Computer Just restarts for no reason ?!?!?!

[MonteMan]

I just built a computer for a friend of mine and hw bought the following equipment:

431 watt Ernomax(sp?) Power Supply
Asus A7N8X
2800XP Palmino
Maxtor 80 gig HD
MSI 4600ti
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Plat
GIEL CL2 512 PC-3200

and all other high quality hardware, and now when he plays games it randomly resets itself. Me being no amateur to overclocking I bought him a huge copper hitsink and a very high rpm fan. The only thing I could thing over but the processor never went over into a alarming tempature

 

[CMRvet]

Does it happen with all the games or just with some of them?
For example Need for Speed Porsche had a lot of freezings and rebooting problems.

I suggest you to try benchmarking with 3D Mark 2001 (live it looping for a couple of hours).

If everything is fine with 3D Mark just benchmark with Prime 95 or Toast to test the CPU stability.

Also test RAM with Memtest.

Anyway, what about the temps of the case and CPU? I suggest you to test the system with a home fan pointing to the mobo.

Good luck

<b>(<font color=yellow>as good as it looks</font color=yellow>)</b>

 

[MonteMan]

I went on Asus and on thier mobo forum someone posted that I need to mod my power supply to give consistant 5V because Ernomax sometimes gives about 4.8 you think this is true ?

 

[frewOFstew]

Just now solved the same problem on a new shuttle ak35gt2...every time I tried to run 3dmark (to check gf4 ti4200 on new system) it would reboot. I did two things..not sure which one did it...but here they are. First,(in bios) I put my processor's multiplier to default and fsb at 133fsb...than I changed, in power management settings in bios, the video off method from V/H SYNC+Blank to DPMS.......well it worked... ran right through 3dmark without a hitch. Now I am not sure which it was...but it might give something to go on........gl

 

[frewOFstew]

well I am back to say it helped...but not quite all the way...I can make through 3dmark now...but when playing a shooter the first time 10 to 15 minutes in I rebooted...I am thinking video card heat on due to an upgraded system...but not sure yet...still looking at settings everthing is new...especially mobo bios...will report back here...and yes I do think that change helped a lot...but will report if it acts up too much...(by the way what is that thing I changed...... I don't even know for sure>..lol)

P.S. video card is fine had it for a month on my old system...no problems like this.

 

[MonteMan]

Sweet that fixed the reseting problem.... I switch to 133 and that did the trick however my power suply was already on DPMS so it was that speed that did it.

Now I am @ a diffrent problem, I went through 3D mark perfect and got like 1074 score now the next problem is I start playing DAOC a rpg and everything is working fine for about 1/2 hour then My program just shuts off and I go back to desktop it has done this a few times now ?!?!?!?

Any Ideas there ?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by MonteMan on 12/22/02 02:58 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[frewOFstew]

still researching...will let you now if I make progress...would appreciate knowing, if you find anything new also.

 

[MonteMan]

Well Cancel that thereoy playing some DAOC and I restart after of about 20 mins of playing it I restart again.... Rats looks like its back to the drawing boards.

 

[Mavicator]

I've got an A7V in one server with a Tbird 1ghz and it restarts whenever I try to network transfer large files to it. The memory (3 sticks) is all mismatched. What is this memory test you speak of?

-- Ah sh*t! sys64738 --

 

[MonteMan]

I reformated and took out the sound card thinking this might be the problem and I am still cursed w/ a game that just boots me unto the desktop after a few mins of playing.

Someone help me out here, I am using a GeForce 4600ti from MSI

 

[Victory]

I would seriously check your ram. I have the same problems with my current rig. Lo and behold I was checking my system properties and found out that the ram sometimes would show 256MB then other times 128(i first suspected the PSU). When XP would reboot I'd see cross linked files being repaired(almost always a dead giveaway of failing ram). Anyhow check the system properties and make sure you have the full amount of ram you have in your machine. I saw you have Geil. Good ram does fail, mine is personally Corsair XMS2400 but thankfully it has a lifetime warranty.

Save heating costs on your home, overclock your PC!!!

 

[MonteMan]

Okay I just ran mem test and I got 7 errors and I only reached 78 percent. This is real weird because last time I got to 99% and didn't have an error that displayed.

I have some 2700 I am gonna pop in there tommarow maybe this will solve the problem. Only question is do I have to change speed settings w/ jumpers or does it do it atomatically ?

 

[pj_punka]

Has no one considered heat as an issue here? Judging by what you say that you have in that case, they are all pretty big heat producers and unless your case has at least 2 exhaust fans at the back and at least 2 intake fans at the front, your system is more than likely overheating and hence crashing. Good case ventilation helps a lot when you have a few hundred watts dissipating in a small confined space. Oh yeah and you might want to get a nice big HSF combo on your CPU too, those CPU's are well known for getting really really hot without adequate cooling.

