Random Restarts

R

randomwalsh

Expert Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
1,228
Reaction score
6
Location
Durban
I have a feeling it might be my power supply but lately my computer has been restarting randomly.

When i check the event viewer I comes up with event id 41 and source as kernel-power.

Whatelse could it be besides the power supply?

What power supply would you recommend for the following components?

GA-G41M-Combo Rev 2.0
Intel Quad Core Q6600 2.40Ghz
Asus Xonar DG
Samsung 2 TB
Samsung 2 TB
Samsung 1.5 TB
Western Digital 3 TB
Samsung 160gig
4 Gig Ram (2 x 2gb)
Liteon iHAS writer
USB devices

And last but not least the power supply is a 250watt standard power supply
 
Last edited:
Why not run some tests? The Prime95 stress test and a GPU stability test, just search google. With running these two tests i was able to point my random restarting to my power sully.
 
Boot from live CD and run memory tests for couple hours. The most common cause is weak memory.
 
haha, really? 5 hard-drives (some older ones too) and a unknown 250W power supply. I'm surprised this rig ever worked!
 
sorry, that wasn't very helpful. Unplug all your harddrives except boot drive. unplug unnecessary usb devices and try again. For that whole system I would use a 500W decent single 12V rail power supply with all those hdd's. try this http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
 
ElecEng said:
haha, really? 5 hard-drives (some older ones too) and a unknown 250W power supply. I'm surprised this rig ever worked!
Click to expand...
It would rather fail to boot (restart during booting), as most of current is drawn by hard drives during powering on. OP wrote "random restarts". I agree to comments on quad core CPU consumption, but I am more concern on CPU cooling. Check CPU temperature, it can overheat in the case of poor contact with heatsink.
 
Last edited:
Good suggestions so far.

I would also look at your ram. Is it overclocked? If so, either return it to stock, or increase the DRAM voltage in the BIOS a tiny bit. This solved a BSOD problem I had recently.

In my experience, if there is no rhyme or reason to a PC problem, it is generally the PSU.
 
ElecEng said:
sorry, that wasn't very helpful. Unplug all your harddrives except boot drive. unplug unnecessary usb devices and try again. For that whole system I would use a 500W decent single 12V rail power supply with all those hdd's. try this http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
Click to expand...

ok i went and filled in the information. It says that I would need at least 468w power supply. I just find it odd how its been working fine but all of a sardine it started doing this.

sajunky said:
It would rather fail to boot (restart during booting), as most of current is drawn by hard drives during powering on. OP wrote "random restarts". I agree to comments on quad core CPU consumption, but I am more concern on CPU cooling. Check CPU temperature, it can overheat in the case of poor contact with heatsink.
Click to expand...

I run core temp and for all of the shutdowns it has never been because of overheating. But yes I agree I do need a better heatsink as my temp sits between 40 and 50 on idle... What heatsink would you recommend for my cpu?


Unhappy438 said:
This .. Also is rig clean of dust?
Click to expand...

Yes I clean it regularly because of the lovely heat in durban that we experience...

So I have a voucher and discovery miles that i need to use up at Loot.co.za which psu would be best for my rig with the right connectors?

http://www.loot.co.za/product/cooler-master-extreme-2-625-power-supply-625w/zjsc-2511-g750

http://www.loot.co.za/product/corsair-cx-series-modular-cx600-atx-power-supply-600w/bhsc-2511-g830

http://www.loot.co.za/product/cooler-master-thunder-450-power-supply-450w/cxsc-2511-g530

http://www.loot.co.za/product/cooler-master-thunder-600-power-supply-600w/gksc-2511-g050

http://www.loot.co.za/product/cooler-master-silent-pro-m2-power-supply-420w-modular/kkfp-2511-g670

http://www.loot.co.za/product/cooler-master-thunder-550-power-supply-550w/fxfp-2511-g980

http://www.loot.co.za/product/coolermaster-gx-450w-power-supply-450w/swvh-1743-g890

http://www.loot.co.za/product/cooler-master-thunder-500-power-supply-500w/rkfc-2511-g700

http://www.loot.co.za/product/corsair-gs-series-gs600-power-supply-600w/dhfc-2511-g180

http://www.loot.co.za/product/corsair-cx-series-cx430-atx-power-supply-430w/mgfc-2511-g120
 
Last edited:
So have you tried to run it without all those hard drives? Just of curiosity , are you running an illegal version of Win 7 by any chance?
 
Last edited:
I am running a legit version of Windows 8 and no haven't had the chance to unplug all the drives.
 
What about inicial suggestion, booting from live CD and running memory tests?
 
randomwalsh said:
ok i went and filled in the information. It says that I would need at least 468w power supply. I just find it odd how its been working fine but all of a sardine it started doing this.

/snip
Click to expand...

Hahaha!
do the tests suggested before forking out on a new PSU
 
If, as you say, it was running fine then two things come to mind.

1. PSU - Dust, especially on the fan fins is a real drag !

2. CPU heatsink - Dust & cohesion. That sticky paste serves a purpose.

If you're offé with PC maintenance, strip and get rid of the dust, don't touch the paste!

Of course if your case vents are clogged with dust, internal temp will increase.

Just a bit of elbow grease.
 
Other cause is noisy power lines. Check for bulged capacitors on mobo and PSU (or try another PSU). In very rare cases (if not overclocked) faulty CPU.
 
Last edited:
Did the OP pull everything out? Just leave your prime HDD in also pull out your GPU and DVD drivers U only need your motherboard,cpu,ram,1xHDD and try again like everybody asked
 
DTBA said:
Did the OP pull everything out? Just leave your prime HDD in also pull out your GPU and DVD drivers U only need your motherboard,cpu,ram,1xHDD and try again like everybody asked
Click to expand...

it's as if OP doesn't want to fix the problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X