Random Reboot (not often) - Windows 7 - Gigabyte EX58-UD3R

[hurdy]

Hi everyone.

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to read this thread.

I'm having some difficulty with a homebuilt PC. The computer boots into Windows 7 fine, no errors etc, and then once, maybe twice a day it will just randomly switch off, not a windows shutdown routine, just a straight power off, then reboot itself. It seems to happen at random times.

Let me list my hardware & Software:

OS: Windows 7 Pro - Retail
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R - Revision 1.6
CPU: Intel i7 950 socket 1366
RAM: Corsair 2x 2GB DDR3 1333
Graphics: MSI ATI R4770-TD512 512MB
PSU: Antec EarthWatts 750W

I've tried updating the BIOS to the latest version, so I am yet to see if this has any effect until the rebooting happens again.

The system can fully boot into Windows fine, and run all my apps etc without a problem. It can detect all of my RAM (even the BIOS can see it), it knows the CPU, HDD everything.

I did wonder if it was a RAM issue, but it all seems to get detected properly.

I think I will also disable sleep mode. Maybe something to do with that is causing problems with my computer. I really don't think sleep mode will be the issue though.

I wonder if because the MOBO does variable clock speed as and when the CPU loading increase/decreases is causing the problem?

Does anyone have any advice on what I can try to solve this little glitch I'm having whilst I wait for BIOS results?

Thank you for your time, and please ask any questions if you think I have missed some important details out.

Thank you again,

Rob

 

[ekoostik]

If the BIOS update does not solve the problem (good first step by the way), have you tested your RAM? You should run memtest86+ ver. 4.0 to make sure there's no problems with the sticks: http://www.memtest.org/

You can run the test on each stick individually and if they all pass fine, run again with all sticks in place. You may also end up manually setting the V for the RAM.

Just to be clear, it looks like you're running 2 sticks instead of the more-standard 3?

 

[hurdy]

Hi ekoostik,

Merry Christmas by the way. Sorry for the slightly delayed response. Being christmas and all. Much family stuff to do.

Many thanks for your response. I've done some tests on the memory with your suggested MemTest86 V4 application. I did the test with each DDR3 DIM individually and so far no errors. Here are my results.

DIM 1 : Time - 9hrs 34mins; Passes - 20; Errors - 0.
DIM 2 : Time - 12hrs 40mins; Passes - 26; Errors - 0.

I am yet to do the test on both DIM's together. Myabe there is an issue with them when they are both plugged in together. I have read the motherboard manual back to front and the DIMs are in their correct slots when in dual mode.

Sorry, I should have been more clear about my RAM. Yea, I'm running 2 DDR3 DIMs. Each of 2GB. Total = 4GB.

I was advised by a friend of mine who works at Intel that I should really test each DIM for 48 hours. Would you agree with this?

Maybe there is a PSU problem. It could be that the power supply is creating slight spikes causing the system to shut off instantly. Do you know of any good voltage monitor applications that also creates a log file?

I will also have to contact Gigabyte and see if they have anything to say on the matter. See if they have any motherboard test applications that I can run.
It seems very difficult to see if the problem is with the CPU or Motherboard.

I may also try and reinstall windows 7. I've found that windows is now locking up every now and then. It may be a software issue. But I can't see the software randomly powering off the PC. To my knowledge any experience anyway.

Thank you for your input. I very much appreciate any help and advice.

 

[ekoostik]

Merry Christmas hurdy,
Given the amount of time you ran memtest already, I wouldn't expect 48 hours to show any different already. It's worth running it with both sticks installed, just to rule that out as a possibility.

I am not familiar with any good voltage monitor software applications. They would rely on hardware reporting on those correctly and that is usually not a very reliable route to take. You could use a multimeter if you wanted to test your PSU. Here's a couple links you may find helpful, although a little dated:
http://www.motherboards.org/articles/guides/1487_6.html
http://www.bfgpower.com/troubleshooting.html

Are you running the 64-bit version of Win 7 pro? It could be a driver issue. Make sure you have the latest video card drivers: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx

Any other devices that might be the culprit? Do you have any miscellaneous devices plugged into USB, eSata, FireWire, etc ports (which could be shorting the system or causing diver issues)? After the next reboot, check the logs. Go into computer management, under System Tools, Event Viewer, Window Logs, check the Application and System Logs for any warnings or Errors at the time of the crash.

 

[hurdy]

Thank you ekoostik.

Yea I guess the RAM testing I have done is sufficient enough.
What I might do is take the DDR3 out of my working machine and swap it with the "could be" faulty RAM in the unstable machine to see if that cures the problem. The RAM is compatible.

