Computer Crashing, cant find reason

[MisterOwl]

Hello all. I've been having a wierd problem with my built PC. Ive been playing all kinds of games, such as World of Warcraft, Team Fortress 2, Command and Conquer 3, Heroes of Newerth, Call of Duty 4, all that. After a certain amount of time, the computer randomly crashes. No matter what game I play, it happens. I've tried buying a new Graphics card and a new fan, but it still happens. Also, often times, I turn on the pc, it fails to pass POST. I really cant find out what is wrong, so I'm asking the forums. Does anyone know whats going on? Here's my system specs.

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7600 Build 7600
System Type x64-based PC
Processor AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+, 3013 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS M2N-E ACPI BIOS Revision 1001, 6/20/2007
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.1.7600.16385"
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 2.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 2.00 GB
Available Physical Memory 1.30 GB
Total Virtual Memory 4.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 2.75 GB
Page File Space 2.00 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

 

[jack_attack]

Do you get a BSOD, or does it just restart? It could be a few things, but if it doesn't BSOD, I'd imagine you've got a PSU problem. If it does BSOD, it's either faulty RAM or faulty/incompatible hardware or their associated drivers. What type of PSU do you have, and I'd run memtest86 overnight just to be sure.

 

[idejason]

DDR2 or DDR3 RAM?

 

[Jairo]

Hi MisterOwl,

It sounds as tho you need to update the BIOS. Which can be obtained here:
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?model=M2N-E&SLanguage=en-us

You can also view the specs for this motherboard here and the cpu and memory support list.
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=NFlvt10av3F7ayQ9&templete=2

Before updating your BIOS, what are the rest of the specs on your system?

 

[MisterOwl]

Are you asking about the specs on the link you just sent me? If not, im not sure where to find the rest of my specs. I'm kindof a newb...

 

[MisterOwl]

DDR2 or DDR3 RAM?

I Have 2 gigs of DDR 2 ram in my rig.

 

[MisterOwl]

Hi MisterOwl,

It sounds as tho you need to update the BIOS. Which can be obtained here:
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?model=M2N-E&SLanguage=en-us

You can also view the specs for this motherboard here and the cpu and memory support list.
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=NFlvt10av3F7ayQ9&templete=2

Before updating your BIOS, what are the rest of the specs on your system?

Im sorry, I am owl's brother. He has an ATI Radeon 5770 gpu, 550 W psu, 320 GB Western Digital HD. I am quite confused on what is ailing the computer, and I would really appreciate any help at all on this issue. thanks!

 

[apache_lives]

550w PSU - what brand?

Test your hardware - ATITool/Furmark Prime95/Linpack

 

[MisterOwl]

Do you get a BSOD, or does it just restart? It could be a few things, but if it doesn't BSOD, I'd imagine you've got a PSU problem. If it does BSOD, it's either faulty RAM or faulty/incompatible hardware or their associated drivers. What type of PSU do you have, and I'd run memtest86 overnight just to be sure.

I doubt the PSU is the problem because this started a couple of months ago and i've had this rig for almost 3 years now. It does not BSOD, it either locks up with the image still on the screen, or it just crashes with just a black screen.

 

[jack_attack]

I'd look into that PSU for sure. That's what they'll do, they go bad. They don't tell you when they're failing, they just start to deteriorate. One thing you can always do is follow apache's advice and run a few tests. What brand is that PSU?

 

[MisterOwl]

Well... I don't really know how to work those test, but ill find out how. Help would be appreciated XD. I've decided to try the tests before finding my PSU, cause, i don't remember cause its 3 years old, and my parents threw out the box >.> Working on figuring out ATITool right now.

 

[jack_attack]

Could you upload a picture of the badge on the side of the PSU? Like this:

http://www.hardwarelogic.com/articles/reviews/PSU/Antec_Neo_HE_550/psu_badge.jpg

 

[MisterOwl]

I've got an Antec psu

 

[jack_attack]

What are you amp ratings on each 12V rail?

 

[MisterOwl]

Uuh... please remember, i'm a newb. I'm not quite sure that that means. Are you able to explain it quick?

 

[jack_attack]

On that badge, there is a chart. On that chart it will say some voltages. Under the voltages will be a number. That's the amp rating to the corresponding voltage.

