Could this cause overheating and constant rebooting?

[Kurogano]

A month or two i bought a used computer. It has been working fine for my needs. However, today while watching youtube the computer just suddenly rebooted, and then started to refuse to boot outside of safe mode. So I began to search for reasons as to why this could occur via safe mode with networking. It would still reboot after 30 minutes or so.

Eventually it lead me to this being an error

system files integrity check and repair 0x490

Which from what I could find was some windows system file error that I couldn't get the computer to stay on long enough to fix. All the while it was getting worse and worse resetting faster and faster. Eventually getting to the point it would only boot into safe mode. Safe mode with Networking would also cause the restart.

So I decided to simply reinstall windows entirely. However, that just seemed to make the problem worse. After getting about 80% of the second stage it simply reset again. After doing so it would no longer boot into anything including the usb that windows was on. It simply resets before anything completely loads.

So.. after a bit more research the only thing that made any sense to me as a potential problem was the CPU overheating thus computer rebooting itself. It wasn't the ram unless all 3 sticks broke, but bios shows them just fine. It wasn't the hard drive as this also occurred attempting to boot from usb. I don't think it is the motherboard itself as it was able to read the things connected to it just fine.

Kind of hoping this is a simple issue of going out to buy some thermal compound kind of fix.

Post note: I can sit in the Bios or on the boot window for as long as I'd like with no issue. It is just that the second it attempts to boot anything. It will restart in a few seconds.

EDIT: forgot to add the picture
https://imgur.com/6FlLDKd

EDIT Spec:
Asus rampage extreme III
12 gb ram ddr 3
Radeom hd 6870
I7-960 Bloomfield quad core 3.2 LGA 1366
750 GB HDD

EDIT Update:
The computer seems to refuse to boot even to BIOS now. Current plans are to are to clean out the thermal mess before proceeding.

EDIT Update2:
After cleaning the process still persist, but I've noticed a few things.

The motherboard I have is an Asus Rampage III Extreme. So it has the LEDs on it.
What those are telling me...

Okay, people came in my room talking to me and I was explaining what was going on... or trying to as they are not tech savvy to the point of understanding the lingo.

I noticed after cleaning the thermal paste up and replace the CMOS battery to clear the CMOS (as some of the stuff I read said it fixed it up for them so while I was in there).

I noticed the LED lights on my motherboard that showed voltage was off. The CPU, RAM, and North Bridge LED were not on while the south bridge LED showed high voltage (It shows Normal, High, and Crazy Voltage). After noticing this I started to suspect that my motherboard had died on me.

However, suddenly after proclaiming my love for its service (yes, I did this)... everything suddenly sprung to life. The computer seems to be back up and running, and I'm unsure if this is just a momentary last ditch effort from my motherboard... The thermal paste cleaning and new CMOS battery fixed things... or I suppose potentially my PSU being faulty somehow. Though there was no surge when this started.

Any insight?

(Attempting to fix the original error code)

EDIT UPDATE3:

Rebooting seems to happen but now only when booting windows in normal mode

EDIT UPDATE4:

Reverted back to no boot testing a psu from a friend to rule that out then will buy a new motherboard tomorrow

EDIT UPDATE5:
Okay just installed the MOBO (Even got a complementary I7 930 so I tested with that as well), and still had issues posting on until I noticed something different. While my old Rampage III Extreme would either fail to power the board (Several LEDs not lighting that should be. With the south board noting high voltage, locking on the first stage of booting up) or would light everything and constantly reboot and never post.

EDIT UPDATE6

I bought some 2 sticks of 2G DDR 1333mhz RAM. Then I started swapping, adding, and removing components to attempt to gauge the power supply.

