CPU is running at 100C for no apparent reason

[NCP]

Hi.. have a fairly major problem. My Athlon XP 2000+.. which has always ran at 60-70 degrees is now running at 100, for no apparent reason. As a result of this, I can't use the computer for fifteen minutes without it overheating enough to spontaneously restart on me.
Is there anything that could suddenly cause this to happen? Although it's spring now the climate certainly hasn't gotten enough hotter to make the CPU run 30 degrees hotter. I haven't overclocked the CPU, and have made no changes to my cooling configuration. Looking inside, all fans are running properly. What else could have caused this sudden temperature increase?

 

[Nights_L]

100C?
it can't be, if it's 100C, your CPU is already burned..
what's u got? even a Palomino can go only up to 90C

 

[NCP]

0.o
Well it's at 100 degrees Celsius, definitely. What.. it should already be burned? I hope not..
Athlon XP 2000+, think I mentioned.. has been fine at 60-70 before, but over the last few days it started doing this.
If I leave the PC off for a while, then switch on and check the temp in the BIOS, it says about 83 degrees.. but it creeps up right there in front of me, and within 1 minute it's reached the 95+ stage, and stops rising around about there.
When the computer spontaneously restarts later.. if I check it then, it says 99-100.

 

[jihiggs]

your fan probly died or all of a suden got full of crap

wpdclan.com cs game server - 69.12.5.119:27015

 

[NCP]

As I mentioned in first post.. all fans are running properly.. And, not full of crap either, so I don't know..

 

[jihiggs]

feel the heatsink, if it is hot to the touch then its overheating with the heatsink, if the heatsink is not hot, either its not mating with the chip properly for some reason, or the readings are innacurate. maybe you busted one of the lugs off the cpu mount?

wpdclan.com cs game server - 69.12.5.119:27015

 

[NCP]

Doesn't seem to be any of those things either.. and it's definitely hot, and that plus the extreme instability of the system makes me think the temperature readings are at least close to accurate.

 

[jihiggs]

you sure the heatsink isnt full of dust and its making good contact with the cpu? you didnt change anything recently?

wpdclan.com cs game server - 69.12.5.119:27015

 

[NCP]

Nope, not at all, hadn't even touched the inside of the case since I put it together 5-6 months ago. That's why it's so odd.. why one day it was going at 60-70 degrees, the next at 80-100.. for no apparent reason, without actually having done anything to it.

 

[Woodman]

Did you run anything hyperintensive, such as games or software applications recently, say within the last month?

There is a 23.72% chance someone within a mile of you is jacking himself up.

 

[NCP]

Well, I do run some reasonably hyperintensive games, but I have for 5-6 months with this PC and haven't particularly increased or decreased the frequency that I run them..another reason this is a bit of a mystery. :/
I'm starting to think though it might just be a climate thing. Am in Australia here and have yet to have this computer over spring/summer as I got it last autumn. Now that we're into spring we're starting to get hotter days (30 degrees plus) so maybe it's that... which I'll just have to invest in more cooling. Certainly before summer at any rate.

 

[Woodman]

Mmm. Alright then.

Though I still don't see why it would get to 100C, even with 30C+ days. It's already past summer here where I live, but I did ususally get 35C-40C days, and yet my Palomino 1700+ would always stay under 65C (load). Course, I also have 2 case fans running at medium speed providing adaquate airflow, and a nice adjustable HSF. So maybe that's your problem?

I've only had one encounter where my temperatures shot up to the 90s, and that was when I tried running a pretty intensive game for the first time. The game was Star Wars Galaxies, and just like you, I saw no reason why it would do so, since I've ran quite a number of things that were also pretty intense. My fans were also working... for a while anyway. After about 2 weeks of fluctuating temperatures, my HSF fan stopped running randomly, and then it finally died. Didn't think a game could do something like that .

Ahh well, best of luck to you.

There is a 23.72% chance someone within a mile of you is jacking himself up.

 

[NCP]

*nods*
I only have one case fan, am going to get another..
Gets 40+ here in summer, so I'll try and be ready for that with some serious cooling. This is my first time having a fairly power hungry CPU like the Athlon XP, wasn't sure what to expect.. and I bought it in autumn so, it has yet to live through either a spring or a summer so that's probably what's kept it going thus far.

Oh and I must mention... I got the program CPU Idle a couple of hours ago and it's been working wonders.. I've only had one crash in the last two hours since I installed it, and have been playing Freelancer the whole time (Freelancer previously was killing the CPU every 10 minutes).

 

[ytoledano]

You can't say that the readings can't be accurate because the system restarts on you. Something that relies on the inaccurate readings might be restarting the system.
IMO you should take off the HSF, clean everything up and put some good thermal paste on the CPU.

My anger and my wrath will be poured on this place on man and beast on the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground it will burn and not be quenched Jeremiah 7:20
I am ALPHA and OMEGA, burn!

 

[Guest]

I can't see why anyone would even *try* to run that cpu when its reaching 100C !! Its a tribute to the Athlon that its still working at all, and a blamage for your motherboard that ought to shut down well below those temps. You got an old motherboard I suspect ?

anyway, DON't TRY RUNNING IT ANYMORE. If you haven't already, you could kill both your MB and your CPU. Remove the heatsink, clean the die and the HSF, reapply thermal paste, and reinstall properly. Maybe your thermal paste has somehow lost its working (cause it got too hot for too long ? Are you using Artic Silver ?), but there is just no way a properly installed CPU would ever be running at 100°C.

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[HardWareBoss]

You said you have 1 case fan? How many does your case hold? I have 5 my Cpu temps hit 65C when gaming. I ordered new HSF for my 2.4C. Plus 2 new fans to get rid of stock fans.

 

[Bosse]

It cant fuck1ng be 100c! u must read wrong !

hey ! aren´t u the guy who programmed asus probe ^^

AMD 2500+ @ 3200+ - Volcano 9 - A7N8X/DLX - Corsair XMS TWINX 3200LL 1024MB - GF 3 TI-200 - 2x WD Raptor RAID 0 - Maxtor DiamondMax Plus9 120Gb 7200rpm Special Edition - Hiper 420w.

 

[Vapor]

aren't you also at 3.0GHz with an OCd graphics card too...

RDRAM = ENEMY

 

[Vapor]

that's what I was thinking...look around ur BIOS a little, NCP, and look for a shutdown temp. If there isnt one set, try doing a clean install of windows and see how that runs (maybe you have an app that shuts down the puter at 100C [should shut down sooner than that, though] and you dont know what it is).

Oh yeah, just a possibility, are you sure you're in celsius? 38 (100F) is more apporpriate for idling than 100C.

RDRAM = ENEMY

 

[HardWareBoss]

The temps where up before I OCed Vid Card. But with new Hsf plus 2 new fans that should Kool her down.

 

[Vapor]

ohhh ok, what hsf did you get?

RDRAM = ENEMY

 

[HardWareBoss]

Zalman CNPS7000Al/Cu Temps done here are 85+F