 

[MisterOwl]

Before i take apart and build my computer again to read that stuff, i noticed something that may have something to do with the graphics card.
Very often (like, every 7 secs or so) the screen flashes/flickers. My friend said that he thought it had to do with the graphics card. What do you think?

 

[jack_attack]

You should be able to read the badge if you take the side panel off your machine. Every symptom (to me) is pointing to PSU, but I can't tell you a thing if I don't know anything about it.

 

[MisterOwl]

I'm not sure if this is what you're asking for, but here's what the PSU looked like.

Antec Model: Neo H E 550
550 Watt Output
AC Input: 100v-240v 9A:50Hz/60Hz
DC Output Voltage|+3.3V| +5V| +12V1 |+12V2 | +12V3| -12V| +5VSB|
Max. Current| 24a| 20A | 18A| 18A | 18A| 0.8A| 25A |
Available Power| 79.2W|100W| 504W | 9.6W| 12.5W|
Total Power| 55W continuous output at 50*C|
Ambient temperature

 

[T_T]

I concur that your PSU is something to consider. That PSU barely pushes out enough power for the 5770. Two things could be happening simultaneously:

1. Underpowered PSU causing failure to the GPU
2. GPU is being worn down prematurely due to the insufficient PSU

Don't get me wrong, the Neo HE550 was one bad ass PSU back in the day, I had one myself. The 550 is adequate enough to power up the GPU, alone, but when the rest of your hardware is connected, there are several factors to consider are:

1. Is the GPU connected straight to the PSU via the 6-pin connector (I know it can) or are you using the 6-pin to molex adaptor to PSU?

2. Have you tried disconnecting your optical drives, floppy, and any non-OS HDD, while running the computer?

3. Have you tried the suggested MemTest? - download the disc image (.ISO) from www.memtest.org and then burn the disc image to a cd. You can use shareware or freeware programs like Power ISO or Magic ISO to burn the disc image.

 

[jack_attack]

Perfect. That's a solid PSU, and you have 3 12V rails @ 18A each, which should be plenty for that setup. I just wanted to know what your wattage and amperage situation was. You're good there.

When a PC crashes the way yours is, something is usually getting stressed and can't hold up, and your PC as a result falls on it's face. A BSOD is a protective measure, and since you're not getting that, you need to lean hardware.

And, for your own benefit, this is where I get off. Regulars here know hardware much better than I do, so I don't want to lead you around running rabbit holes for nothing.

EDIT: That PSU should be enough for a 5770, but could be failing and offering less than ideal power situations. But, that's not my forte.

 

[lordcolinb]

i think it could be a psu faulty like not getting enough power but it couls also be caused by heat if the gpu gets to hot it will crash also you could try updating drivers and direct x

if you can try cleaning out the gpu heatsink and fan

 

[MisterOwl]

I concur that your PSU is something to consider. That PSU barely pushes out enough power for the 5770. Two things could be happening simultaneously:

1. Underpowered PSU causing failure to the GPU
2. GPU is being worn down prematurely due to the insufficient PSU

Don't get me wrong, the Neo HE550 was one bad ass PSU back in the day, I had one myself. The 550 is adequate enough to power up the GPU, alone, but when the rest of your hardware is connected, there are several factors to consider are:

1. Is the GPU connected straight to the PSU via the 6-pin connector (I know it can) or are you using the 6-pin to molex adaptor to PSU?

2. Have you tried disconnecting your optical drives, floppy, and any non-OS HDD, while running the computer?

3. Have you tried the suggested MemTest? - download the disc image (.ISO) from www.memtest.org and then burn the disc image to a cd. You can use shareware or freeware programs like Power ISO or Magic ISO to burn the disc image.

1.It is connected straight to the PSU.

3.Yeah, I ran memtest, and it passed.

Sorry about my extremely slow answer

 

[madmankya]

I'm no expert, but with only 2gb of ram on a Win 7 rig, gaming will be a problem. With at leat 4 gigs of the same exact ram, running memtest as others suggested is the first step in debugging.

 

[T_T]

Owl,

Have you changed your BIOS to set RAM requirements? Leaving the settings on [Auto] may not sufficiently power up your RAM. If you haven't already, check the sticker on the RAM, it should display what the timings and voltage requirments are, and then change your BIOS to reflect these specifications.