PC crashes when i receive a phone(mobile) call.

[vinyasrao]

Hi All,

I just upgraded and hand built a new PC(GPU and 2 HDDs are old) and the problem i been facing is some times my PC crashes/freezes when i receive a cell phone call or a text message. Not all the time it freezes. i would say 4/10 times(random) it does.

Some times the display stays on but the OS freezes(keyboard mouse doesnt respond).
Some times the display goes off and same crash.
Both the times the Hard disk light will be continuously on/blinking.

I have to press restart button and after a few seconds, the PC powers off. doesnt restart. I have to press the power button to start the comp again.

I have done a lota research on the net, most of them point to cell phone signals interfering with the system but no one gives a solution to it. keeping the mobile isnt an option since i WFH, i need my phone to be near me.

Below is my config,
Intel i7 4790k with CM 212x cooler. No OC.
Asus z97-k
2x8gb Corsair vengeance.
Samsung 850evo 128gb SSD
cabinet CM K380(side transparent panel)
Seasonic 520W
3 120mm led fans
Below are all parts im using from my old system
ATi HD 5770
Seagate DB 250GB SATA
WD 250GB SATA
2 90mm fans
24" Dell lcd

I have RMA the PSU, dint solve the problem.

Im going crazy here. Since i WFH, i need my comp to work flawlessly and not restart everytime i get a call. All the work i do after the last save will be lost and ill have to re do them. Very annoying and worse, the file gets corrupted if the PC shuts does abruptly. HUGE PROBLEM!!

Please Guys, im suffering here. need some help.

 

[Moonstick2]

My first guess would be that your huge transparent panel is letting through EM interference from your phone which is sending the PC internals haywire.

For a simple test, you can try some layers of aluminium foil over the window and see if that improves things. If it does, you need a non-windowed case, or to try and put the PC in different positions around your workspace, or to leave the foil in place.

 

[vinyasrao]

Will try adding the aluminium foil.
Also, i have the PC right next to me, i mean exactly next to me, the transparent side facing me. i guess this is causing it to crash.

But coolermaster is a pretty big company right. sold world wide. such a simple mistake they would let it slide? arent any other K380 owner(or any cabinet which has a transparent panel) have this same issue? there are barely any threads relating to this issue on the web.
Something isnt right. either way, ill do the aluminium foil and lets see. fingers crossed

 

[timeconsumer]

I left my side panel off on my PC for years and never experienced an issue like this. Both with the missing panel facing me and the missing panel on the other side. Will covering the window help? Possibly. But I can't imagine it being an issue of case design, this sounds more like an issue with the the design of one of the components (mobo? memory? HDD?)

Is it only your phone that does it? Have you tested with a different model phone?

 

[jsmithepa]

Are you sure that's not your neighbor doing an I E D to you? LOL!

 

[Moonstick2]

It's very possibly just a perfect storm of things - it could be that it just so happens that that motherboard in that case in that location with that mobile phone at a certain position relative to the computer causes it to go haywire. That doesn't make it a design issue of any of those components.

Mobiles emit EM interference when they connect (hence the 'dtt-dt-dt-dttt-dttt-dt' noise sometimes heard through speakers). Metal panels (and to some extent metal meshes) block EM, acrylic windows don't. Your PC sometimes throws a fit when your phone connects to receive a phone or text. Either its magic or its EM interference.

The EM spreads out on emission, double the distance and the strength drops by a quarter. If your case is right next to you with that transparent panel there facing you and your emitter it's as good as squirting the EM directly in. Maybe one of the components has a fault making it more susceptible to EMI from the phone, but unless you want to exchange each part for a replacement you're not going to be able to tell which.

Most likely you'll end up solving your problems by moving the PC to a different position. You haven't mentioned having a wireless connection by the way, so the guess is its not that which is getting affected.

 

[vinyasrao]

I left my side panel off on my PC for years and never experienced an issue like this. Both with the missing panel facing me and the missing panel on the other side. Will covering the window help? Possibly. But I can't imagine it being an issue of case design, this sounds more like an issue with the the design of one of the components (mobo? memory? HDD?)

Is it only your phone that does it? Have you tested with a different model phone?

this happens with my samsung s3 and my wife's samsung grand 2.

 

[vinyasrao]

It's very possibly just a perfect storm of things - it could be that it just so happens that that motherboard in that case in that location with that mobile phone at a certain position relative to the computer causes it to go haywire. That doesn't make it a design issue of any of those components.

Mobiles emit EM interference when they connect (hence the 'dtt-dt-dt-dttt-dttt-dt' noise sometimes heard through speakers). Metal panels (and to some extent metal meshes) block EM, acrylic windows don't. Your PC sometimes throws a fit when your phone connects to receive a phone or text. Either its magic or its EM interference.

The EM spreads out on emission, double the distance and the strength drops by a quarter. If your case is right next to you with that transparent panel there facing you and your emitter it's as good as squirting the EM directly in. Maybe one of the components has a fault making it more susceptible to EMI from the phone, but unless you want to exchange each part for a replacement you're not going to be able to tell which.

Most likely you'll end up solving your problems by moving the PC to a different position. You haven't mentioned having a wireless connection by the way, so the guess is its not that which is getting affected.

Im sorry but what "having a wireless connection"?
I have a wifi usb adaptor connected to my pc if thats what you are asking. Had the issue before buying that, when i was using the 4g wifi dongle directly connected to the PC.

 

[Moonstick2]

Some WiFi receivers can suffer interference from mobile phone connections as well, and crash the computer as a result. The way to check that would be to experiment running the PC without any WiFi attached (on a day off) and see if ringing the mobile crashes it to the same extent.

Did you try blocking off the window with layers of foil?