Intel CPU/Chipset Diagnostics Recommendation?

[Taz_abx]

I could use a recommendation for a diagnostic that is bootable from a CD or floppy that can point out problems with either the CPU or motherboard.

I’m having difficulty with a build that, at this point anyway, I’ve narrowed down to either a bad Intel D875PBZ (very early revision), or a bad 3.0 Northwood. While the board was bought new (sat on my shelf for all these months), I'm not so sure about the 3.0. It was supposed to have been a new one (bulk), but I've got my doubts.

I’m getting multiple spontaneous reboots at different stages of the OS (WinXP) install. On a couple of occasions I’ve gotten as far as where the install formats the disk (WD 36G Raptor), but usually the system reboots long before this. I can boot to a Win98 DOS disk, but I can’t run Western Digital’s Diagnostics which runs under Caldera DOS.

The BIOS monitor shows temps and voltages as being alright, so I’m not suspecting thermal problems or problems with a new Seasonic PS. I’ve tested the memory in another machine with Memtest86 and it checks out fine. (BTW, I couldn’t get Memtest to even run on the machine that’s under build…it would cause an almost immediate reboot.)

My memory timings aren't tight either (2.5, 3, 3, 8) and everything else in the BIOS is set pretty much the way I have on another Intel D875PBZ install. This machine has been running great for about 18 months.

I’ve done a few other hardware changes in order to narrow things down (swapped cables, etc), including flashing the BIOS to later revisions, but haven’t had much luck. All of my testing so far has me suspecting either a bad board or a bad processor. Before I chunk out money for replacements, I'd like to find a way to test them both out.

If anyone’s got a good recommendation for a bootable diagnostic that could help me narrow things down between the board and CPU, I’d sure appreciate it.

-Taz

[CrowdAds]

[BlendNo27]

I would try another PS just to make sure that the PS isn't the culprit. Just because it's new doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with it. If you have a spare cpu, you could chuck that in the suspected mobo as well.

[Snafu]

Could also try resetting the CMOS or maybe even reflashing the bios. Sometimes you run into a bad flash.

[Taz_abx]

Originally Posted by BlendNo27

I would try another PS just to make sure that the PS isn't the culprit. Just because it's new doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with it. If you have a spare cpu, you could chuck that in the suspected mobo as well.

The Power Supply and CPU are about the only components I haven't swapped out as yet (mainly due to the hassle involved). I was hoping to test out the motherboard and CPU via software diagnostics before I did this.

Sooo...if anyone's got a suggestion for a good bootable package, I'd like to know. My googling around has turned up some candiates, but I'd prefer to have a recommendation rather than go shooting in the dark.

Thanks,

-Taz

[Taz_abx]

Ahhh...the net is a booful' thing. Found something called the Ultimate Boot CD Thought I'd post this for others in case they don't know about it.

Only downside to this is that in my searching around, I've seemed to have found reports from others that had similar symptoms as mine, but they turned out to be not related to a hardware failure. Seems some folks were having trouble installing XP on SATA drives?? But that doesn't make sense as I built an almost exact double of this machine 18 months ago and didn't have a single XP install problem.

Oh well, sometimes building a good running system is kinda like reading a good mystery/spy novel. Gotta keep following the leads until you find the culprit.