Random reboots - my PC is driving me bezerk!

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Merlin

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Hi all,

I have a pretty decent spec' machine sitting here.

Forgive me if I cannot recall everything - it's been a while, and it's not actually that important to me. ;)

E6600 CPU / 4 Gb DDR 800 RAM / 1 HDD / (I think) 450W PSU / 7600 GT gfx

...into which the following accessories are plugged:

* Gamepad
* Mobile phone cable
* Sometimes an external HDD

I have three partitions on the local drive - 2 OS' (both Win2k), and a storage partition.

I keep getting random reboots on this machine - on both OS'/partitions.

At first I thought it was overheating, so I left the covers off and installed CoreTemp.

It didn't seem to help, and switching back to CoreTemp every so often showed both cores running at around 63 or so.

Then I thought that it was perhaps a case of overloading during heavy usage, as I seemed to get these reboots whilst playing games or watching DVDs.

...but, I've noticed now that I get them even when just browsing, or even when the PC sits dormant (come back after a while and see that it has rebooted).

When it happens, the screen goes black for a few seconds, the PC hangs, and then it suddenly reboots.

It is driving me up the #%^&ing wall!

Do any of you have any ideas as to wtF is going on?

Thanks, Nic
 
My S.O.'s PC was doing this, and I fianlly resolved the issue by:

1. Remove the power cord.
2. Discharge the stored power by pressing the power button.
3. Removing the CMOS battery from the motherboard.
4. Unplugging all the drives and the video card and the USB cables.
5. Leaving it for 20 minutes.
6. Putting the CMOS battery back.
7. Putting the video card back.
8. Booting it and letting it post and going into the BIOS setup menu and configuring it.
9. Powering it off.
10. Plugging in the USB.
11. Power on and let it post, power off.
12. Plugging in one hard drive.
13. Power on and let it post, power off.
14. Plugging in the other hard drive.
15. Power on and let it boot.

Now the machine is stable again.
I guess BIOS got all confused.
 
Reboots happening more and more often...PSU problem more often than not
 
i have the same problem some days my pc will crash over 20 times a day and somedays it's fine.

so why will it crash one day and not the next?
 
waynegohl said:
i have the same problem some days my pc will crash over 20 times a day and somedays it's fine.

so why will it crash one day and not the next?
Click to expand...

If it's an electrical fault it's a random but gradual progression of failures.

http://www.squidoo.com/power-supply-failure-symptoms

More often then not, a power supply will just quit working instead of warning you that it is about to kick the bucket.

Here is a list of common power supply failure symptoms:

* There are strange noises coming from the back side of the computer where the power cord plugs into the power supply.

* Nothing happens when the computer power button is pressed. Sometimes a light may flash or flash continuously in the front of the computer or on the back of the power supply.

* The computer turns on for a few seconds and then turns off. (Sometimes this is unfortunately associated with motherboard failures.)

* Computer turns on for a while, but when games or other applications are using the computer steadily, it will turn off or I get a blue screen.

Let's touch on gaming for a minute. I have seen time and time again, that a user thinks they can slap any old video card in their system and think that any power supply can handle it. This isn't true at all. If you power supply cannot put the required amps and watts that is being demanded from your hardware, the power supply will cause a system halt (blue screen for Window's users.) Or, may even just abruptly turn the system off. Be sure you have plenty of wattage and amps (especially on the 12 volt rails.)
Click to expand...

and a list of symptoms

*

Any power-on or system startup failures or lockups.
*

Spontaneous rebooting or intermittent lockups during normal operation.
*

Intermittent parity check or other memory-type errors.
*

Hard disk and fan simultaneously failing to spin (no +12v).
*

Overheating due to fan failure.
*

Small brownouts cause the system to reset.
*

Electric shocks felt on the system case or connectors.
*

Slight static discharges disrupt system operation.
Click to expand...
 
davemc said:
Now the machine is stable again.
I guess BIOS got all confused.
Click to expand...


I guess it won't last long. Most of the steps are entirely random but for some reason re-seating cards and memory often has a temporary effect in an unstable system.


Due to the dual OSs in Mikroz's PC software issues can be ruled out. Which leaves lots of suspect hardware :)

I have to agree with PS being the most likely suspect followed by RAM, MB, graphics and CPU. One can certainly run sotware tests but nothing beats replacing each component starting from the PS. Not pleasant unless you're in the business of asembling PCs.
 
some of those things happen with my pc like a loud noise of the fan or something and also after a crash i push the power supply button and it goes on then straight off again. sometimes i wait about 5 minutes then it works.

i know i need the pc sorted but cannot do it now but i will one day.
 
analogsa said:
I guess it won't last long. Most of the steps are entirely random but for some reason re-seating cards and memory often has a temporary effect in an unstable system.


Due to the dual OSs in Mikroz's PC software issues can be ruled out. Which leaves lots of suspect hardware :)

I have to agree with PS being the most likely suspect followed by RAM, MB, graphics and CPU. One can certainly run sotware tests but nothing beats replacing each component starting from the PS. Not pleasant unless you're in the business of asembling PCs.
Click to expand...
I hear you.
But, that PC's problem is definitely BIOS based.
It's been running fine for 3 weeks now, so .. time will tell.
 
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