The static parts tested were
CPU: I7 930
MOBO: P6X58D-E
GPU: Radeom hd 6870
Flash: 4g Bootable flash with a copy of windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
Keyboard
Mouse

The swapping parts were
1 Stick of DDR3 4g 1600mhz
2 Stick of DDR3 2g 1333mhz
1 750GB HDD
1 500GB HDD

The only working configuration with these 5 parts was 1 Stick of DDR3 2g 1333mhz with either the 750GB or 500GB. I was able to fully complete most of the installation of windows with this. All but the final completion step after the reset it does. After which it would restart while attempting to boot windows (My guess is that the CPU, RAM, or HDD begins to pull more power at this point and the PSU can't take it stops for a second causing the reset).

If I was to add the second 2g stick it would not boot to even the USB, Same with adding a second HDD, or placing in the single 4g alone. All of this combined with the earlier test and my Rampage III Extreme appearing dead (sometimes and miraculously coming back to life other times) while using the slightly more powerful I7 960. Leads me to say my PSU is dying is not considered dead at this point and needs to be replaced.

This P6X58D-E Motherboard had a MemOK! button. It would loop reset and refuse to post like before with no display. until I held that MemOK! button as the DRAM LED which is supposed to warn about a problem with the memory to my knowledge was constantly lit. After holding it for a bit it would post and attempt to load Windows or my Bootable windows USB before reseting once again. At this point, it would begin a loop ending an attempt to start up windows.

Would this indicate the actual problem being my RAM dying out? Sometimes working but only when made to and only briefly. It would be odd that all 3 sticks of my RAM (G. Skill Ripjaws 1600 DDR3 4g each) are dying out at once... or maybe that would make sense as they were clearly purchased at the same time.

 

[DSzymborski]

A Windows error won't cause overheating; your error is more likely a result of the sudden crashing. Sudden outages tend to be either an issue with the cooling system or the power supply.

It would be helpful to know all the specs of the PC, including the specific power supply. Just like it's hard to fix a car without knowing the manufacturer, even when it doesn't seem obvious that the specs are important, they frequently provide additional clues, which is why it's good practice to always provide your complete specs when asking about issues.

 

[coozie7]

Looks like you may have found your problem.

From the looks of the mass of thermal paste on and around the CPU and socket it looks very much like the cooler isn't making good, solid, all round contact, so you need to check the cooler mounting brackets/screws/pins to ensure the CPU cooler is actually getting locked down firmly and evenly.

It may be made worse due to thermal paste getting onto the CPU underside and socket, some pastes are conductive so you really need to give both the CPU and socket a really good clean out before any further actions are taken.

Old TIM can be a right pain to shift, especially if it gets into the socket.

Clean the CPU top and sides with paper kitchen towels wetted with alcohol ( rubbing alcohol is fine as are industrial alcohols like isopropyl alcohol and isopropanol ) but steer clear of the CPU underside, the tiny pads there are VERY easily damaged.
If you need to clean the CPU underside use a soft toothbrush and plenty of alcohol, don't worry about getting it wet, the stuff evaporates quickly and won't leave any significant residue and use gentle pressure on the brush. Don't use cotton buds or paper towels, they can snag on the contact pads and cause damage.
If the stuff has got into the socket pads you'll need to use some electrical contact cleaner; lay the system on its side, surround the socket with soft paper towels and spray plenty of the cleaner into the socket, dabbing it out as required to get every last trace of TIM off the contacts. As with the CPU underside, those tiny little pads are very easily damaged, so gently does it.
A few words about electrical contact cleaners: They're all strong solvents, if at all possible, use it outside, if you must use it indoors, open as many windows as is possible and keep away from sources of ignition. This stuff is also dangerous to use near anyone with breathing difficulties and we're talking ' call 911 ' dangerous.

 

[Kurogano]

A Windows error won't cause overheating; your error is more likely a result of the sudden crashing. Sudden outages tend to be either an issue with the cooling system or the power supply.

It would be helpful to know all the specs of the PC, including the specific power supply. Just like it's hard to fix a car without knowing the manufacturer, even when it doesn't seem obvious that the specs are important, they frequently provide additional clues, which is why it's good practice to always provide your complete specs when asking about issues.

