I think im having problems with my power supply, or possibly overheating in my pc.

It randomly crashes either by freezing or rebooting itself for no obvious reason. I have installed the ASUS PC Probe program that came with my mb (A7V) and I have noticed that the voltage levels drop on the +12V section just before it crashes. I assume this is related and would appreciate an explanation of what this means or any advice on how to fix it.

cheers.

Well the first thing we need is a detailed list of system specs...you don't take a car into a mechanic and say that you are losing power going uphill and not tell him about the 100Kg of junk you have in the boot.

If you have several 12V devices (mostly drives) and you are trying to run them concurrently then, if your power supply is weak in that area, it would most likely crash. Since you notice a drop in the +12V level I might suspect either one to many drives for your PSU, drive malfunctioning, or maybe a bad power connection to a drive.

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/highrise/11/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

ok, I hav:

ASUS A7V MB
Duron 700 processor
1 x 28.8GB HD
1 x 8GB MAXTOR HD
ASUS V7100 GeForce2 mx
SB Live Value sound card
320mb RAM (256MB PC133, 64MB PC100)
Iomega Zip100 drive
Sony CD-RW
Generic DVD

I have tried unplugging the 8GB HD but it has crashed since then. I have a 300W PSU which I was told was powerful enough for my system when I was building it. The connections to the drive seem ok, I do have a splitter becuase I didnt have enough connectors, could that be a problem?

cheers for the help.

Splitters can cause sudden drops in voltage if they are not proerly wired or have a different wire gauge than the main cable you are splitting.

Also look at the specs of your PSU, it should give a rating (it maybe in amps) for the power or current for that particular leg of the PSU (+12V). Not all 300W PSUs are created equal...a 300W Enermax has a +12V rating of 17A (max) while a generic psu may only have 10A (max) and you need about 9A (max).

So right now I would suspect the splitter.

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.fortunecity.com/skyscraper/highrise/11/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

ok, thanks very much for the help.

I looked at the ampage for the +12V leg of my psu and its 10A. I took the splitter out but this didnt make any difference, but my computer hasnt recently stopped booting at all.

When I switch it on it checks the ram and then stops. It wont let me enter the bios. I think I will order a new psu unless you can think of anything else that might be causing the problem?

Thanks again.

With the AMD system plus all of the components you are running a 300W PSU can be marginal. (The CPU itself draws approx. 40 Watts.) Especially if the PSU is of generic type. Take a hard look at your RAM. I've had memory sticks fake me out and make me think I had a PSU problem. Luck.

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......Indecision may or may not be my problem......

[This message has been edited by ranchdog (edited 07-28-2001).]

I agree with ranchdog that it could be a bad RAM. The best way to check your memory (since you already have two modules) is to take out one, and check whether your system will crash working on just one. It could be a bit tricky since you have one module that is just 64Mb - depending on the OS that you run, but be patient.
Another rule of thumb is that if the system crashes on the same memory location - it is most likely RAM, and if it crashes randomly - it is PS. However, the crashes can always be software related - so good luck.

cheers fellas, but Ive tried each ram module on its own and it still refuses to boot so i dont think its that. Ive ordered a new psu and hopefully that will fix it. Otherwise I will go and cry.

Thanks again