Hardware causing system restarts... HELP!!

[mooncow123]

Hi I recently installed a new motherboard and since then my PC has been restarting (occasionaly completely freezing- num lock etc wont even work) of its own accord quite regularly.

I'd just done lots of updates to windows at the same time so I started by trying to fix all the problems that were coming up in event viewer. And went through updating all my drivers. I carried on in this vein till I realized it also crashes (although no where near as frequently) whilst booted up in ubuntu from my memory stick. So I realized it's a hardware fault.

At the same time as installing the new motherboard, I installed a new fan and fan controller. So I know its not a temperature issue but I thought it might be a PSU prob so I've upgraded to a 750W Corsair PSU..

At this point I'm thinking it must just be the new motherboard but I was wondering if anyone knew if there was anything I could do to test it to find out what specifically is wrong with it or if I should just get another one...

I have:
AMD FX6300
MSI 970A-G43
EVGA Nvidia GTX 550 ti
8GB RAM
128GB SSD
1TB HDD

Really annoying as its all working really well, except for when it crashes.. That bit sucks 🙁

 

[Barty1884]

Ok.....just so you know, depending on the exact model, a 750W Corsair may not have been a very good upgrade.

Have you updated the BIOS to the latest version for your new motherboard? Did you install the OS clean with the new mobo? Or are yu running the OS that was installed previously?

 

[mooncow123]

Hi, yeah I've updated the bios, I'm running the same windows 10 as was on there before...

I was using a pretty cheap 500w PSU, can't remember what brand.. I put in a corsair cx750

 

[Barty1884]

The CX750 really isn't very good, just so you know.

You should always perform a clean OS install with a new motherboard, even if it's the same brand/model. Revisions to motherboards happen, and that may be your problem

Was your OS an OEM version? OEM versions are tied to the specific hardware and cannot (at least in theory) be moved to a new system (and MS view a new mobo as a new system). If this was solely in Windows, I would speculate the OS install running on a new motherboard is causing your freezes/crashes.

Because you've tried ubuntu also, that's cause for concern and would indicate hardware. Was your HDD installed at the time? I would disconnect any HDD or SSD and try to run ubuntu again...see if the problem persists.
If it does not, I would then proceed with the clean OS install and hopefully it'll remove your issue.

 

[mooncow123]

Just unplugged all SATAs, booted Ubuntu and watched about 15 mins of random stuff on YouTube before it decided to reset again... 🙁

 

[Barty1884]

Ok, before ruling a hardware defect, you say temperatures are not the issue because you installed a fan controller? Have you validated that? Are you monitoring temps? AMD OverDrive for your CPU specifically.