows do it's reconfig thing if it has to, then shut down.

 

4. Start the computer, run the stress test again. If you have no errors after a while, one of the components you removed is bad.

You need to add the components one at a time back to the system and repeat this test for each component until you find the one that is bad.

If you still get the error with no components added, it's got to be memory, cpu, vcard, power supply, or mobo.

 

5. Borrow as much as you can from friends. Memory, cpu, video card, power supply, and swap yours out to test it. Memory first (my prime suspect), try each memory slot, one at a time. Then cpu, then vcard, and so on. This is the best method, and will pinpoint the bad component. If you swap all 4 (mem, cpu, vcard, ps) and still have trouble, it must be mobo, or possibly the hard drive. Swap out a spare drive to narrow it down further.

 

If you can't find spare parts, you have to figure this out the hard way, before wasting money buying stuff.

 

6. Uninstall your video card drivers, then install the Standard VGA drivers. Do the stress tests. If this fixed the problem, it is the VCARD. Try different drivers, or a new VCARD.

 

7. Download DocMem and use it to test your memory. If you have bad memory, it will tell you.

 

8. Monitor your ps voltage with some monitoring software. Make sure it's where it should be, and doesn't waver, especially during stress testing.

 

9. You should be able to narrow it down to your cpu/mobo at this point. Unfortunately, you will have to find spare parts for these to test them out. So do your best with obtaining them!

 

10. Destroy everything in sight, then got to bed.

[shassouneh 0]

Dear Davros, I will look into your helpful suggestions tommorow. I'm tired and I need to go to bed

 

Ironwalker -> only one jumper on the motherboard (to reset the CMOS/BIOS). No I use an AGP based video card. The BIOS displays a "7" for the parralel port IRQ. beats me! Also, the only thing I can change in terms of CPU and/or its voltage is the memory and CPU frequency, i.e Either 100/100 MHZ or 100/133MHZ or 133/133MHZ. The processor will show up as 1400MHZ (1.4GHZ) ONLY at 133/133MHZ.

[Dirty Harry 0]

Now I believe that you have a cpu intended to run 266 Mhz, its written on the processor. Look here for more details on what those CPU numbers mean.

 

Have you or have you not resetted the CMOS properly ?? See my previous post. What settings does it then come up with as default, 100/100 or 133/133 ? You wrote: "When I reset the bios it said something like "run setup" and it set the default settings at 1050MHZ @ 100MHZ/100MHZ". If this is the case there is no need to even think about installing windows, your CPU should be 1400 @ 133 MHZ. This can only be caused by hardware problems or wrong settings in BIOS. Bios should be at default settings as CMOS is cleared, but if you have a option like "load fail-safe defaults" use it.

 

So, if its not a bios setting its a hardware problem:

 

You may indeed have a heat problem, your CPU temp is not 38C as you've previously reported, but 56C. Recalling that you claim to always run case open, this is really on the high side as an idle temp. For comparison, my overclocked CPU-temp (1400@1600) case closed is 45 C

 

Your voltages are off, in some cases way off. You'll need to test with another PSU to eliminate this suspect. What make and model is your PSU ?

 

BTW, you have a setting "Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Clk: Enabled", what are your options there ?

 

Ironwalker and Davros pretty much said (again) what else neeeds to be done.

 

H.

[shassouneh 0]

Quote:

Have you or have you not resetted the CMOS properly ?? See my previous post. What settings does it then come up with as default, 100/100 or 133/133 ?

yes indeed I have. When I reset the bios/cmos, it gives me a message like "you must run setup. press f1 to run setup", and i usually do. It DEFAULTS to 100/100 (which I am running right now for the sake of safety)

Quote:

You may indeed have a heat problem, your CPU temp is not 38C as you've previously reported, but 56C. Recalling that you claim to always run case open, this is really on the high side as an idle temp. For comparison, my overclocked CPU-temp (1400@1600) case closed is 45 C

The temperature seems to vary. Sometimes its around 48C, others its around 55 or 56C, and after the machine has been shut down and allowed to cool a bit, it IS around 38C. So the 38 (or 32) I quoted you above is from the BIOS setup, and I did not make up that figure, LOL. I am just telling you what the BIOS said.

