Hi a question I need answer please

[Deagle]

My girlfriend's computer keeps on rebooting every 20 minutes or so and she ask me what is wrong with it. Naturally me trying to impress her gave her a lot of guesses on what might be the problem. Things like high temp, faulty wires, bad PSU... The thing is now she wants me to go over her house and take a look at her comp.
I need some suggestions or helps from the experience people here on what might be the problems and give me some solutions. Because I want to impress her dad. Please can someone help me? Thanx a lot and you might be invited to the wedding.

[Whyzman]

Random reboots are most often either RAM, Heat, or PSU...

To check for faulty RAM you can download a memory tester:

http://www.simmtester.com/PAGE/products/doc/docinfo.asp

While it's running you can have coffee with your girlfriend's dad and reassure him that you're a gentleman.

Next you could check for heat problems by removing a side panel or the cowling from the case and position a fan so that it gently blows on the innards. Since it has been reoccuring about every 20 minutes...

During this time you can reassure your girlfriends father that your intentions regarding his daughter are honorable.

You might also install a temp monitoring program if her computer doesn't already have one so you can keep an eye on the CPU and Motherboard...

http://mbm.livewiredev.com/about.html

Also, make sure the computer is not being inhabited by "Dust Bunnies!"

So far, you're housecall would entail a couple of floppies and a can of compressed air...This could be impressive!

The easiest way to test out the PSU is going to be swapping it out...

I'd leave this for last...

I've told my daughter that I want to meet any boys she intends to see socially. And, that I'll need about 15 minutes alone with them before I approve of a date. I want to be able to show them my gun collection, deer racks and the very respectable groupings on my rifle range targets.

Most importantly though, I will be asking his intentions regarding my daughter! I would be especially wary if the dude was a geek and wanted to try and fix her computer!

[malcore]

dude was a geek

...oxymoron patrol...


...wasn't that a song by Aerosmith?....


...maybe just a moron who thinks he's on patrol....

[Deagle]

Oh i forgot to mention that this problem only occured in the lastweek and she have had this computer from 2000 So ya I still don't know what is wrong. Thanx Whyzman for giving me tips on what might be the problems and how to act toward her father BTW Im not a geek, at least not yet.(waiting for compusa to hire me so I can finally call myself a geek)

[Budfred]

Hey, you hang around here, you are a geek by default. You can let CompUSA that you have geek credentials here and maybe they'll be more likely to hire you. On the other hand, most CompUSA know very little about computers, so they may not be looking for real geeks.

That said, I would bet on the dust bunny option with heat buildup if that computer has been running 2 years and probably hasn't been cleaned during that time. Good luck whatever you find. If you can get online when you are over there, make sure you bring your password for here so you can ask for help if you need it....

[Deagle]

HEHE thanx Budfred now I know Im officially a geek. Guess I didn't notice this "Deagle Geek Adept" HEHE So the CompUSA people don't know jack about computers but they advertised themselves as America's Computers Superstore? HEHE I find that funny They would probably hire me as their warehouse stocker anyway since I don't have any certificates on me
Okay back to my GF problem, uhh what is "dust bunnies"? Oh and yeah I don't think she clean her computer since Y2K, all she does is chat with her friends and dl musics that's all. Thanx for all of your helps people, you guys just might have help me score...... uhhh points with her HEHEHE

[pave_spectre]

Dust bunnies = Fuzzy dirt
Often able to be removed by the handful, depending on environmental conditions and maintenance schedules.

The exact composition is: Hydrolyzed maltodextrin, autolyzed diglycerides emulsifier and bipolar ferrous alkali miodroxide. In layman terms, that's fuzzy dirt.
http://budugllydesign.com/archiveow/archive/qw52.html

[mjc]

They also tend to multiply like rabbits.....

[Deagle]

Ummm ok thanx guys, it was the dustbunnies that caused the problems.
Ok after she dusted it, the comp works fine but now it started to reboot like 10 mins after startup. Any help, suggestions, comments is greatly appreciated. Thanx
Oh and BTW I'm going to her house in like 3 hours so . Thank god her father is on vacation.

[pentachris]

Her father is on vacation?

My suggestion is sangria & some light jazz.

[Deagle]

Cmon please I need some replies... I'm going over her house in like 1 hour and she's making me food... Ok Chris I will take your suggestion into consideration. Now if only I could find my Marvin Gaye cd...
Thanx

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Start out small...but soon...


Marvin Gaye... not bad... how 'bout Roy Orbison?... Crying...

Check the blades of the fans and heatsink. Clean them real good on the CPU and power supply as well. You also might need to put some new heatsink compound under the heatsink too as it may have dried up or similarly become ineffective.

Run it, and immediately after it reboots, go into BIOS to monitor temperatures. See if it is that.

Have they added anything peripherally? If so, try removing it for awhile to see if it improves things.

[pentachris]

Try opening the case and blowing a fan in it while the cd-rom plays the jazz. Tell her it will take at least as long as the length of the cd to determine whether heat is the cause. Hopefully, heat will be the cause and by the time the cd's done you'll both have enough wine in you not to worry about it anymore.

