computer rebooting at random

[IPfreely]

hello!

i just built a new system and it's rebooting at random. at first just when i played games but now it's anytime!! i was wondering if a tech guy could help me nail down where the problem is please?
system specs:
CPU: AMD 2400/266
MOBO: ASUS A7V8X-X
RAM: 512 DDR400
POWER: Antec SL400 400W
VIDEO: ATI Radeon 9200SE
HD: 6G, 60G, 40G
DVD: 52x Mad dog

First thing i tried was replacing my power supply because the power supply came with case at a comp show for $37. Then i could at least play games for a longer period of time. i ran Windows Memory Diagnostic for a few hours but it came up with no errors.

Any suggestions? I'm stumped
Thanks!
- IPfreely

 

[confoundicator]

So it's not completely random? Does it reboot now every time you play games? If so it could be heat related. Did you check to make sure the fan on your video card is working? All the other fans? When's the last time took a can of compressed air and blew all the dust out of the computer?

He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it, hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart. -C.S. Lewis

 

[IPfreely]

heya confoundicator,

it reboots everytime i play games but it also has rebooted once or twice when just using windows explorer or something. i have a temperature gauge on the front and it reads at hottest 83F. the system is brand new so no dust bunnies yet the video card only has a heat sync so no fan there...

i just looked up the number printed on my RAM (V58C2256804SAT5) and came up with DDR400 - PC3200.

a) is there such a thing as a compatability issue with my mobo?
b) i don't understand the settings in my BIOS so i just left everything - should i have changed anything in there?

thanks for reading this,
- IPfreely

 

[endyen]

The temp gauge is probably reading system temps, not cpu temp. If you download mbm5 you can view the temps in windows, as well as voltages. You can also set it up to keep a running log of temps and voltages. If you set the interval to 15 sec., you will have a record of these at crash.

 

[IPfreely]

awesome - i'll try that and post what what i find

thanks man!
IPfreely

 

[Talos]

Hello IPfreely

You know, random reboots can be memory related. You wrote:

i just looked up the number printed on my RAM (V58C2256804SAT5) and came up with DDR400 - PC3200

It's a Kingston Memory module right? When i updated my memory from 512MB to 1GB for Dual DDR-both 2 modules had the same chip V58...SAT5. I was getting random restarts mainly during gameplay but also when using Internet Explorer a couple of times. (When you press alt+ctrl+del to get the task manager notice CPU usage-is it for some time stuck to 100%?). Maybe there are some compatibillity issues with this chip and nForce2.
Take that memory back from where you bought it and get another Kingston module with the ELPIDA chips on it (that solved my problems).
Try that, i never changed any settings with my BIOS.

Abit NF7-S rev2.0 /nForce2-Ultra400 (UDP Nvidia 3.66)
AMD Athlon XP 2400+@2.09Ghz (12,5X166)
1GB-->2x512MB RAM PC-3200 (DDR333)
Club3D Ati Radeon 9800Pro 128MB (Catalyst 3,9)
Seagate Baracuda IV 7200Rpm 2MBCache/SATA connected Sil3112A (Serillel Adapter)
Windows XP Pro with SP1

 

[khha4113]

You might want to look into its Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc), it possibly provides more info how your comp reboot randomly.

Good or Bad have no meaning at all, depends on what your point of view is.

 

[Kelledin]

In my experience random reboots are usually memory errors.

I'd suggest you get <A HREF="http://www.memtest86.com/" target="_new">MemTest86</A>, boot it off a floppy, and let it run overnight. If it reports memory errors, then it's time to start playing musical chairs with your DIMMs.

<i>"Intel's ICH6R SouthBridge, now featuring RAID -1"

"RAID-minus-one?"

"Yeah. You have two hard drives, neither of which can actually boot."</i>

 

[Coyote]

Since it's a new build and you didn't mention updating the drivers, I'm going to suggest that in addition to all the good advice above. The drivers that come on those cd's can be pretty old.

This weekend I reformatted one of my rigs and had rebooting probs like urs till I realised I forgot to update the vid card driver. after updateing the vid card driver my reboot problem went away.

Good Luck

Mobile XP 2600+ (11X200)
Abit NF7-S v 2.0
Maxtor 60GB ATA 133 7200RPM
512MB Corsair Twinx 3200LL
BBA 9800 Pro
Enermax Noisetaker 420 watts
Win98SE

 

[IPfreely]

endyen: i evidently need .NET installed on this machine to run mbm5 unfortunately i don't have it. i'll attempt that after i see the result from memtest86. any other progs like that you know of not requiring .NET???

Talos: i've been doing alot of searching and have found numerous posts like yours. after memtest86 gives me results (it's running now) i'll see if i can find my receipt!

Kelledin: i'm running memtest86 right now . windows memory diagnostic gave me no errors though.

Coyote: if i didn't update my drivers i should be smacked but i'm pretty sure i did that pronto after install

khha4113: that's the first thing i checked after each crash and found nothing in there- the sys just reboots!

thanks for all your replies guys - i'll post what memtest gives me. damnit i'm going to solve this!
-IPfreely

 

[IPfreely]

memtest86 picked up on 2 errors on the first pass! are there such things as false positives with it or does that mean the RAM is definitely bad?

 

[Talos]

Hi again,
Are you getting errors on the 4th test?At 511.7MB? If you are using memtest86 v3.1 try v3.0.
It depends, memory errors doesn't always mean that the memory is bad (hardware), it could be compatibillity issues with mobo or CPU (AMD cpu's could give errors on # 5 and 7 tests).
If you get lot's of errors in different tests in the first 2-3 hours it is possible the memory is bad.
Now, i was getting some errors on test 4, when i changed my memory modules (different chips), memtest86 v3.1 gave me errors again (less errors this time: 2 after 2hours or 3 hours). But all the problems in Windows has gone, no problems in games, no restarts, no lagging, nth.
Get another module (try ELPIDA chips), compare the frequency of errors in memtest86 with the previous one and see how that goes.
Benchmark with 3DMark2001-10 looping times and Prime95 for 4,5 hours, see how stable the system is and watch for errors.
Good luck!

 

[IPfreely]

sorry i went away on vacation for a few weeks - (hawaii sure is sunny ) anyway i just returned the RAM and got some two new sticks (think it was elixer ram?). my system wouldn't even boot with it, so i went back to the store and exchanged them for 2 more PC3200 sticks of yet another brand (now i'm have princeton brand). damnit!#$!# same deal. my system won't even boot now. could this just be a motherboard issue??? or do i have to change something in the BIOS??

thanks for all your help guys,
IPFreely

 

[P4Man]

Sounds like a MB issue to me. Have a look here:
<A HREF="http://www.badcaps.com/ident" target="_new">http://www.badcaps.com/ident</A>

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[IPfreely]

yeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwww!

i fixed it! it WAS a BIOS problem - it turns out that there was a conflict with version 1008 or my BIOS and ATI video cards

solution - i flashed my bios to the newest version 1012 and seems to be running smoothly now
damn that was irritating....

thanks for all your suggestions guys

 

[Crashman]

Hah! It was a VIA problem. VIA releases BIOS revisions for their chipset, and boardmakers like Asus customize them for their board's configuration. I was guessing it was a VIA issue...but didn't want to say anything for fear it might not be.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[endyen]

Naw, you didn't say anything because you dont want anyone to know that you dont like via.

 

[Crashman]

shh, ixnay on the iavay

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>