Quote:

Your voltages are off, in some cases way off. You'll need to test with another PSU to eliminate this suspect. What make and model is your PSU ?

I don't think I can do anything about these voltages. As I mentioned above, the only thing the BIOS will allow me to change is the 100/100 or 100/133 or 133/133 CPU frequency/DRAM Frequency setting. The voltages I quoted you above come directly from the BIOS, and I cannot
modify or tinker with them in any way. Also, pardon my ignorance, but what does PSU stand for? If it has to do with the socket, it says something like "Socket 436" next to the processor.

Quote:

"Auto Detect DIMM/PCI Clk: Enabled", what are your options there ?

This setting can be set as Enabled or Disabled. I am unclear as to what this setting is for, so I have left it as it is after a CMOS/BIOS reset. If you need me to change it, let me know and I will set it to disabled.

I don't know if this will help, but my motherboard is an ECS K75SA board. It supports Athlon Thunderird, and Athlon XP processors. It even has a label right next to the processor socket that says in bold letters "XP".

Please feel free to ask for more information and I shall do my best to hunt it down for you and provide it for you, should you need it or ask for it

[Dirty Harry 0]

PSU = Power Supply Unit. Your voltages are definately not what they should be, so if you can, test with another PSU.

 

"the temperature seems to vary" ?? This is strange. The CPU Temperature which your data post above gives as 55C/131F (sometimes 56C/132F) should be fairly consistent when the machine has been idle for a minute or two. Ideally below 40C...

 

I'm running out of ideas why your CPU in your Mobo is identified incorrectly. This is your main problem right now and windows has nothing to do with it. It is caused etiher by a wrong setting in bios (unlikely, as you have cleared the CMOS) or defect hardware.

 

I'm afraid you're nxt step is to test the hardware:

- test another PSU

- test CPU in other mobo

- test Mobo with other CPU

- test different RAM

 

Only when you get the CPU identified correctly does it make sence to proceed to Windows.

 

H.

[shassouneh 0]

Dear Dirty Harry, As you mentioned in your previous reply, it SEEMS (keyword SEEMS that the processor is indeed a 133MHZ (marketted as 266MHZ FSB) capable processor. (again, SEEMS).

As for the Power Supply Unit (PSU), the PSU came with the case, and the case was marketted as "P4 ready". Now don't shoot me. I know this is an AMD processor, not an intel one, But when I bought the case I insisted on getting 400W instead of 300 or 350, so this case seemsed to be a reasonable bargain. It may very well be that the voltages are off since the PSU was desgined for a P4. Though an iminent and un-ignoarable possibility, I doubt that this has much to do with the problem since the machine SEEMED (keyword SEEMED to run OK for at least 6 months and is now running OK, at least at only 1 GHZ).

 

As for the Motherboard picking up the processor, if you read my above posts the motherboard has no problem detecting it as a 1.4GHZ (1400 MHZ) processor. The problem is Windows gives me STOP errors If i give the processor something "important" or hefty to do, as in play a game, or run for an extended period of time.

 

I am considering your (as well as many other's) idea(s) of trying with other hardware and/or PSU. However, This is not easily possible as my only freind who has an athlon board with DDR memory is reluctant to have me "borrow" hardware. He has fried one of his motherboards before and ever since he is very paranoid and skeptical about messing with hardware.

So unfortunately

Quote:

- switch PSU

- CPU in other mobo

- Mobo with other CPU

- different RAM

 

will have to wait a bit.

 

Please, there is no need for me to bore everyone here by reminding them that the machine ran at 1.4GHZ with the current hardware without a hitch. YES I know that doesn't say MUCH, but it least says that it IS possible to run this hardware at this configuration, or it least it WAS possible.

[Dirty Harry 0]

No, we know, beyond doubt, that your CPU is designed for a 266 speed. The numbers you wrote down from the CPU core prove it, see the link I provided on how to interprete whats written on the CPU.

 

We also know that your voltages are wrong. Alarmingly much wrong, IMO. PSU's are generally made for both Intel and AMD, so the P4 label is OK. What make and model is your PSU?

 

You wrote that your CPU is autodetected as a 1050 (meaning 10.5 x 100Mhz) This is wrong, as 1400 is written on the CPU. It should be 1400 (10.5 x 133). Only when you manually tinker with the settings you get it to run at the speed it is made for, or am I missunderstanding something ?

