Crash or reset?

[tsiwiec]

I have these strange crashes/resets on a machine I just put together:
- ECS K75SA
- Athlon 1.4GHz (not overclocked) + Thermaltake Volcano 5
- GeForce 2 MX 200 64MB
- 128MB DDR
- 40GB HDD, CD, FDD
- Cheesy case with a 300W PSU and a case fan blowing inside
The situation is that often when I exit a program or game (such as RTCW maxed out on details) the system will crash or rather reset - as if you hit the reset button. My suspicion is that it's related to heat - after 30 min of running the machine, the BIOS indicates temp around 125 deg F. I know it's still within the spec but it's defenetely not to cool. On the other hand I thought that when a CPU overheats it just shuts itself down and has to cool off - here it just resets itself. Do you have any idea if it's heat-related or maybe something else?

 

[MeTaLrOcKeR]

Update your Video card driver to version 21.85.....some driver versions for the GeForce series cards had problems
and would reset the computer.......
ALSO....a crappy power supply that doesnt give steady voltage....to many power peeks/spikes would make the computer reset.........sounds liek it can only be either of the two...besides that, I dotn think I could persoanlly help you...but that's what It sounds like...

-MeTaL RoCkEr

My Rig: http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597

 

[btvillarin]

That's odd that it'd crash after 30 minutes. I mean, it's only 51.7°C (use Celsius instead of Fahrenheit). That's way within specs, although most would like to keep it under that. Plus, looking at the official specs at the <A HREF="http://www.thermaltake.com" target="_new">Thermaltake website</A>, it's designed for 1.5GHz and higher.

Anyways, if you don't have any case fans, your other components might be overheating. Since you maxed out your video card, that might be the culprit. I'd have at least two - one intake in the front (usually there's a spot), and one exhaust on the back bezel.

If you don't have any case fans, I believe this would be a good place to start.

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=13406" target="_new">My System Rig</A>

 

[btvillarin]

Or, it could be those drivers. Dangit, I really should write troubleshooting stuff down first. :lol:

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=13406" target="_new">My System Rig</A>

 

[MeTaLrOcKeR]

Could be now couldnt it ?
I was just saying incase eh didnt have them yet, a lot of people dont.....and from what I've heard the 21.85's are quite stable... :tongue:

-MeTaL RoCkEr

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new"> <b> My Rig </b> </A>

 

[btvillarin]

Yeah, it could. I wasn't baggin' on ya...I was just saying that the first thing I should've said was to make sure you have the latest official drivers.

Hook him up with a link

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=13406" target="_new">My System Rig</A>

 

[MeTaLrOcKeR]

Good Idea =)

Heres the link..actually links to Download the newest official drivers for your video card...the reason why there is multiple ?? I don't know what Ooperating System your running....

Well now, the latest Driver version is 21.83 =)

<A HREF="http://209.213.197.10/Windows/21.83/Win9x_21.83.exe" target="_new"> Windows 95/98/ME </A>
<A HREF="http://209.213.197.10/Windows/21.83/WinXP_21.83.exe" target="_new"> Windows XP/2000 </A>
<A HREF="http://www.nvidia.com/docs/lo/974/SUPP/WinNT_21.81.exe" target="_new"> Windows NT </A>

Try them out...hope it helps you

-MeTaL RoCkEr

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new"> <b> My Rig </b> </A>

 

[Guest]

rather than the CPU getting hot maybe its the vid card? try getting a bay cooler see if that helps - or run the machine with the case open.

I wanna be a hippie and I wanna get stoned yeah.

 

[FUGGER]

Just by the topic I know it was a AMD based POS system.

This is soooo typical of owning a AMD, why do people put up with this crap?

 

[Crashman]

I don't know what's causing your crash, maybe a memroy problem.
But I do know one thing-you really shouldn't admit you bought an MX200 in here! An old TNT2 32MB card could put the hurt to it, and for less money!

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[btvillarin]

What kind of card is that? What brand? When you said less money, it caught my eye.

