Major problems stability related

[markdagg]

Hello:
How can i find out if my cpu has been over clocked ?? i have been having stability problems with it just clicking off without warning since i got it back from someone that borrowed it ... it is a Gateway with a NV-79 motherboard with the core i-3 330m processor. I have run a few anti virus, spyware, and registry scans and it is clean with no errors. i start it afterwards in safe mode and scan with no problems found

 

[markdagg]

the reason i suspect the guy that borrowed it might have overclocked it is because he is a major gamer

 

[flexxar]

Right click My Computer and select Properties at the bottom. At the bottom of the window, look at Computer:. Make sure the two numbers that have a ghz after them match. If they do not, your system has probably been overclocked.

 

[markdagg]

Right click My Computer and select Properties at the bottom. At the bottom of the window, look at Computer:. Make sure the two numbers that have a ghz after them match. If they do not, your system has probably been overclocked.

They match, but i am still having problems when i use a program that utilizes a lot of processor capacity, as a minute or two later it just shuts off without warning, and i am afraid i will lose stuff i am working on like important proposals, and bids for jobs etc ... i have ran scans or virus, and spyware, its clean, and even scanned for registry errors, only found a few and i fixed them ...

 

[flexxar]

Computers that shut off like that are usually due to a bad power supply or overheating. You could see if there is anything in the error logs, but that is probably a litle more advanced than you're ready for.

 

[markdagg]

Computers that shut off like that are usually due to a bad power supply or overheating. You could see if there is anything in the error logs, but that is probably a litle more advanced than you're ready for.

i have checked the core temps and they are in the right range, but from what i see myself on the error reports i cannot see the probs, BUT i will be the 1st to admit that when it comes to very involved hardware and software probs i am without a clue even though i have installed hundreds of networks from 5 terms to several thousand terms ... this is really messing with me , and it even shut off while trying to reply to this a few minutes ago while the processor was just at about 35%. It will be a while too before i can afford to take it to a qualified repair shop

 

[flexxar]

I will say that I am about 70% certain that it's a bad power supply and about 30% sure that it could be motherboard/cpu/ram/other. You might want to consider spending about $50 to swap the power supply out if you know how. It might be worth the risk to do that than spend a few hundred at a repair shop. If it's not the power supply, you might be able to return it.

 

[markdagg]

Thanks ! I will check on pricing and availability since i am away from home (Illinois) in the Philippines for the next month or so

 

[markdagg]

Computers that shut off like that are usually due to a bad power supply or overheating. You could see if there is anything in the error logs, but that is probably a litle more advanced than you're ready for.

i saw it shut off today with temps much higher than usual ... they were at the 78c range

 

[markdagg]

this was 1st time that i saw high temps as i regularly run "coretemp" anymore trying to deduce the prob

 

[flexxar]

78 C seems a little high. I would try to bring that down some. I would try to reseat the heatsink if you are comfortable with doing that. Or you could downclock your processor to see if that helps. If you don't have a bios option for setting the clockrate, there are applications that will allow you to do it.

 

[markdagg]

Best answer selected by markdagg.