System restart...help!

[MattShinners]

I built a new system about three weeks ago. Randomly (at least it appears that way), the system seems to go into a 'sleep' that it can't wake up from. After leaving it idling for awhile, the case fans and lights turn off. If I click a mouse button, the system stirs for a second (case light on, fan on), and then goes to sleep. It then cycles through this until I turn the switch on my PSU off. After that, the case fan and light goes on again for a second, stops when it doesn't have any power, and turns off. If I turn the PSU switch back on, it lets me boot up as normal.

I'm thinking it's a problem with either the PSU or the motherboard:
MB: GIGABYTE GA-X48-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
RealTemp log shows that my core CPU (Q9450) didn't go above 40C during the time that it was on, and ATI CCC shows my 4870 at a fairly constant 45-48C. I know that the Gigabyte MB has a weird energy saving mode that I'm not sure if it's on or off, or if that could be what's causing the problem.

Any ideas? Should I find a new PSU and try to switch it out? Or does anyone know what could be causing this?

If you've got any ideas or need to know more info about the system, let me know.

Thanks,
Matt

(Other system info: running Vista with 4GB Mushkin RAM, Seagate 320GB Barracuda, LiteON generic DVD/CD drive in an NZXT case)

 

[Proximon]

I'm having a hard time wrapping my wits around the exact behavior... coffee deficit most likely.

It does sound like a power saving issue though. Just disable all power saving and sleep functions in both the BIOS and Vista, and see if the problem goes away. If so you at least know where to start.

Sleep modes have always been buggy, since they were first invented. MB makers and MS have never been able to get it together.

Usually, you can find settings that will make everyone happy, but you have to mess around a bit.

It could be your MB or PSU as you say... I'm not completely clear on what is happening. It's more likely to be the standard sleep mode bug with a few twists thrown in. It could even be a combination of PSU and software problems, although a 750TX is a very good PSU. Sometimes PSUs get knocked around pretty good in shipping because of weight.

 

[MattShinners]

To try and clarify, after the system sits idle for awhile, the case fan and lights shut off (which I'm assuming is a sleep mode). When I try to wake the system, the case fan and lights turn on for a few seconds, then turn off, the system sits for a few seconds, and the cycle repeats (without me touching anything). Pressing the front power switch does nothing - the cycle just continues. However, if I turn the actual power switch on the PSU to the 'off' position, the system tries the cycle once more but fails without a power source. Then, if I flip the PSU switch back 'on', I can reboot.

After reviewing the log information for RealTemp, it seems that the system started 'sleeping' (or at least the program stopped logging info) about an hour after I stopped using it last night. When I checked Vista's 'sleep' setting, it was set to an hour. I turned it off, so hopefully this will solve the problem. Just a little weird, since the problem started randomly, but this is Vista.... If that doesn't work, on the next reboot I'll go into the BIOS and change the MB's power save settings to check it out. I'm not too worried about the power saving features, as my rent includes all utilities so I can drain power and all it does is kill the environment, not my bank account.

Thanks for the help, Proximon. If the problem persists, I'll let you know.

 

[Proximon]

Hmmm ya, sounds like the OS is having problems re-initializing. Could be a simple update. Make sure you have the latest MB drivers, and look for newer BIOS... don't flash the BIOS unless you are sure you need to though.

 

[dallasjoh]

Try changing the power management in Vista and see if that will help. Click the link for instructions on how to do this and let us know if it works.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disable-power-management-on-windows-vista/

 

[MattShinners]

Since I disabled the sleep mode in Vista (which is essentially changing one of the power management settings), the computer's been fine. Thanks for your help, everyone.