Sorry for the late response I needed to go lay down for medical reasons. The specs of the computer are

Asus rampage extreme III
12 gb ram ddr 3
Radeom hd 6870
I7-960 Bloomfield quad core 3.2 LGA 1366
750 GB HDD

Though the computer now refuses to even boot to BIOS immediately rebooting.

 

[Kurogano]

Looks like you may have found your problem.

From the looks of the mass of thermal paste on and around the CPU and socket it looks very much like the cooler isn't making good, solid, all round contact, so you need to check the cooler mounting brackets/screws/pins to ensure the CPU cooler is actually getting locked down firmly and evenly.

It may be made worse due to thermal paste getting onto the CPU underside and socket, some pastes are conductive so you really need to give both the CPU and socket a really good clean out before any further actions are taken.

Old TIM can be a right pain to shift, especially if it gets into the socket.

Clean the CPU top and sides with paper kitchen towels wetted with alcohol ( rubbing alcohol is fine as are industrial alcohols like isopropyl alcohol and isopropanol ) but steer clear of the CPU underside, the tiny pads there are VERY easily damaged.
If you need to clean the CPU underside use a soft toothbrush and plenty of alcohol, don't worry about getting it wet, the stuff evaporates quickly and won't leave any significant residue and use gentle pressure on the brush. Don't use cotton buds or paper towels, they can snag on the contact pads and cause damage.
If the stuff has got into the socket pads you'll need to use some electrical contact cleaner; lay the system on its side, surround the socket with soft paper towels and spray plenty of the cleaner into the socket, dabbing it out as required to get every last trace of TIM off the contacts. As with the CPU underside, those tiny little pads are very easily damaged, so gently does it.
A few words about electrical contact cleaners: They're all strong solvents, if at all possible, use it outside, if you must use it indoors, open as many windows as is possible and keep away from sources of ignition. This stuff is also dangerous to use near anyone with breathing difficulties and we're talking ' call 911 ' dangerous.

I'll need to pick some up and I'll do so in about an hours time I'll say how the cleaning goes. Am I ever happy for the little case the CPU has on this thing that looks like it should have prevented it from getting under the CPU unless... well much more excess was used.

 

[Kurogano]

After cleaning the process it still persists, but I've noticed a few things.

The motherboard I have is an Asus Rampage III Extreme. So it has the LEDs on it.
What those are telling me...

Okay, people came in my room talking to me and I was explaining what was going on... or trying to as they are not tech savvy to the point of understanding the lingo.

I noticed after cleaning the thermal paste up and replace the CMOS battery to clear the CMOS (as some of the stuff I read said it fixed it up for them so while I was in there).

I noticed the LED lights on my motherboard that showed voltage was off. The CPU, RAM, and North Bridge LED were not on while the south bridge LED showed high voltage (It shows Normal, High, and Crazy Voltage). After noticing this I started to suspect that my motherboard had died on me.

However, suddenly after proclaiming my love for its service (yes, I did this)... everything suddenly sprung to life. The computer seems to be back up and running, and I'm unsure if this is just a momentary last ditch effort from my motherboard... The thermal paste cleaning and new CMOS battery fixed things... or I suppose potentially my PSU being faulty somehow. Though there was no surge when this started.

Any insight.

(Attempting ot fix the original error code I got)

 

[coozie7]

How is it going, mate?

 

[Kurogano]

How is it going, mate?

Got my friend to bring over his spare rig. So I was testing o see what was wrong. Seems that the motherboard itself gave out. Picking up a new MOBO today to put in, and hopefully, it'll work. I'm guessing it was right on that the thermal paste probably got on to the motherboard and it eventually caused issues. That just came into existent the other day. Specifically a Asus P6X58D-E.

 

[coozie7]

Well, at least you have some sort of solution, even if it's cost a replacement MB.
Once it's in, DO check the system temperatures, I really didn't like the way the thermal paste was all messed up-of course if it's now nice and even there's no worry, but HWinfo64 is a freebie and a dead handy system monitor.

