Power Supply Problem..?

[Lau]

Hey everyone,

How are you all doing?

I bought a computer through IBuyPowerPC.com back in March. I have no problem with... except (there had to be an except!!), it restarts on its own, and some programs just close (mostly games: SimCity and recently the trial version of Age of Mythology).

I called them, and they told me it was most likely that there was a problem with the power supply.

What do you guys think about it? The PC is still under warranty, so it wouldn't be too much of a problem to change the power supply (if it really is the problem), but I want to make that's what it before I do anything.

Thank you :D

[pentachris]

Power supply or heat are the most likely candidates. You could try opening up your case and blowing a portable fan in there and see if that helps. If so, heat is your problem, and an extra case fan (which you can pick up for around $10 and easily install) may be all you need. If that doesn't help, I'd strongly suspect the power supply.

[Lau]

Alright... That makes sense!! That really sucks though because I got a 2.4Ghz processor and I obviously can't use it to its full potential... :mad:

I'm not too much of a hardware person, and I don't want to open the case and risk to do something wrong - which would void the warranty!!
I'm pretty sure I can find a site that would walk me through the process of adding a fan, right?

Do you know if the power supply/heat problem is the reason for the programs crashing like that too??

Thanks for the answer though!

[Budfred]

I would try the small fan blowing into the case before trying to install another fan in the case. Not all cases have a place to install fans and it would almost certainly void your warranty if you started cutting a hole for one. I would check on the warranty status if you do anything substantial with the system.

The other thing I would check is RAM. Random reboots and the like can easily be caused by some bad RAM. You can download and run a RAM tester, DocMem, (http://www.simmtester.com/PAGE/products/doc/docinfo.asp) to see if that might be the problem.

Heat and/or the power supply could be the cause of random crashes, but heat and RAM would be the prime suspects from my point of view. Since you note crashing during games, heat is probably the most likely.

Another thing you can do to check for heat is to run the computer for a while and then reboot, but go into BIOS setup and see what the temperatures listed are. There will also be a read out of the power supply, so that may also give you a clue about whether that is the problem.

If it does turn out to be heat, I would ask the manufacturer to fix it; the system should have come with adequate cooling.

[Lau]

Hey Budfred,
I did run the RAM test. No problem there! But thank for the tip...

I took the case out of my desk, and guess what? DUST... all over it. In the fans, in the ports!! (somebody wants to say "Duh!!"?)
By the way, there are 3 fans (2 side ones, and a back one), plus the cpu one. That should be enough right?
The case is now out of the desk, in a ventilated place. Hopefully, there should not be any more problems...

Thanks to both of you

[Budfred]

Dust is certainly likely to be the problem... If you have had the computer for only a short time and accumulated that much dust, I urge you to set up a regular schedule to blow that thing out, it is likely you will have more trouble if you don't and dust can actually lead to parts burning out...

[Lau]

I think I got all the dust out, and will leave the case out of my desk from now on. Didn't realize so much dust could build up in so little time!!
So far, the computer hasn't restarted - I keep my fingers crossed!

However, the program crashing still occurs. I assume this is due to a software problem more than a hardware. What could be cuasing that?

[Budfred]

If you have a software problem, you are going to have to tell us a lot more about what you have loaded to get some help with that. First thing we need to know is what version of Windoze you are using. After that, you might want to run Hijack This (http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/index.html) and post the log here. It is most likely something running in the background that is causing the problem and Hijack This reports that.

[Lau]

Hey Fred... I ran the Hijack This, but now I have no idea what to do with it.
I should probably start a new thread in another forum,but here is the log from HT:

Logfile of HijackThis v1.95.1
Scan saved at 12:33:00 PM, on 7/30/2003
Platform: Windows XP SP1 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP1 (6.00.2800.1106)

