crashes while watching videos and flash based pages

just another update Doug I can watch videos now but it is very choppy and the frame rate seems to be very poor

Alex, I continue to be concerned about heat, particularly at your CPU but also at your AGP card. If you are comfortable with work inside of the Tower, and you are familiar with electric and static-electricity precautions, then please turn off your machine, unplug it, discharge the RAM-pre-charge by pressing the Power button for 10 seconds (you should see the LED lights blink once and then remain dark.) Next: Open the side of the case and also remove the front panel of the tower. Touch a metal part of the case inside the case to equalize the static charge of your body and the tower. "thoroughly" inspect all heat cooling fans. "thoroughly" inspect all cooling "fins", particularly of the CPU HS and the and AGP HS "thoroughly" inspect the air "intake" locations "thoroughly" inspect the air exhaust points, including the slits in the PSU that draw air from the case to exhaust to the outside. (note: most machines draw air in from the front and exhaust out the back.) (note: Tower should be resting on a hard flat surface with no obstructions and should never be placed directly on a carpet) (note: Most of the air "intake" is located at the front-bottom. It may be necessary to remove the front panel to adequately inspect the air intake pathways.) (note: Wiring and other obstructions at the back of the case, or tower placed too close to a wall can obstruct circulation.) (note: Computer towers should never be operated when contained inside the handy pre-built desk-slot for Towers.) (note: The computer tower should be free standing without clutter or obstruction.) (note: Inside the case, location of hard drive and other drive units and any flat-ribbon cable may be obstructing air pathways.) (note: to the extent possible remove the other outside panel which would reveal the underside of the motherboard for inspection.) Remove the tower Front-Panel and inspect air intake. (note: I have seen machines so terribly clogged at the front panel bottom with hair, lint and dirt that the panel "appeared" to have a pre-installed "matting" in the front panel. Note: There is "never" a matting. It should be possible to "see light" and bare metal at all locations both from the inside and outside of the front panel.) Next: Replace the side panel underneath your motherboard. Replace the front panel Leave the first side-panel of so that the case is "open". Plug the power cord back in. Boot your machine. While the machine is booting, carefully inspect the CPU, AGP and Case Fans for rotation and air movement. If any of the fans fail to operate smoothly and vigorously, replace it before continuing. Still with the one side of the tower open, place a room fan, desk fan or any fan that you might own that moves a large volume of air, so that it is directed into the case and is cooling the inside of your computer. With this fan in full operation, do a bit of your ordinary computer activities and browsing. Specifically, launch one or more instance of streaming video. Report back with results. Doug

yeah i'm always scared when doing any hardware work with my computer sorry but all seems good though no crashes and I was using the youtube for a good bit today but the choppyness is still there

just another update Doug still crashes while streaming videos on youtube and surfing other webpages

Hi Alex,

I'm sorry that you continue to have difficulty with this machine.

i see no other damage to any other cords etc
i'm running a 220v psu

<— You appear to be posting from a time zone which includes the US East Coast.
Of course, this could include Canada, the Caribbean Islands, and portions of South America
Without disclosing personally identifying information, where are you located.
I ask because it is not common to use a 220v system in the continental US
Are you in a neighborhood where the general electric utility feed is 220v and all/most appliances run with 220v?
___________________________________________________________

post #16

i also replaced the damage wires to my video card

i worked around that problem however after the install of the updated drivers <– What did you do to "work-around"?
it still seems to be crashing while watching videos on youtube
___________________________________________________________

In the above two examples from your reported information, you seem to have conducted work "inside the case".
But you express reluctance when recommended to carefully and thoroughly inspect air flow and fan function?
I still urge you to do so and report back with your observations.
___________________________________________________________

where can I update JAVA Runtime Environment

Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 Update 7
The Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE) allows end-users to run Java applications.
(note: what you want is the 5th item (for Runtime Environment for end-users) in that list
http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp

Download the "off-line" installation file.
User Control Panel - Add/Remove to completely uninstall all prior versions of JAVA
Close all browsers
Install the JAVA JRE that you just downloaded.
_______________________________________________________________

As to other "non-hardware" type fixes, have you completed these previously recommended steps?