 

H.

[shassouneh 0]

Quote:

You wrote that your CPU is autodetected as a 1050 (meaning 10.5 x 100Mhz) This is wrong, as 1400 is written on the CPU. It should be 1400 (10.5 x 133). Only when you manually tinker with the settings you get it to run at the speed it is made for, or am I missunderstanding something ?

True! A fresh reset of the CMOS/BIOS will default to 100/100MHZ which will have the processor run at 1050MHZ (1GHZ). The setting would then have to be manualy set to 133/133MHZ to get the processor recognized as a 1.4GHZ one.

As for the brand of the PSU, allow me to get back to you on that later. Its almost 4 a.m here and I need to sleep! I will worry about my computer more tommorow (today,LOL). Please remind me if i forget to look up the make / brand /model of my PSU.

[Dirty Harry 0]

See, thats the real problem. Already on boot your PC refuses to accept or identify the parts thats in it. Or did you always need to tinker with the settings to get it running correctly ?

 

Sleep well,

 

H.

[Palos 0]

Dump the junk and go Intel...

[Alien 1]

Errrr....guys - a few points of my own to make.

 

Firstly - shassouneh: I forget whether I asked you or not, or whether you answered me, but do you have spike/surge protection? By this I mean a special extension lead or something else that goes between the mains socket & the plug for your PC power lead that is specifically designed to protect against power surges? If not & you had a thunder storm in your area around the time things started going pear-shaped then that could well be the cause. However, if this is the case then you still have to track down which bits have been damaged.

 

Even if you haven't had a large thunderstorm in your area recently, other appliances in your house can cause smaller spikes, which over time can slowly damage components - you only notice when the damage gets to a level where it impacts performance.

 

[i got my 6-way surge protected extension leads after a nearby lightning strike totalled my cable tv box.]

 

To others: What's the correct voltage for an XP1900+? [just want to check mine's running correctly - feeling a bit paranoid now ].

 

Also, when I 1st powered up my system I think it defaulted to 1200 in the BIOS [i didn't notice what it displayed as before I went into the BIOS], but I was expecting this because as far as I knew I would have to do a BIOS update for it to be able to run an XP1900 @ full speed. That's why I didn't bother trying to change the speed settings. However, on another reboot [after fiddling with ram-stick order to get them all to work] for some reason I decided to look @ the Softmenu III thing again & noticed that it now said it was running @ 1500 [though I now know that this was the AMD XP rating, not Mhz], so I looked @ what available speed options it had & found it was already ready to run as a 1900 [1.6Ghz], so I set it to that. I just had another look, & apparently, although it only has the preset settings for Athlon XP's upto an XP1900, you can set it manually upto 13x133 which is 1729Mhz = Athlon XP 2100.

 

1 weird thing though - in the list of multiplier settings it went upto 13x, but then after that it had 13x&above - how would that be used? [my mobo's an Abit KT7A-RAID v1.3 for those who haven't seen me list my specs, BTW]

[Davros 0]

It's not defaulting to 100/100 when he reboots, but when he resets the CMOS, as he already stated. This is very common, as a safety factor, to default to the lower system bus speed upon a CMOS reset. Consider it analagous to your video drivers defaulting to 60hz refresh rate.

 

Just because the system ran for 6 months does not mean it should still run. If it was a heat problem, or a voltage problem, it can take a bit of time to damage components. It also could have been a power surge or even ESD. You should consider upgrading your cpu HSF and also adding a fan or better heatsink to your chipset. And get a UPS, they're getting cheaper by the week. This won't make your system run properly again, but may prevent trouble in the future after you resolve the current issue.

 

I'm sorry if your friend is scared to help out. Remember that next time he needs help. I don't know where you work, but look around and see if you can "borrow" some parts for a bit. That's worked for me before, but everyone there assumes I always know what I'm doing. But don't risk getting into trouble. You could buy some dirt cheap memory and a Duron (check if your board supports it) and a cheap PSU for diagnostic purposes.

 

Spend some time following the advice in this forum to narrow down your problem as much as you can before spending any money. Don't worry about posting here a lot, spend the time working on the problem. I don't think there is much more to be said in this thread. Perhaps you should print out all these replies for some reference material. Good luck!