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\LEXBCES.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\LEXPPS.EXE
C:\Program Files\Ultimate Desktop Wireless\mHotkey.exe
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Guardian\CMGRDIAN.EXE
C:\Program Files\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Instant Updater\RuLaunch.exe
C:\Program Files\CursorXP\CursorXP.exe
C:\Program Files\Webshots\WebshotsTray.exe
C:\Program Files\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
C:\Program Files\Avast4\ashserv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\CTsvcCDA.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\NMSSvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\nvsvc32.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\MsPMSPSv.exe
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Firewall\CPD.EXE
C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Firewall\CPD.EXE
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\OUTLOOK.EXE
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\WINWORD.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\ctfmon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntvdm.exe
C:\Downloads\HijackThis.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://rd.companion.yahoo.com/slv/ycheck/as/*http://www.yahoo.com
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.comcast.net
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Window Title = Microsoft Internet Explorer provided by Comcast High-Speed Internet
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL,(Default) = http://rd.companion.yahoo.com/slv/ycheck/as/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%s (obfuscated)
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page = C:\WINDOWS\System32\blank.htm
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {00000273-8230-4DD4-BE4F-6889D1E74167} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670} - C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\ycomp5_0_2_7.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1.1\SDHelper.dll
O3 - Toolbar: &Radio - {8E718888-423F-11D2-876E-00A0C9082467} - C:\WINDOWS\System32\msdxm.ocx
O3 - Toolbar: Yahoo! Companion - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\ycomp5_0_2_7.dll
O3 - Toolbar: MapQuest - {4E7BD74F-2B8D-469E-A3FA-F363B384B77D} - C:\WINDOWS\DOWNLO~1\mqgold1.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Jet Detection] "C:\Program Files\Creative\SBLive\PROGRAM\ADGJDet.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [CTStartup] C:\Program Files\Creative\Splash Screen\CTEaxSpl.EXE /run
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Wireless Keyboard] C:\Program Files\Ultimate Desktop Wireless\mHotkey.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [McAfee Guardian] "C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Guardian\CMGRDIAN.EXE" /SU
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvCplDaemon] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\System32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [nwiz] nwiz.exe /install
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [avast!] C:\Program Files\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [McAfee.InstantUpdate.Monitor] "C:\Program Files\McAfee\McAfee Shared Components\Instant Updater\RuLaunch.exe" /STARTMONITOR
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [CursorXP] C:\Program Files\CursorXP\CursorXP.exe
O4 - Startup: Webshots.lnk = C:\Program Files\Webshots\WebshotsTray.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office10\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console (HKLM)
O9 - Extra button: Related (HKLM)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Show &Related Links (HKLM)
O14 - IERESET.INF: START_PAGE_URL=http://www.comcast.net
O16 - DPF: {01113300-3E00-11D2-8470-0060089874ED} (Support.com Configuration Class) - http://www.comcastsupport.com/sdccommon/download/tgctlcm.cab
O16 - DPF: {10000273-8230-4DD4-BE4F-6889D1E74167} - http://download.abetterinternet.com/download/cabs/TURB8105/turbo.cab
O16 - DPF: {166B1BCA-3F9C-11CF-8075-444553540000} (Shockwave ActiveX Control) - http://active.macromedia.com/director/cabs/sw.cab
O16 - DPF: {4C226336-4032-489F-9674-67E74225979B} (OTXMovie Class) - http://otx.ifilm.com/OTXMedia/OTXMedia.dll
O16 - DPF: {4E7BD74F-2B8D-469E-A3FA-F363B384B77D} (MapQuest) - http://cdn.mapquest.com/mqtoolbar/mqgold1.cab
O16 - DPF: {69F497FB-5082-4EA4-9305-9E19F20A2BFF} (MaxisSimCity3TeleX Control) - http://simcity3000unlimited.ea.com/teleport/simcity/MaxisSimCity3TeleX.cab
O16 - DPF: {88D8E8B7-A33B-4417-A385-8373484D43ED} (InstallHelper Class) - file://C:\DOCUME~1\user\LOCALS~1\Temp\ThereInstallHelper. dll
O16 - DPF: {8B486EF6-6B2A-4A1E-BB0D-236CB2DBB8D2} (There Voice Trainer) - file://C:\Program Files\There\ThereClient\ThereVoiceTrainer.dll
O16 - DPF: {AAF421E6-7914-430A-9981-72B31AFF3BF4} (There Launcher) - file://C:\Program Files\There\ThereClient\ThereLauncher.dll
O16 - DPF: {D27CDB6E-AE6D-11CF-96B8-444553540000} (Shockwave Flash Object) - http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab
O16 - DPF: {D9EC0A76-03BF-11D4-A509-0090270F86E3} - http://download.spywarelabs.com/install/1203030306/VBouncerOuter1203.EXE
O16 - DPF: {E06E2E99-0AA1-11D4-ABA6-0060082AA75C} (GpcContainer Class) - https://exalt.webex.com/client/latest/webex/ieatgpc.cab
O16 - DPF: {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} (Yahoo! Companion) - http://us.dl1.yimg.com/download.yahoo.com/dl/toolbar/splash/yiebio5_0_2_7.cab

Any idea?

P.S.: I was trying to find a more appropriate place to post this... what would be best?

