help! win2000 sudden reboot problem

FatAbbot24

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Nov 15, 2003
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I've been having a problem with my computer running windows 2000 (with all the service packs and updates installed)... I just built 2 computers (identical components) for me and my friend and my computer, for some reason, has been experiencing random sudden reboots every two days or so (my friend does not have this problem). Sometimes it happens when I close Windows Media Player, but usually it happens when I'm at work - I come back to see no programs running (I always leave winamp and kazaa running but they don't start up automatically). It's been getting worse (ie more frequent) lately so I've been trying to figure out what the hell is going on. I ran memtest for 10 hours, no problem. I ran 3dmark overnight, no problem (although it's a bit lower than I'd like it). My CPU runs at 45°C ambient and 47°C under high load and the mobo is at 33°C most of the time. If anyone has any ideas as to how I can go about figuring this problem out and fixing it, I would appreciate it immensely.

Asus A7N8x mobo (nforce2)
Athlon XP 3000+ (overclocked to 2200Mhz)
Corsair XMS 3500CL2 (2x512MB) timings: 2-2-2-6
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (not overclocked)
Hercules Fortissimo III 7.1
Enermax 430W PSU
 

EdtheROM

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Nov 21, 2003
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If I had to troubleshoot this, I'd first check thermal and power problems.

Too many drives, too small a fan, overclocking, etc draw more power than some designers anticipated, and create additional heat, and can cause intermittant problems.

Add up your watts, and see if it is more than 75% of your PS rating [assuming it's a decent one, and the enermax *is* considered ok.] Running at the edge can degrade the PS performance and efficiency, and cause endless intermittant problems.

Use MotherBoardMonitor and check the temps of the various chips, especially the CPU. Some programs are more accurate than others, and the component temp ratings are approximate - each component can be more or less sensitive.

All of this can add up one way or the other, in many strange and different ways, leading to a puzzeling situation

In my experience...
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-=ed
 

charlie_chan

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Nov 24, 2002
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Look in the Administrators Tools for the Event Viewer. Start with the System event log. If there is a ERROR message just before a reboot, right click on it and select properties. The information in the properties box will help you find the problem. If there is no ERROR message, then check out the info found in the properties box for the INFORMATION message that appears just after reboot. Look in all of the event logs: Applications, Security, and System. I am having a some what similar problem during a game (FS2004). Here is the message I am getting in the System event log(so far, I do not know what to do with it):

INFORMATION 1/6/04, 9:46:16PM, save dump:
The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x0000000a (0xffdfc105, 0x0000001e, 0x00000000, 0x80064fac). Microsoft Windows 2000 [v15.2195]. A dump was saved in: C:\WINNT\Minidump\Mini010604-06.dmp.


MSI KT3 Ultra ARU mobo, AthlonXP 2000 set at 1731MHz, Windows98SE/W2K Pro, 1024MB DDR333, ATI Radeon 9700 Pro card, Audigy2ze sound, 431 watt Enermac Whisper pwr supply.