[Budfred]

I would also take a look at programs running background, especially if she has any utilities running to prevent crashes. They can be real good at creating the crashes they are supposed to prevent.

Also, if I am not mistaken, you are little young for Sangria, so I would suggest a nice grape soda....

[Deagle]

Hmmm guys... I think I went fried her ram or something. When I got there I didn't went right into opening the case but that's another story.

Ok I open the case and sure enough there was a lot of dust inside So I proceded to clean the HS's Fan with a paint brush Is that good? I went clean all of the fans including the PSU's fan. I think I went brushed the mobo slightly cause the dust was falling on top of it. Anyway I proceded to clean of everythin including the ram because it was really dusty.

I took the ram of of the slot and brush it with the paint brush, but only slightly. Then I went poped it back inside. I went put back the side panels and everything then I went tried turn it on and it wouldn't turn on. I tried so many times but it still wouldn't turn on. I really think her ram was fry by me because I was holding it up with my left hand and my right hand was strap by the antistatic wristband

Sorry for the long post but I thought by telling as much details as I can and keep it at PG level would help you guys help me.
Thanx for any responds

PS: If I did fry her ram I can give her my extra that I get but how do I make an antistatic bag to put the ram in?

[Budfred]

It is unlikely that you fried her RAM by touching it if you were wearing an anti-static wristband, but you may have fried it with the paint brush. It is best to clean a computer out with compressed air in a can or a decent computer vacuum cleaner. You can easily build up a static charge with a paint brush.

That said; before you come to the conclusion that the RAM is dead, I would double check that it is seated properly and that all connections are good. If you didn't even get a POST beep, it usually means that something other than RAM is the problem. I would particularly check to make sure the CPU hs/fan is plugged into the motherboard.

If you still can't get it running, try the RAM in another system before giving up on it....

[Deagle]

I mean the computer didn't even turn on at all, there weren't even a green light to show that it was on There was a lot of things that went wrong over there. I mean I went push the PSU out of its slot even thought I went put it back. Umm the mobo could be fry by me cause the paint brush went touched it slightly. Anyways I don't have an antistatic bag that I can put her ram in so that I can test it on my comp? Any ideas on how to make one?
Thanx and keep the responds going, I have 2 weeks before her dad comes back from vacation.

[Budfred]

Look around at some of the stuff you have purchased lately. You probably have some antistatic bags or other wrapping around. I have piles of them cause I save them for this kind of circumstance. If you don't have any, you can pick some up at MicroCenter or CompUSA as well as any number of other computer places.

I didn't understand what you were saying about the power supply, could you explain that more clearly??

[Deagle]

Umm I threw away the antistatic bag for my ram Now I only have the bag for my hd but I need it. So you're sure that CompUSA have those bags?
About the PSU ok let me explain. You know that there are screws in the back to hold the PSU in place? Well I took them out while attempting to open her case up. Then I went use my hand and push the PSU inside the case but not all the way in. I went put it back when I close the case up.
Ok tomarrow I'm gonna go CompUSA and pickup those bags plus my applications too
Thanx Budfred... I would be lost without you.

[Budfred]

Can't say I am certain CompUSA has them, but I would be surprised if they don't. If it is a long way to go, you may want to call first.

The power supply is probably ok if you just unscrewed it and then screwed it back in again, unless you dropped it on the motherboard in the process....

[Deagle]

I think it did. Cause when I picked it up to screw it back the PSU was like resting on the mobo AHHHHh well I'll try with the ram thingy first but keep those good suggestions coming. I need it her dad is gonna kill me when he find out.

[mjc]

I'm willing to bet that in your brushing you knocked something loose....possibly the connection to the switch, since you aren't getting anything at all. If you fried the RAM (how is the humidity...if it is high then it is not likely that static is much of an issue) then you should get something. Also some PSUs have a switch on them that kills all power also most have a voltage setting swtich..check those out.

[Deagle]

Hmmm I did take out some wires that connected the front intake fan to the mobo, I'm not sure if I put it back right. There's like a switch in the back of the case that have the letter I and O printed on top. Please tell me what does I and O mean?
Ummm the humidity is somewhat hot, although I don't know the exact degrees.

Yeah I have no signal whatsoever from the case, no green light, no nothing. Thanx for the suggestion. I'm still-->
PS: Where would the connection to the switch be at?

[mjc]

It is typically a pair of wires that runs from the front of the case to the motherboard...right alongside many front intake fan wires.

[Deagle]

Ok I figure out what 'I' and 'O' is. 'I' means it's on and 'O' means it's off. Here's a list of what I will try do tomarrow to remedy the problem:
1-Check for any loose or unconnected wires.
2-Check if the mobo have any damage at all. (no idea how to do this)
3-Check the ram to see if they're fried.
4-Do a last check to see if I miss anything.
5-Realize that I went **** up her comp.
6-Pray to god and get on my knees to apologize to her.
7-She told me to get out of the house and is never gonna speak to me again.
Nah I was just joking(???) about step 5 to 7 but I really need suggestions. Thanx