computer random restarts

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purerealm

n00b
Joined
Jul 31, 2004
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The computer restarts by itself every so often, usually in association with certain tasks such as virus scanning, burning cds, playing counter-strike, but it has restarted just by itself I believe. Sometimes it doesn't restart, but instead shuts off with the keyboard lights still on. At this point I won't be ab le to turn it on unless I switch off the PSU , wait ab out 15 sec for the keyb oard lights to turn off, and then switch on the PSU then the computer. I'm pretty stumped on this so if anyone could offer me advice I'd appreciate it. Thanks again.
 
check your temps. i'd go ahead and take everything off the and reseat it. strange things like this happen all the time.

do you see any BSODs?
 
nope no BSOD. It does 1 of 2 things. Either it just shuts off, with the keyboard lights still on. When this happens I need to turn off the PSU, wait for the keyboard light to turn off, then turn on computer.

Or it just resets.

I just flashed my bios. Updated video card drivers, sound card drivers.

Reseat the what?
 
most restarts are caused by PSU, PSU's that can't handle the juice sucked up by the system, sometimes bad HDD, sometimes shorted mobo to the case but most of the time PSU.
 
I'd definily echo the PSU as being a possible issue. I had random stability problems on one of my computers for 3 months before the PSU actually die. I replaced it with a high quality unit and the computer became completely stable.

The second place to look is at the memory, as all of the application you mention tend to use plenty of memory. I'd use memtest86.

You also might want to do a quick visual of your mother board as I just helped a friend earlier this week who had stability issues that were caused by blown capacitors. They were easy to spot as they had crusty junk coming out of their tops.

hope this helps.
 
I have used memtest86 but the computer shut down while in it... What could that possibly mean? I don't think it's a power supply issue as I just replaced it with a fresh one with higher wattage. I just bought new ram which I thought was problem but it STILL persists.

The motherboard is made by ECS. I'm going to try to do some more troubleshooting and playing around then I will look for blown capacitors. It's kind of outdated technology as it was the first P4 2.4 Ghz. What's my best bet if the motherboard is blown?Any other comments etc.?
 
I replaced RAM and now for some reason msn messenger won't work, my anti virus got shut off, and the time is off by 2 hours. The problem persists. How do you tell for sure if a mobo is busted?
 
first check ur temps.

how many PCI expansion cards do you have in? i know a guy who had similar problems just cause his sound card was right under his graphics card and air couldnt get under enough to cool it.

PSU can be tested just by bringing in a friends comp or a second comp and hot wireing it. Although at this stage i personaly dont think its the PSU , from what i have seen if this has been going on for a while you shouldnt be able to even turn on ur computer by now if the PSU went.

are the "crashes" related to any physical trama? like do you stand up and then it shuts off? or bang the desk the computer is on? just a theory about a mobo problem i once saw.

answer some of those questions and i might be able to help more by ruling out some stuff. The problem with hardware problems is so many things can cause similar symtoms.
 
I doubt its temperature problem... I live in northern california where it's pretty cold and my case is open and next to the window and cold fresh air is constantly blowing into it.

The shutdowns happen when:

the computer is working very hard (several apps open, but not necessarily)
counter-strike
burning cd
when antivirus scan gets to a certain poitn ( i haven't completely full scan in more than a month, it keeps on going until some point where it just turns off )
watching movies sometimes, also when it gets to a certain point in the movie, or it could just be at random
 
wut PSU you got? even if you have a NEW PSU w/ higher wattage it still is not a reason to rule out the PSU. Get a branded name PSU dont use generic, if w/ the branded name PSU same thing happens then you can rule out the PSU and return the branded PSu you just bought. At this point i'd say it'd be the mobo. Let us know.
 
I would strip it down to minimum spec and try and run Memtest86 again.
You want just PSU, MoBo, One stick of memory, CPU + Heat sink & Fan, Vid card.
Leave either a floppy or Cd drive attachedto boot into Memtest plus KB & mouse.

Check all that all heatsinks are dust free and all fans work.

If you cannot run 3 loops of Memtest then try another stick of memory or different memory slot..
If no memory works then it could well be one or more of the other 4 main items left attached thats causeing the problem.

If you can then put all you normal memory in and try again.

If that works then attach your hard drive and boot into windoze.
Then try running prime95 to stess the CPU.
Are you 8-24 hours stable or does it crash the system.

If stable then keep building-testing untill you find the part that causes the problem.
It takes time doing it that way but its the only way I know to truly find out what could be causeing the problem and whats not.

Luck............ :D
 
i have a similar prob but diffrent. my comp doesnt like to shut down it restarts constantly and as a result has been on for about 2 years. still runs like a champ and according to software idles at about 38c never runs over 63
p4 2.8/ 512 cache retail hsf
1gb kingston value
God knows no-name Geforce $20 (NOT A GAMER)
20gb deskstar
80gb wdjb
200gb wdjb
sb live 5.1
5 80mm fans in inwin q500 case
 
purerealm said:
I doubt its temperature problem... I live in northern california where it's pretty cold and my case is open and next to the window and cold fresh air is constantly blowing into it.
Click to expand...