 

[Kurogano]

Well, at least you have some sort of solution, even if it's cost a replacement MB.
Once it's in, DO check the system temperatures, I really didn't like the way the thermal paste was all messed up of course if it's now nice and even there's no worry, but HWinfo64 is a freebie and a dead handy system monitor.

Okay just installed the MOBO (Even got a complementary I7 930 so I tested with that as well), and still had issues posting on until I noticed something different. While my old Rampage III Extreme would either fail to power the board (Several LEDs not lighting that should be. With the south board noting high voltage, locking on the first stage of booting up) or would light everything and constantly reboot and never post.

This P6X58D-E Motherboard had a MemOK! button. It would loop reset and refuse to post like before with no display. until I held that MemOK! button as the DRAM LED which is supposed to warn about a problem with the memory to my knowledge was constantly lit. After holding it for a bit it would post and attempt to load Windows or my Bootable windows USB before reseting once again. At this point, it would begin a loop ending an attempt to start up windows.

Would this indicate the actual problem being my RAM dying out? Sometimes working but only when made to and only briefly. It would be odd that all 3 sticks of my RAM (G. Skill Ripjaws 1600 DDR3 4g each) are dying out at once... or maybe that would make sense as they were clearly purchased at the same time.

 

[coozie7]

Try booting with just one stick at a time.
Also, what exactly is the installed power supply? It could also be getting flaky if it's as old as the base system.

 

[Kurogano]

Try booting with just one stick at a time.
Also, what exactly is the installed power supply? It could also be getting flaky if it's as old as the base system.

I've done that with each motherboard. Originally with the one, I thought died from its response, and again with this new one. The power supply specifically is Rosewill Xtreme rx950-s-b

 

[coozie7]

Sounds more than a little odd that they're ALL faulty.
Back in 2008, when the PSU was new it didn't get a particularly good series of write ups, can you swap it for something else and retest?

 

[DSzymborski]

Yeah, that's an ancient power supply at this point, especially for one with second-tier capacitors. I thought you were going to test a friend's PSU? If so, did your friend's PSU work?

 

[Kurogano]

Sounds more than a little odd that they're ALL faulty.
Back in 2008, when the PSU was new it didn't get a particularly good series of write ups, can you swap it for something else and retest?

Update 6, and I did something a bit off so I could afford the replacement. Well, a decent new one instead of a second hand potentially problematic one. I bought some 2 sticks of 2G DDR 1333mhz RAM. Then I started swapping, adding, and removing components to attempt to gauge the power supply.

The static parts tested were
CPU: I7 930
MOBO: P6X58D-E
GPU: Radeom hd 6870
Flash: 4g Bootable flash with a copy of windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
Keyboard
Mouse

The swapping parts were
1 Stick of DDR3 4g 1600mhz
2 Stick of DDR3 2g 1333mhz
1 750GB HDD
1 500GB HDD

The only working configuration with these 5 parts was 1 Stick of DDR3 2g 1333mhz with either the 750GB or 500GB. I was able to fully complete most of the installation of windows with this. All but the final completion step after the reset it does. After which it would restart while attempting to boot windows (My guess is that the CPU, RAM, or HDD begins to pull more power at this point and the PSU can't take it stops for a second causing the reset).

If I was to add the second 2g stick it would not boot to even the USB, Same with adding a second HDD, or placing in the single 4g alone. All of this combined with the earlier test and my Rampage III Extreme appearing dead (sometimes and miraculously coming back to life other times) while using the slightly more powerful I7 960. Leads me to say my PSU is dying is not considered dead at this point and needs to be replaced.

Yeah, that's an ancient power supply at this point, especially for one with second-tier capacitors. I thought you were going to test a friend's PSU? If so, did your friend's PSU work?

I did before getting the replacement motherboard that gave further information. When using my friends PSU gave the same response as I was getting when using mine. Which is what lead to the MOBO being dead assumed cause. So it could be that his PSU on that second rig is beginning to break down(Though his rig was powering and functioning just fine). It was a far less powerful system then my primary one. So it would make sense.