Reinstall the Chipset Drivers
Check Device Manager for any warnings about corrupted drivers
Perform CHECKDISK (chkdsk /r)
Perform System File Check (sfc /scannow)
___________________________________________________________

i have done minor hardware things such as install RAM Toronto, Ontario, Canada in reguards to the PSU, my much older computer is running a 230V dont know if this means anything However I did manage to clean out the best I could around fans although i am far too nervous to go near the cpu fan / heatsink I also updated the Java to the most recent one Version 6 update 7 also ran checkdisk and system file checker and they both came up with nothing i'll run them both one more time to see if anything new comes up as for chipset drivers, no I am nervous about updating those as I have heard manythings when updating those they can turn a pc into a heavy paper weight

Any yellow or red Warnings in your Device manager?
__________________________________________

cleaning the HeatSink fins and other areas inside your tower case is best done with a can of compressed air.
You can get compressed air from any office supply store.

It is sometimes amazing, the amount of dirt/dust that gets blown out.

Take off the front-panel and use the can of compressed air to clear those airways also.
___________________________________________

People used to have horror stories about updating "BIOS/CMOS" by "flashing the BIOS", but this has become less and less a problem with better scripting and utilities to complete.

Chipset Drivers are unrelated to the BIOS, and provide the language and processes needed by your XP operating system to communicate well and run the various components of your machine, particularly your AGP video card.

If you would prefer, it may be time to take that box over to a local repair shop

Keep us posted with your plans and progress.

Best Regards,
Doug

If you would prefer, it may be time to take that box over to a local repair shop yeah, the person the built this computer is saying it is hard-drive related and that windows is corrupt and a new hard-drive is ideal however i still dont think this is the case and not to mention the lose of 4 years of school work, music, and misc stuff with getting a new hard-drive

Hey Doug, I found some compressed Air and cleaned out the heatsink/cpu fan as best I could and my temp dropped down 48.0C - 50C roughly 10 whole C's

Good Job! Now I wonder if the temperature will remain in that lowered range when viewing streaming video. If not, have another go with the compressed air, and also inspect the airways in the front panel. Try running the machine with the side panel open and a fan directing stiff breeze directly at the CPU and AGP card. If that allows for good functioning of streaming video, then we can consider improving your fan/circulation setup. Note: From my perspective, we have "not" yet ruled out problems with the PSU. Keep us posted.

Will do the person whol built my computer suggested that I "flash the bios" i'm unsure how to do this maybe you can help me through it?

i also blew out some dust from the PSU not sure if that was a wise idea

Whoooowwaa! Flashing the BIOS can have some beneficial effect in "a very few" limited situations, and then "only" if the BIOS update is designed to specifically address the present machine, CPU, Chipset, Motherboard, and peripherals. In order to "justify" the flashing of the Basic Input Output System, it is necessary first to determine whether or not current machine functioning can be made adequate with less extreme software, firmware, operating system, and hardware adjustments. Then, and only then, it is time to –carefully research– various proposed BIOS updates to determine if they are even appropriate for the present machine and components. ____________________________________ We are a "long" way from that point. ____________________________________ Please report back regarding MediaPlayer functionality when viewing streaming media. Include report of airways and fan function. Include report of use of external fan with case side open. Doug

Hey Doug Just had another crash, I had opened up 4 youtube streaming videos and had my Mobo's temp program up and the temp before the crash was only 53.5, yes high but nothing too be concered about as you said I'll try hooking up a fan to it to see what happens is it possible that maybe my windows is corrupted from spyware and all that nasty stuff even after it was all cleaned out? \

Hey doug I just had the following 4 youtube video windows open those all finshed then open up another 4 longer ones then had winamp running while chatting on msn the temp got as high as 55c with a household fan running to the inside of my case then the crashed after I went back to internet and streamed one video and then a crash occuried