[Budfred]

You have several things running that you probably don't need and that may be causing problems:

" lexpps.exe For Lexmark printers. From Lexmark: "This enables bi-directional printing over a peer to peer network. If the printer is connected directly to your PC, the file is not used, (or should not be used) at all". It is known that firewalls can however alert you to "lexpps.exe" requesting server privileges"

Another site indicates this one lexpps is responsible for many problems. Check HERE. (http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist_l.htm)

"MsPMSPSv.exe

(Microsoft) Microsoft’s WMDM PMSP Service, aka Windows Media Device Manager Pre-Message Security Protocol Service. From our tests this service only appears in the Task List if you have done a Windows Update and updated Windows Media Player with the 26-Jun-2002 Security Update Q320920. This services enables Windows Media Player to support the SDMI protocol (Secure Digital Music Initiative) when copying CDs or packaging copyrighted downloaded music to SDMI compliant music players and storage devices.

Recommendation :
This process takes at least 1.2Mb of memory, yet at the time of writing, November 2002, most users do not use any of the SDMI features of Windows Media Player. Therefore, if you are such a user, we advise that you disable this process with Startup Manager under Windows 9x/ME, or set this service to manual in Windows 2000/XP. You can always re-enable it if you start needing to use some of the SDMI features of Windows Media Player."

For nvsvc32.exe: " This service is often responsible for various glitches, from significant shutdown delays to excessive memory usage. Disabling it, however, does not result in any ill-effect as regards the proper operation of your NVIDIA or NVIDIA chipset graphics card, so we recommend that you definitely disable this service via "Control Panel \ Administrative Tools \ Services" ("Control Panel \ Services" in NT4)."

For ntvdm.exe: "If NTVDM is in your Task List, you have a DOS or 16-bit program running. If it is twice in your Task List, you have two DOS or 16-bit programs running, etc... Leave alone; as soon as you close your running DOS/16-bit program(s), NTVDM will disappear from your Task List under Windows 2000/XP although it will remain in your Task List under Windows NT4 – under NT4 this is by design to ensure that the next 16-bit program you run loads faster."

For NMSSvc.exe: "If you are not on a network, then you do not need this task and you can disable it either with Startup Manager, or by setting it to "Manual" under Services in the Control Panel for Windows NT4/2000/XP. If you are on a network, liaise with your network administrator to see if SNMP is used on your network – if SNMP is not used, then, again, you do not need this task"

For ctfmon.exe: "CTFMon comes with Microsoft Office XP and Windows XP – it activates the Alternative User Input Text Input Processor (TIP) and the Microsoft Office XP Language Bar. As long as the Text Services & Speech are enabled in the Control Panel, this program will force itself back into your list of background programs.

Recommendation :
Disable "Text Services & Speech" in the Control Panel if you are not using them. Then, disable CTFMon using Startup Manager. (Note that if you use Word, Excel or PowerPoint to write in different languages, eg. English and Arabic, then you will be using "Text Services & Speech" facilities)."

The McAfee Guardian and Updater are also likely sources of problems. I ended up dropping McAfee completely after problems that Guardian caused me. There are probably a few other things that need attention, but I don't know enough to tell you more at this point. I am suspicious about "Therelauncher" since it sounds like it could be the name of a trojan, do you know what it is???

As for where else to post this, I would go to the Security forum.

[Lau]

Wow.. Well, I certainly didn't expect so much info! Thank you

Do you know if there's a way to have those programs that you mentioned not starting in the first place.
I went through this web page (http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_pages/startup_all.php#C) and got rid of a lot of startup apps that I didn't think I needed.

The Therelauncher isn't a trojan. It is a Sim-like environment to chat. Very well done! you can Check it out (http://www.there.com) if you want

[pentachris]

Also, are you really in love with CursorXP? I take a very minimalist approach to how I want my operating system to run. Of course, that's not for everyone, and a few frills aren't always bad. But, using cursors with lots of textures and/or animation frames is going to use up a lot of memory. Just a thought...

[Budfred]

Yeah, that web page is where I got some of the info I posted. The other one I used is the one that has a link in my post. It is better for tasks that are running, but may not show up as startups.

You can use Spybot to disable these programs, although I haven't done it, so I am not sure how it works. I disable most of them through msconfig (Start, Run, type msconfig, go to Startup tab and uncheck items). I know you can disable McAfee there, but you can also disable through the McAfee program itself and that is probably the better way to go. The other ones may also provide similar options or you can use msconfig. Since you are running WinXP, you may want to check out tips from Black Viper (http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm) and I would do that before using msconfig....

[Lau]

Pentachris... :) No, I'm not in love with CursorXP, but I think it's cute!! lol

Fred, I did get rid of some of the startups using the msconfig already.
I was asking how to get rid of some of the programs in the Task Manager Processes list that I don't want once and for all. I would go through the list and kill them everytime I turn my comp on, but I think I'm going to get tired of doing that very quickly!! :p

[Budfred]

Some you may be able to uninstall, some may be done in by Spybot, but many are likely to be taken out of circulation by the Black Viper tips....

[Lau]

Ok... doing that right now!!