 

[Victory]

According to the manual, if you left the BIOS to autodetect(bySPD) it'll autodetect the ram you have. This shouldn't be an issue. Just watch the BIOS boot screen and see if it gets configured correctly. The new asus boards no longer use jumpers or dipswitches for board timings, all via bios.

Save heating costs on your home, overclock your PC!!!

 

[Victory]

this doesn't seem to be a heat issue. The A7N8X has COP protection, psu temperature monitoring(if the psu supports it). It wouldn't crash due to an overheat. It would shut off, which doesn't sound like his problem. Random crashes/reboots are almost always ram problems, sometimes PSU failure. The thing with ram is(with DIMMS) is that only 'one side' can fail, where your machine may still boot, run, but when the ram acts up, will allow you run still. In my current case, I'm going from 256-128-256.

Save heating costs on your home, overclock your PC!!!

 

[MonteMan]

Yea I don't think its a heat issure I have the Huge Coolermaster heatsink w/ heat pipes and a 7200 rpm fan on it. Also I have Intake and exaust fans and one the video card and another on the side panel blwoing on my motherboard and other cards.

I am thinking its the memorey, I wish I wasn't @ work atm so I could go there and test it w/ new ram

My question however stands, if I run memtest and get errors, the only thing that would cause this is the RAM correct ?

 

[frewOFstew]

Here's my latest on that problem...the last thing I've done that I think might have made a change is to take my ddr chip out of dimm 1 and put it in dimm 2...went in and played the same shooter that had me rebooting...and surprise...no reboot...stayed in game half an hour (used to reboot in approx 10 - 15 min of play)...I actually left the game on my own...this may be worth a try...but like always I am not sure it was what did the trick.........gl

 

[paulj]

Don't run your fsb at 133. If you do you no longer have a XP 2800+. The fsb should be 166 with the XP 2800+.

Also the RAM may not autodetect right. Be sure you have it set right in the bios. You can slow the RAM down if you want. But start with the aggressive settings. If that doesn't work back off.

Check every setting in the bios. Go through it slowly and make sure that nothing is set wrong.

Actually it may be better to clear the cmos and go through the bios setup. Let me know if need help with the clearing the cmos.

I am not familiar with the RAM you are using. Others have recommended the OCZ. I have 512 MB Corsair CAS 2 on the A7N8X Deluxe, XP 2700+, Radeon 9700 Pro, and an Antec 430 PS.

<font color=red>The solution may be obvious, but I can't see it for the smoke coming off my processor.</font color=red>

 

[MonteMan]

CMOS = BIOS Coorect ?

I set everything back to defaults... I never thought of setting the memorey settings to aggressive but I am gonna try that in about a hour when I get home

Also what do you have your DDR plugged into (1,2 or 3) I also have a sound Audigy 2 and a 3Com nic plugged into it so I should set which of these off to disable them. Also one more question, I have the 2600 XP w/333 bus.

EDIT: Two more questions, It doesn't matter that I am only using one stick of 512 right ?
Also what is a safe temperature the CPU should be @ when Idling and when working hard (playing a game)

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by monteman on 12/23/02 01:05 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[paulj]

Clearing the CMOS resets the BIOS. When you boot up again go into the BIOS and set everything up.

This <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=527833#527833" target="_new">link</A> is a good one.

I have it plugged into the slot on the right I believe. I am not at that computer now. If you only have one stick of RAM then I don't think it would matter. I have it in either one or three.

Since you have the XP 2600+ you need to run your fsb at 166. When doubled that gives you the 333 MHz. If you set the fsb to 133 your processor is running slower than specifications. There should be no reason to do this. Be sure you have the jumper for the fsb speed set for 266/333. If you have it set for 200 you will have problems.

<font color=red>The solution may be obvious, but I can't see it for the smoke coming off my processor.</font color=red>

 

[MonteMan]

How do I make sure I am running @ 333mhz bus, jumper settings were defaults 266/333 but I just want to make sure ?

 

[paulj]

If you have the fsb jumper settings set to 266/333 then you can set the fsb to 166(333) in the bios.

<font color=red>The solution may be obvious, but I can't see it for the smoke coming off my processor.</font color=red>

 

[frewOFstew]

MonteMan, I havn't had time, due to holidays, to investigate this further. The last things I tried was to switch ddr ram (manufacturers) which didn't help; and to switch ram into different slot; which didn't help either. I still reboot in my shooter game...otherwise system is stable. The last thing I was investigating...was if buffered or unbuffered ddr ram would make a difference...but hav'nt had time to follow-up. Just kicking it around...if you find anything on this before I can get back to researching I would appreciate the info. Also, I was curious if you are rebooting all the time or just in demanding games? As always gl