Advice on old failing motherboard

[Fixer]

Hello everyone, thinking of buying Toolbox to run its tests on my old PC (2007, LGA775 Asus good quality motherboard, no gaming/o.clocking, just video playback/browsing) which seems to be failing. Based on your experience, can you please tell me if it's likely a m.board issue or not? Here's the problem:

It will power up, but the BIOS will not show up (no beeps). It will only recover if I remove the battery and clear the CMOS for some hours (it only required a minute when the problem first appeared, now seems worse).

After that, everything works but after a few hours (or days, when the problem first appeared), Windows will randomly freeze and it's all over again. I've excluded Windows/software/driver and PCI card issues, something else must be at fault. Many thanks.

[Fixer]

I purchased a Toolbox license (Amazon) but before installing on the problematic PC, I'd like to ask if the version I got is the latest one - the installation file reports version 6.0.6169.101.

Probably not, since I see 6.3 mentioned as the latest one. How do I get it?

[PCD_Channing]

Hello,

My suggestion based upon your description of the issue would be to first see if the motherboard manufacturer has a BIOS update for this particular board. Have you had an opportunity to run the Toolbox diagnostics on the machine yet? Did any of the the system tests fail?

As far as an updated build of Toolbox goes, I have sent you a private message to obtain some further details about your license so I can provide an updated download link to the current version, which is 6.3.6554.49.

Thanks,
Channing

[Fixer]

Thank you, haven't installed Toolbox yet, still waiting for the update. Latest BIOS dates back to 2009 (there's also a 2010 beta version) but I'll have to check the one I have installed. It has been working with no problem for so long though.

[PCD_Channing]

Hi,

I have just sent over the link to download the most up to date version of PC-Doctor Toolbox through private message. Please let me know if you did not receive it.

Thanks,
Channing

[Fixer]

Thanks for the link, installed the latest version (great program, congratulations  

Passed the Stress and Quick Test, and also all other hardware tests I thought relevant (couldn't check every single one at the moment, like AVI, sound etc). M.board, CPU, RAM and video card all passed.

Interesting: while transferring the installer file from the USB stick to the desktop, the PC froze and this was the second freeze while that USB port was active (front panel, a custom USB hub that's not part of the m.board - contains 2 USB ports and a 4-card reader.)

I didn't try any more file transfers there. Toolbox's test on that USB port passed, one of the card reader ports test failed the first time. I run the card reader test 3 more times and it passed all three.

Code: [Select]

Generic STORAGE DEVICE USB Device
Model Number: Generic STORAGE DEVICE
Firmware Revision: 9601
Drive Letter: J

Linear Read Test
Test Started 31-Mar-16 22:44:06
Error Message: There was an error reading sectors 0 through 99. 31-Mar-16 22:45:34
Error Message: There was an error reading sectors 1556400 through 1556499. 31-Mar-16 22:45:34
Error Message: There was an error reading sectors 3112800 through 3112899. 31-Mar-16 22:45:34
Error Message: Maximum errors of 3 exceeded. Canceling test. 31-Mar-16 22:45:34
Test Finished: Failed (Error code: WRS02-KW9) 31-Mar-16 22:45:35
Pattern Test
Test Started 31-Mar-16 22:45:36
Test Finished: Canceled
I've now disabled via BIOS all those USB ports to see if the PC lasts more than a few days without freezing.

Irrelevant question: if I buy a second key/license, do I need to enter a different email address during activation, or can I use the same as the one linked to my first key? Thanks again.

[PCD_Channing]

Hello,

I'm happy to hear you were able to download the latest version of the software. Please keep an eye on the USB ports and let me know if you see any further failures.

As far as purchasing another license goes, you are welcome to use the same email address. This will simply tie both of your licenses to that one email address. If you'd prefer to keep them separate, you may do that as well, it is totally up to you.

Please let me know if you have any further questions, I would be happy to assist.

Thanks,
Channing