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System randomly shuts off

Forum Motherboards & Memory : General Motherboard - System randomly shuts off

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Hello all

I am new to these forums but not to Tom's site.

I just upgraded some components in an older system to breathe new life into it. I had a P4 sytem and upgraded it to a X6600, 8800 GTS, 4 GB ram. I had originally had the P4, 6800 GT, 2 GB ram.

I had a heat problem with the processor, but soon found that the stock Intel fan/heatsink was below par at best. Replced it with a Zalman 9500.

Now I am having a problem where the system will just shut off. I can not narrow it down because it happens when I am doing different things. Here is s list of events going on when it does shut down:

-Playing WoW
-web surfing
-system is idle andlogged on
-logged off XP

I am using the same powe rsupply, an Antec 550 watt supply. I am running Nvidia Monitor and PC Probe II. neither sound an alarm before the system shuts down. After it does shut down, I must hit the power button to turn it back on, it does not restart.

I am somewhat rusty at this as it has been a great while since I have delved this deep into home PC builds. Any help/ideas will be much appreciated.

edit: Forgot to add the mobo upgrad - Asus P5N32-E SLI

Message edited by Jacyro on 03-27-2008 at 08:10:00 PM

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Looks like a PSU problem to me. Try a different known to work PSU and see.

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Reply to Shadow703793

Did you reinstall windows or use the old hard drive like it was? If you didnt reinstall thats probably your problem.

Reply to roadrunner197069

I did reinstall Windows. This problem didn't start until after I fixed the over heating issue. It may have always been there as I was getting heat warnings and was never on for very long. I will try another power supply and see where that takes me. Thank you both for the replies.

Reply to Jacyro

If thats the case you probably still dont have good contact with your heatsink. Make sure you put enough thermal compuond on your heatsink, and make sure you didnt put to much.

Message edited by roadrunner197069 on 03-27-2008 at 09:34:52 PM

Reply to roadrunner197069

I fixed the heat issue with the CPU by the Zalman fan addition and reapplying the thermal paste. I used Thermaltake Arctic Silver 5. The AS5 compound seemed to be the paste of choice on the forums I have been looking at. The X6600 is a G0. IUt has been runniong aroung 27-30 at idle and around 45-50 while gaming since the fix.

Reply to Jacyro

Have you ram memtest86? Run it atleat 5 hours. Make sure your ram is set to the manufactures specs in the bios. Maybe the voltage or timings are wrong.

Reply to roadrunner197069

I have no idea how this was moved to here, but here is an update.

I manually set the memory timings to what is recommended by OCZ. I am still trying to find the proper settings for the mobo, but this seems to be an impossible task. I have done a bunch of google searches and searches on at asus.com and intel.com and I can not find anything that narrows dwn what the stock manual settings should be.

Also, after setting the memory timings, my heat issue with the CPU came back with a vengence. Eother they are related or coincidental. I am losing faith in the do-it-yourself process as things have gotten a lot more complicated than when I last put a system together.

Reply to Jacyro

Since you changed memory to specs and it got worse I gotta guess your memory is bad. Try 2g at a time and even 1g at atime to see if it gets better.

Did you run memtest86 for 5 hours? If not that would be the next step. If your memory checks out fine then your heatsink might not be on propper.

When you set the timings did you set the voltage also? four gigs probably need 2.1-2.2 volts. If its default 1.8 that could cause problems also.

Your motherboard can be set to stock settings by clicking default settings and saving in the bios. If you do this you will have to set your memory specs again if they arent set to amnufacturer specs.

It could be the memory isnt compatible with you rmobo either. Check your manuals Qualified vendors list for memory.

Reply to roadrunner197069

When you load Windows, it sees the chipset on your MoBo and installs the appropriate drivers fro it or you did that yourself. Now, from your edit, it appears that you also did a MoBo upgrade.

I'd suggest re installing Windows since if you have a different chipset on the new MoBo, Windoze still thinks you have the old chipset. A repair will sometimes work but I'd wanna start from scratch.

To check heat problems, I usually run a combination of temp monitoring software along with throttlewatch. If it's throttling, it's too hot.

I also use a powerful desk fan to blow inside the case and see if that improves things.

Reply to JackNaylorPE

I bet it is the "old" Antec 550 from the other computer. I stopped using Antec as I -never- had one last longer than 3 years (I run things 24/7),the caps in them would go bad.
Your new system is using alot more amps than befor so now the problem shows up.

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------------------------------ *While we crash and burn, small, low tech, agrarian societies such as the Hmong in the mountains of Laos will continue on without so much as blinking an eye.*
Reply to ZOldDude

You should definitly check to make sure your HS is securly mounted to the proccesor. Especially since the problem didn't start until after you put a new HS on.

Reply to allhands

ZOldDude wrote :

I have two machines here running 24/7 for 10 years. They have these cheapos.
http://www.highpowersupply.com/pro [...] 02-12v.htm

I have one (Wang APC) which ran 24/7 till about 3 years ago (had some DOS structural engineering programs on it) which was built in 1985....now it's booted up only occasionally. I did replace it's PSU in 1996 (pulled from another identical box that I kept for "parts" ).

I have 3 other boxes running 24/7 with Antec 550 w PSU's....5 years, 4 years and 3 years.

Unless I am building a box which is going to be heavily overclocked, I won't invest in more than a tier 3 unit.

Reply to JackNaylorPE

Update -

The power seems to have been the issue. After installing the 850 power supply, my ystem has been running non-stop for over 2 days now. Also, I pulled the fan, cleaned and reapplied the thermal past and reseated the fan. I have not gotten any heat warnings either. A lesson remembered. I completely forgot to check the power rating of all my parts to ensure my current supply could handle it.

Thank you to all who pointed me in this direction. I am more rusty with home builds than I thought I was.

Reply to Jacyro

Also, surely you've done this, but if not, what I find helps is to have a case fan directly underneath my PSU to pull air out from under it, even if you have a cheapo, it seems to help with letting cooler air get into your PSU and making it a little more stable b/c it's not getting as hot.

Reply to ohiou_grad_06

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