Help Need PLEASE!!

general_x

Hi - My computer has been giving me problems for some time now. I wanna get someone's advice with this. The spec is:

3.0Ghz Pentium 4 Processor
Asus P4P800 SE Motherboard
1GB DDR RAM
NVidia 256MB Graphics Card (Very nice one)
2 X DVD Drives (1 is a writer)
2 X Hard Drives (180GB and 80GB)
550W Power Supply

So here's the problem. Every so often the computer just decides to reboot! Out of nowhere it seems.. I've tried to work out if it's any particular thing I'm doing but it really seems quite random. My own conclusion is that something is over-heating but I'm not sure what? When I opened it up everything was very warm to touch. Not sore but quite warm nevertheless. I have disconnected the second hard drive as I only use this for backup but the problem persists. Any advice much appreciated!

spartacus93

Could be dodgy RAM or a weak Power Supply.

Try disconnecting a few more drives to see if it makes a difference.

feylya

Have you turned off auto reboot?

general_x

What's auto reboot? How do I turn it off?

Mr. Presentable

Heat is the enemy! Try running with the case open.

youcancallmeal

general_x wrote:

Every so often the computer just decides to reboot! Out of nowhere it seems

When you say reboot do you mean that windows goes through the normal shut procedure and then starts up again or that the PC just cuts straight and goes to reboot.
Anyway as I nearly always say in these situations, run memtest to rule out ram issues.
http://www.memtest86.com/

Also load up hardware monitoring software that more than likely came with your m/b cd. Have a look at cpu temps. If you know how you could also check cpu in your bios right after it shuts down and starts to reboot(have a look at your m/b manual to find out how).

general_x

I just installed the monitoring software and it seems that the temps are all normal which is good. Now I wanna try the memory test but it's very complicated! I've download the zip file. Now what do I do?

Standard Toaster

general_x wrote:

What's auto reboot? How do I turn it off?

I take it you using XP?

If yes, right click My computer, click Properties
Click the Advanced tab along the top and down to Startup & Recovery....click settings.
Remove the tick from Automatic Restart

If it reboots hopefully you'll get a meaningful BSOD.
Report back if you do.

It does sound like over heating though.

general_x

Ok I've done that.. If this is over heating would you suggest installing a new fan?? If so how would I go about doing this?

Any other suggestions welcome!

general_x

Ok so I did the MemTest thing and it all checks out fine.. What next?

Curry Monster

90% of the time when a PC decides to reboot itself it is to do with heat. On the Intel processor it will have an in-built heat sensor. If the sensor reaches a certain temperature it sometimes powers itself off.
There are normally at least 2 fans in the system. One will take air in at the back through the powersupply unit. The second will be a fan sitting on top of the processor. I have often seen the processor fan cause the problem.

A good idea is to take off the lid & power on the PC. When it is powered on keep an eye of the fan. see if it is starting and then stopping. This is fairly common, it will seem to run ok then it will slow down and stop= extra heat = processor will power off unit.

A fix might be to try and get some compressed air...blow out the fans...might only be a temp fix. You might have to get a new cpu fan. Worst case might be a faulty Intel processor. What brand of pc is it ? Is it under warranty ?

Regards

Curry Monster

Another thing to check is ... do you have the latest Virus check software.

There is also a virus that will power your pc off. Go to this web site (Mcafee)and download a virus check file called stinger and run it and check for a virus.

http://vil.nai.com/vil/averttools.asp

Regards

Airblazer

try and download software to monitor your video card.this could be overheating and causing it to reboot..have you by any chance downloaded the latest nvidia drivers? I'm having the same prob with my work system (maybe once a day) and I have a slight suspicion that it could be these..

www.guru3d.com

quaalude

nipplenuts wrote:

Heat is the enemy! Try running with the case open.

Running a PC with the case off can make the overheating problem worse, in my experience.

This happened with my PC - it was rebooting at the time like yours. I downloaded Motherboard Monitor http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=311
This will keep a log of how hot your computer is getting, so when it reboots you can check the log and see if it's shutting down when it reaches a certain temp. In my case, that was exactly what the problem was - the processor was hitting a certain high temp and shutting down then. I bought a new heatsink and fan for my processor, fitted them and that sorted my problem.

q