I am running 64 bit Windows 7 pro yes. I may just re-install windows and make sure the latest drivers are installed. I will also keep an eye out for BIOS updates.

There really isn't much other equipment attached to the machine that I think could be causing the problem. Keyboard, mouse... sometime the printer is powered up. All of this equipment worked fine before I upgraded the motherboard, CPU, RAM, Graphics card etc.

This really is a tricky one to solve. I think I will re-install windows again and see what happens from there. Mind, if it is a hardware fault I need to identify it before the warranty expired.

Thank you so much for your help. I will keep this thread updated with any findings and results.

 

[hurdy]

oh and thank you for the windows log tip. I will keep an eye out the next time a shutdown happens. It's a little difficult for me to catch it as it happens. The PC isn't mine, but my fathers. Getting the timing right to be there is a little tricky, and it often happens when no one is there, so asking him to log the time when it happenes is difficult.

 

[abnuk]

I have the same symptoms with my EX58-UD4P. I really suspect the motherboard as I also performed mem tests and so on. I've just sent the quote to Gigabyte and waiting for reply. Please let know if you find something out. It's really annoying when you can get several random restarts a day.

Marcin

 

[hurdy]

Well, I disabled to Sleep mode in Windows 7 and just set screen saver and power monitor, and the PC has stayed up for several days running without a problem, doing the same tasks that were demanded from it previously.

I'm really at a loss. I will just leave it running for several more days to conclude on it more.

 

[ekoostik]

It sounds like the issue is happening less often? Does it ever reboot while someone is sitting there using it? I was wondering, given:

The PC isn't mine, but my fathers. ... it often happens when no one is there, so asking him to log the time when it happenes is difficult.

Is it possible the PC is going into hibernation or sleep mode and he's misinterpretting it as a shutdown or reboot?

 

[hurdy]

Is it possible the PC is going into hibernation or sleep mode and he's misinterpretting it as a shutdown or reboot?

Hehe, yea I did question that to him some time ago and he was sure it didn't. It was one of the first things I thought of.

I've had no more news about it happening again, so I will leave it at that for the moment. If it is reported to have happened again, I will just have to take the PC and use it myself for some time to make sure.

 

[Guest]

Hi everybody,

was this issue ever finally solved? I have precisely the same problem.
Setup: Gigabyte EX58-UD3R mobo, bios version F9, i7-940 processor, 3 x 2 GB memory. video Nvidia 9600 GT. Memtests OK.
It's dual boot, Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit and Ubuntu 9.10.

Under Ubuntu no problem at all, so it must be an interaction with Windows. All drivers are the most recent.
Also tried to turn off all power saving etc, as I also thought it was something to do with sleep mode, but no success.
The power really seems to shut doen, then come back and the PC reboots.
The winlog says: power interruption.

Any idea's? This really driving me crazy!

Eric

 

[hurdy]

Hi there,

I've had no further problems with with the PC shutdown as far as I am away.

Is your power supply powerfull enough to handle to CPU, Motherboard and Graphics card?
Maybe windows has some features that pushes your CPU or graphics card to kick in and thus require more power than Ubuntu.

See if you can try some different sticks of RAM. Or it might be worth running the computer on 1 stick of RAM for a few days then try the other for a while.

I can't really give you any results on what I did as I have no idea why it doesn't do it anymore. Sorry.

Keep posting your results as you test things and maybe we can work this out.

Rob

 

[Vort3x]

I have exactly the same problem.Havnt tried ubuntu yet need to find a live version.I however also have the problem of the system (32bit Win7) only being able to use 1.99Gb of my 4. Have you guys made any progress on tracking down the random shutdowns?

 

[Guest]

I think I solved the problem.
I have a USB keyboard and mouse but used PS2 adapters to connect them, because the GRUB bootmenu does not work with a USB keyboard (no driver loaded in that stage).
When I set the BIOS "Integrated Peripherals"/ "USB Keyboard Function" to "Enabled", and connected the keyboard and mouse via USB, the problem was gone.

In stead of rebooting, Windows now puts the system in hybernate mode and powers off. No spontanious reboot anymore
One press on the Power button is enough to wake it up in a few seconds.

So it must be an (interrupt?) interaction on the combination Windows 7 - Gigabyte EX58-UD3R that caused the problem!

Eric

 

[hurdy]

Eric, now that you mention about the USB, I do remember enabling it in the BIOS and ever since I haven't had the restart problem. I never clicked that it was the cause! Makes sense now though.