I have an unlazy processor!

H

Hiperi0n

n00b
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
2
Hello. I have an old P3 at home, I have been using it for 6-7 years, and it has been working perfectly. However, a few months ago, the system began rebooting randomly. I have been using both, linux and XP. I noticed that in XP time between reboots was longer and occurred unfrequently, so I thought it could be some ACPI, or RAM issues. I tried everything, stressing, unplugging PCI cards, using diferent RAM... but the problem still was there. I finally gave up, I thought it could be a power supply problem, being a few years old...

Anyway, I was thinking about buying a new PC. I have a new laptop and it didn't bother me mucho the other PC's problem, but my mum uses it and I'd like having a well working machine.

The point is (after this long monologue ^^ ) that I found the cause of the reboots when I installed archlinux. I was giving a try to this distro. I found out that my computer ONLY REBOOTS WHILE IDLE. I mean, if processor usage is <1% it is guaranteed it is going to reboot sooner or later. I have been doing some experiments and right now I have one TTY running a top -d 0.05 command, it stresses my cpu just enough not to make it reboot (~10%).

I am sharing this with you because I am really puzzled. What could be the root of this problem? I know the solution but I am still curious about the cause.

Thanks for reading this long story :rolleyes:
 
I am assuming you ran a virus/malware check, ran memtest, did a thorough scandisk, checked smart values, tried a different psu, and tried a clean install. Rebooting because there is no load seems odd at very least.

Perhaps the psu is having a hard time sensing an adequate minimum draw to stay on due to age.
Is the battery in your motherboard still good? Is there an option to reboot at a specific time setting in bios? Clean the dust out?;)

Just tossing stuff out there. :D :confused:
 
Take a look at the capacitors on your motherboard (and inside your power supply if possible) and see if they are leaking any crusty stuff or if they are even just domed a little on the top. This was a very common issue in the P3 era.
 
Thanks for your answers. I have discarded any software related issues, as indeed I have formatted a couple of times and checked many things, benchmarks and so.

I have no other PSU so I can't give that a try. I have just looked for the thousanth time and I didn't notice it before but a couple of capacitors on the mobo have a brown scab-like dust, not much. I guess the problem could be that. However the very fact the computer reboots when cpu load is minimal is very puzzling... as if it is a CPU problem. However, I promise myself I won't replace my loved P3 until I figure out the problem! :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top