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=13406" target="_new">My System Rig</A>

 

[pr497]

what OS are you running? cuz it looks like i had the same problem as you in my comp and i was running windows 2k. i couldnt figure out what was wrong with my comp so i installed win xp (i know...some of you have "expressed" your lack of affection towards xp...besides, i dont think its that great either...i like win 2k better). my comp works fine now....you might wanna change your OS if you cant figure out what's wrong with it.

I don't claim to know anything about everything, I just tell people what I know.
-PSB

 

[Guest]

>The situation is that often when I exit a program or game
>(such as RTCW maxed out on details) the system will crash
>or rather reset -

Be a bit more specific if you can.. is ONLY when you exit a program / game ? Is it ONLY when you exit a 3D or directdraw app ? If so, suspect your videocard/drivers. If its more of a random thing, like rebooting for no good reason while surfing the web.. it could be a lot more things (memory, psu, bas motherboard.. these ECS boards seems to be very very often defective.. although mine works great).

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

 

[Matisaro]

When you close an app alot of your hardware runs for a few seconds, the swap file is closing out, ram is working, cpu is cleaning loose threads. Random resetting is 99% of the time a PSU issue. Get a new or try a different psu in your system.

Ignore FUGGER, he is a moron.

~Matisaro~
"The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark"
~Tbird1.3@1.5~

 

[Crashman]

TNT2 cards go for around $35 on Pricewatch, there's an eVGA unit listed for $32 and a bunch of Diamond V770's for $35. I tested a V770 and posted the results on Madonion, using an old Celeron system I scored over 3100, my MX200 scored around 2700, both overclocked to their maxes. I made a post in here a few weeks ago about it. The MX200 was clocked much hihger than the TNT2 for this test and still lost by a significant margin.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[tsiwiec]

I run XP and have a good opinion about it - smooth instalation, good hardware recognition, stable, superfast boot, etc.....

 

[tsiwiec]

I've got 1 case fan blowing inside. The PSU might be crappy, I admit, but how would I go about installing 1 more case fan in the back?

 

[tsiwiec]

I was already running the 21.83 version (detonator) for XP (OS I'm running). Thanks though, I'll try to reinstall and see what happens. Also are there any tweaks within the nvidia utility to decrease card's performance?

 

[tsiwiec]

It cost $47 with the PSU and fan. I forgot the brand - can check it later. It's a simple MID-Tower with ventilation holes on the sides.

 

[tsiwiec]

I'm running XP and the OS is fine - I've had nothing but positive experience with it (I guess until now hehe) I built 2 other machines with XP on it and everything went fine. 1 of them had exact same configuration except better case and it works fine.

 

[tsiwiec]

Good observation. In the beginning it would happen randomly for example while browsing the web - I would try to stream some MP3/video and the comp would just reset itself. But for last week or so it happens only in the RTCW (not that all I'm doing is religousely fragging hehe - although you have to admit it's a good test for the machine). The comp resets itself when I exit it - I guess when switching from the GL to normal mode....Does it sound like the graphics card? I have the latest detonator XP drivers - ver. 21.83. Somebody suggested using 21.85 but they are for different OS.

 

[tsiwiec]

As a matter of fact I'm going to fix this older machine that had fried PSU. What I'm gonna do is buy a new good 300W PSU and stick it in the crashing comp, taking out the cheesy and putting it in the old PII box. What is your suggestion on reliable PSU?

 

[pr497]

i heard that antec is good for a PSU (i hope i spelled antec right).

I don't claim to know anything about everything, I just tell people what I know.
-PSB

 

[pr497]

i agree...smooth instalation, good hardware recognition..but i just like the way win 2 k works. and besides...the blue taskbar on xp is a little cheesy (so i changed it to silver....ahh...much better).

I don't claim to know anything about everything, I just tell people what I know.
-PSB

 

[bront]

I like the Antec 400W PSU, good price and good specs. Enermax I think is one of the high end PSU suppliers, so a 300W or 350W from them would be good too, but could cost even more. However, some of those have dual exhaust fans too, so that may cool your system down a bit more.

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