First i live in toronto ontario , its much colder here and our computers can still over heat.

second, OMG WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!!!! thats prob the problem right there. the moisture from outside would short something. (clearly thats not the problem) but seriously man , what are you thinking. also crashing during high proformance activies is a sign of overheating. doesnt mean that is the problem but i wouldnt rule it out yet.

not only that you didnt answer any of my questions, PCI #? have you tried switching the psu's yet?
 
I would say overheating, then PSU, then mobo, and you should check them in that order. Make sure the case is clean, cables provide good air flow, and you have enough fans.... Then try swapping out the PSU with a new one, or known good one. If it's the mobo, try taking everything out, and using the system on an anti-static non-conductive surface, like and anti-static bag.
 
i have a similar prob but diffrent. my comp doesnt like to shut down
it restarts constantly and as a result has been on for about 2 years.
still runs like a champ and according to active monitor
idles at about 38c never runs over 63
evern after sandra burn-in for 40 min
p4 2.8/ 512 cache retail hsf
1gb kingston value
God knows no-name Geforce $20 (NOT A GAMER)
20gb deskstar
80gb wdjb
200gb wdjb
sb live 5.1
5 80mm fans in inwin q500 case
antec true 430 its a rock
 
rtfakadiga said:
i have a similar prob but diffrent. my comp doesnt like to shut down
it restarts constantly and as a result has been on for about 2 years.
still runs like a champ and according to active monitor
idles at about 38c never runs over 63
evern after sandra burn-in for 40 min
p4 2.8/ 512 cache retail hsf
1gb kingston value
God knows no-name Geforce $20 (NOT A GAMER)
20gb deskstar
80gb wdjb
200gb wdjb
sb live 5.1
5 80mm fans in inwin q500 case
antec true 430 its a rock
Click to expand...

check caps on the mobo - I had a similar problem with my rig, and it was because I had blown caps on my mobo...
 
FlatLine84 said:
If it's the mobo, try taking everything out, and using the system on an anti-static non-conductive surface, like and anti-static bag.
Click to expand...

An Anti-static bag is conductive.
It works by equalling the charge between you and whats inside the bag when you pick it up.
That way there can be no electro-static discharge.

Use the mobo box, its safer.

Luck........ :D

 
Tigerbiten said:
An Anti-static bag is conductive.
It works by equalling the charge between you and whats inside the bag when you pick it up.
That way there can be no electro-static discharge.

Use the mobo box, its safer.

Luck........ :D

Click to expand...

Interesting, I never knew that, my old boss always had us test boards on the bags before putting them in the case, and that's how they had us do it in school too. I'll make note....
 
I kept on thinking I had blown capacitors so I turned my computer sideways and examined it from the top because I'm too lazy to take it out. None of the capacitors seemed to be bulging. I can't find signs of leaking electrolytes. One capacitor seems to be more loose than its twin, but it's upright and seems about right.

I am hoping it is a heat problem as that would be easiest to fix. I noticed that my P4's heatsink fins are kind of clumped together at places. As they're meant to dissipate heat I don't think that's a good thing to have happen.

Right now EVEREST says my motherboard is at 97 F and 138 F. Is this high? Should I monitor it while I do something CPU-intensive like a virus scan?

Thanks for the replies.
 
what would the external evidence of a bad cap look/smell (possibly taste?) like, and
if I find this evidence, how pregnant am I? :(
 
What does EVENT Viewer say under the Application and System sections when these restarts happen?
 
The COM+ Event System detected a bad return code during its internal processing. HRESULT was C0000005 from line 44 of d:\qxp_slp\com\com1x\src\events\tier1\eventsystemobj.cpp. Please contact Microsoft Product Support Services to report this error.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
 
damn I still have the problem, but I can update a bit more on it.

sorry lostpuppy for not answering your questions hardforum doesn't auto reply to my hotmail account, so I didn't even see some of the posts.

I have a video card, soundcard, and I switched PSU out so it's not psu.

What also causes computer to crash: holding the mouse button for the scroll bar on ITUNES, and going up and down. that will cause the computer to crash without fail after about 7 seconds. what the hell does this all mean? I fail to see the connection between itunes scrolling, ripping/burning cds, and playing games. Is there some computer process that mediates all these other processes?
 
You ran memtest and it crashed, and all those things you are describing sound like memory intensive things as well.

I bet if you open photoshop and do alot of erasing with a single long click (holding the mouse button down the whole time) it will crash too.


Are you able to test diffrent memory? Or if you have 2 modules test one, then the other? If you can't narrow it down to the memory I'd say start looking into troubleshooting the mobo.
 
I think I tested different memory sticks to the same outcome, how do I troubleshoot mobo?
 
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