spontanious restarting

[baron]

my pc spontaniously restarts and it doesn't seem to happen while performing a particular task.

i have since updated all drivers, directx, increased memory from 160MB to 512MB, and increased cooling on my cpu to help it run cooler but it still happens.

it happens while running programs, while not running programs, and it has even restarted a couple time while in the process of booting up

please help http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/frown.gif

[mjc]

Random rebooting is commonly caused by heat, power supply problems, bad memory or many other things...the first to eliminate (also the easiest is heat).

How old is this machine? Is it still under warranty?

If the warranty on it is still good make the manufacturer repair it, or get their approval, because some of the following may void the warranty....

Have you installed any hardware recently? memory?

Open it up and make sure that the CPU fan (case fans and power supply fans also) is working, that there is not a build up of dust, and for the time being leave it open and point a small household fan at it if the fan blowing on the machine stops the reboots you have a heat problem, if there is a build up of dust (you have dust kangaroos not bunnies inside) you probably have a heat problem.

If the fan doesn't help and you heave more than one stick of memory installed try to pin point which one may be causing problems by removing them and trying each one individually.

What is in you machine (drives, fans, CPU, etc) and what size (wattage) is you current power supply

For the power supply you will need to swap it with a known working unit...or a new one.

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

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

[Tubothy]

Is it actually restarting, or just shutting off?

If its just shutting off altogether, then ur battery is knackered up - older batteries - espesially those similar to Ni-Cad batteries - have what is known as a memory effect - that is to say if the battery isnt fully empty when u try to recharge it, it looses the ability to charge that section that is already charged up - thus knackering up the battery...

If its restarting, it could be a break in the cable perhaps.... that would suggest the restart - i.e. an intermitant power supply.... if this sounds possible grab urself a new lead they're not expensive, and its easier than trying to fix the cable urself

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Parachuting aint proper parachuting unless its in the nude

[Supa Dupa]

What OS are you using?

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There's a hole in my memory, dear Liza, dear Liza, there's a whole in my memory, dear Liza, a hole.
Then disable it, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, then disable it, dear Henry, dear Henry, disable it.

[baron]

i am running win2k

as far as heat goes i have replaced all fans and even increased the amount of fans in the case in the even the restarting was caused by heat.

i have also replaced all the RAM.

The machine is restarting NOT shutting off


thank you all very much for the suggestions...i will try a different power supply next

another thing i noticed last nite was that sometimes when it does its spontanious restarts it gets stuck during the reboot usually just before it checks to see how much ram the MB has on it. Pressing the reset button will not work at that point, it only gets stuck there again. the only thing that gets it to come back up is to shut off all power to the pc and wait a min then turn it back on. at this point it boots up ok and after about a few min of running it restarts again?

should i try replacing the power supply or the battery first.

the machine is about 1-1/2 years old and the batter has not been replaced since it was built

thank you

[BigBlue66]

Hmmm, well, let's see. New battery = $2. New PSU = $40-50. Which would you rather get? Try the battery first, then power supply.

However, please post back with the make and model of your HSF. Is it a good one? Can you monitor temps in BIOS or from within Windows with third-party software? Do you do that? If so, what are the temps?



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This space reserved for highly intelligent observations and witty remarks.

"We all went up to the conception room and had a big time up there"
-------- Tommy Smothers

[baron]

temp averages about 92-94°F and i have to look in BIOS in order to see that temp.

HSF?

[mjc]

HSF = Heat Sink Fan usually meaning the combo....

What is the motherboard and the processor?

With the hang at the memory check there could also be a problem with the memory....

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

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

[UPENDRA UPADHYAY]

one of my pc restsrts randomly,some time at first booting at beep sound it goes of and restsrt two or three times, some times it works fine for thirty to thirty five minute and then goes off and restart automaticaly. I RUN virus check and found POLLYBOOT-B virus in boot sector I cleaned it and now it works fine.CHECK for it.

[Hippy]

Originally posted by UPENDRA UPADHYAY:
one of my pc restsrts randomly,some time at first booting at beep sound it goes of and restsrt two or three times, some times it works fine for thirty to thirty five minute and then goes off and restart automaticaly. I RUN virus check and found POLLYBOOT-B virus in boot sector I cleaned it and now it works fine.CHECK for it.

Viri are a common cause of this too... but random restarting of the system normally indicates a Power Supply problem, as stated in an earlier post, swap the supply with a known good one http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/cool.gif

[baron]

i checked the voltages in my bio after it restarted (only way i can at the moment)

this is what it displayed
-------------------------------------
CPU Temperature 43°C/109°F
System Temperature 36°C/96°F
CPU Fan Speed 0 RPM
Power Fan Speed 0 RPM
System Fan Speed 0 RPM
CPU VID 1.80 V
Vcore 1.840 V
Vsram 3.376 V
3.3V 3.296 V
+ 5.000V 5.113 V
+12.000V 12.444 V
-12.000V -12.810 V
- 5.000V -6.230 V
Battery 3.069
---------------------------------------

now ignore the fan speeds i have dual fans on the cpu that are working and 2 case fans...1 for cool air and one for exaust.

now the reason i am posting this is to see if the voltage displayed for the -5.000V seems out of place. shouldn't it be withing +/- 5%?

anyhow...this is what was displayed with a new battery

and my cpu is an AMD Athlon 900 with a MSI MS-6195 Mobo

one more question....what is the normal operating CPU temperature for the Athlon 900?

Thanks alot for the help
Baron

[mjc]

35 to 50 with most falling in the low 40's...

Your voltages are a little out of spec, but since there aren't many things that use -5V, not sure if that one is really a problem. Overall the voltages seem OK, but with that one out it may indicate a problem overall with the power supply...(I see I'm being about as clear as mud with this....)


Try again, the -5V may not actually be a problem, but it may also indicate an over all problem with the power supply...the one thing that monitoring the voltages (doesn't matter if it is with the BIOS or another program) is that there is no way to monitor the current, and if the current is off (yeah the psu will supply current as it is needed, but if it can't supply all that is needed) then problems will occur. Since you are reading over -6V that could mean some other leg is not getting enough current to supply all that it needs. This is of course if that reading is accurate...

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

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

[BigBlue66]

Your Vcore reading looks too high for a 900. My 1400 requires a vcore of 1.75v.

In BIOS, can you reduce the vcore voltage? If so, bump it back a bit at a time. See if that helps.

I'm surprised your processor is running as cool as it is with your vcore readings.

MSI boards are notorius for requiring a little tweaking with the vcore settings. They usually crank out a little more than what you have it set at.

Not saying that it will solve your re-starting problem but it's something that should be dealt with. I'm not sure what the suggested vcore is for the 900. Short of taking the HSF off and looking at the numbers, the only way to tell is to check amd's website for the specs.

------------------
This space reserved for highly intelligent observations and witty remarks.

"After the wedding, we all went up to the conception room and had a big time up there"
-------- Tommy Smothers

[baron]

well a new problem arose last nite. it is probably due to all of the restarts without properly shutting down. I noticed that now when i booted up the machine it was running real slow so i looked around and saw that the process (using W2K) called SaveNow.exe was consuming 99% of my cpu. no i was still able to run small apps if i left this process running but if i stopped this process it freed up my cpu down to 3% useage and all my other apps ran fine...but the restarting is still going on....

anyhow the new Athlon xp2000 has arrived...i am just waiting on a few of the components in order to finish putting it together.

Thanks to everyone for the help. this is by far the best forum i have ever stumbled upon http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

B.T.W. i have a new 5lb paperweight if anyone is interested...hehe

Thanks
Baron