Test your wit , is my M/b or Proc dead or something....else?

[guru]

hey guys,

issue is , gaming pc puked,
no matter what ..after a few minutes being on...the pc restarts randomly anytime...
you sit in windows, open a game, change a wallpaper etc..
It started happening after 1.5 years of perfect use on this box, use made no changes at all
suddenly random restarts, no blue screen , no nothing , logs , messages or anything when windows restarts,
it just takes to us to windows like nothing happened. it does this with brand new ram, h/d, wires, case etc..

1 gb ram (tested and working fine)
Lighted ATX case (tested and fine)
Power supply (its good and tested)
basically I have replaced every single piece of hardware but the mother board and the processor

Looking online has told me the issue could be related to either , m/b is $29 on ebay and the proc is like 100$ same.
mb is an ecs 945p-a with all recent drivers, bios etc.. proc is an intel 3.0ghz 775 pin kakasheeshe..

If you know crap about hardware ...more then what ive already gone into..then feel free to
make suggestions , tips. Normally id say just toss the pc and get a new one but this is a favor for someone who makes the same amount yearly this site does.

[Precise_Moon]

That must be so annoying i bet it as nearly been launched through the nearest window a few times.


The only thing i would check if you have not done already is the HEATSINK.Do you know what temps are running at? Ntune Monitor http://www.softpedia.com/reviews/window ... 9817.shtml

Only does this when you put it under load!!Might be worth playing with the fan settings in BIO's

IF ALL ELSE FAILS

[guru]

i went into bios and saw normal temps, 90f was the system and 140f was the proc temps. Fan speed on proc was 2600. Seems maybe slow fan and kinda warm(ish) but cronic restarts? And best method to repair this for cheap would be? new goo and proc?

[The_Emperor]

If the fan is slow, clean it. There may be some dirt/dust on in, which can drastically decrease its speed.

[[RDH]Zerted]

Don't boot into Windows, but leave the computer on (unplug the hard drive, pause the BIOS startup, or just leave it sitting in the BIOS). Does it still restart?

Double check your BIOS settings to make sure its not auto-restarting on power cycles, on different fan speeds, on your system temps, WOL, auto-turn off time, etc...

Did you think to try the computer on a different power outlet and surge protector?

Fan dust shouldn't matter as much because the processor temp is directly reported (if the fan had problems the proc temps would go up), but you should keep the motherboard dust free.

[Teancum]

You could always clear the CMOS or restore to factory settings. After a few years some of my PCs got stupid and I just cleared all settings, starting from scratch.

If you have another PSU you might swap it for a day. On rare occasions PSUs will have more of a short than have the typical dying symptoms. If it restarts with a different PSU it's the mobo/chip. I literally went through this not a week ago. Also, if you do end up getting a new mobo/chip I'd very strongly recommend a new PSU as well, since the voltage regulator could've gone out inside, making the voltage randomly jump, causing restarts, program crashes, etc. That's what happened to me.

[ShadowHawk]

You could also try a burn-in program to stress test everything. I have one somewhere that's pretty good, but I forgot the name. Let me look through my CDs and I'll get back on it. But there are several free on the web. What you need is something that will stress the cpu, video, mem, north and south bridge on the MB, and other electrical components.

[guru]

well i had the pc here for 8 days running 5 days was just in bios and it never died (but only never died while in bios which is worthless to me)

Also the bios is like none ive dealt with , its very simple and has no configurable changes for fan. speeds etc.. its all hard set in there.(greyed out)

I tested the system with brand new psu's 3 of them, all restarted within 5 minutes.

the entire system is so clean now you could eat off the fans.

I am thinking i will reset the cmos (yank the battery) and try that. Assuming bios or some setting just kicked itself out of wack. its my brothers pc and there is no cash to upgrade this box so if its anything other then his $29 m/b he may be crap out of luck. Im going to check at where he got it (year ago at ibuypower) and see if his processor is on sale for under $100.

i have literally spent 3 solid days (based on hours altogether) staring into this pc , at this point im ready to drive over it and go play at the beach.

[[RDH]Zerted]

well i had the pc here for 8 days running 5 days was just in bios and it never died (but only never died while in bios which is worthless to me)...

...I am thinking i will reset the cmos (yank the battery) and try that. Assuming bios or some setting just kicked itself out of wack...

Never dying in the BIOS tells you its Windows (most likely), heat (when system is in heavy use, fix: open the case and stick a large fan on it), or the hard drive (the BIOS wouldn't access it).

If set to do it, Windows will automatically and sliently restart when any program crashes, on any driver problem, or blue screen. Check under 'Control Panel' -> 'System' -> 'Advanced' tab -> 'Startup and Recovery'. The Event Viewer (under Admin Tools) might have some useful info too.

[guru]

werd thanx . ill get the pc back in a few days.


I had made sure in bios there were no things set to restart but yea i didnt think to check crappy event viewer.

i had gave it back to my bro since we kinda gave up but im either going to buy a new m/b/ and new proc and add some new heatsink or just sell his box and get him a new one. And related to windows being the issue i had actually put a new h/d on and that one with a new install crashed too.

So odd, thanks for help on this guys. Ill keep updated

[computergeek]

This happened to my brother's PC awhile ago, I'm pretty sure we decided the motherboard got really messed up, so your best bet is to get a new motherboard and a new processor. My username's computergeek for a reason