random rebooting Athlon 1800 XP, sometimes runs -

[phishee]

I just started to experience a problem where my PC randomly reboots and then POSTS and continually reboots itself (often not even activating the monitor.) It is an Athlon XP 1800 (running at 1.2 ghz) with 512 mb memory and is running Win2K. I have switched motherboards from an Epox to a no-name brand one, after using the Epox for 3 years with no problems until now. Occasionally I can boot into the OS and it runs indefinitely but then after powering down and restarting hours later it won't start and then the machine begins the continual reboot process. I have switched hard drives as well with no luck.

My question is : Has anyone experienced similar issues and how were they resolved? The only things I have not swapped out are the power supply (it is a 300 Watt unit) ,the IDE ribbon cables, and the CPU itself. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks in advance - Brandon (phishee)

 

[jrooster]

I have the same problem with ECS k7s5a and Athlon 1.3G.It will not activate the monitor either.Just continuously reboots over and over.I have 2 other machines just like this 1 so I will start swapping things out til I get it.Does anyone have an idea before I start?

 

[phishee]

Yes, that sounds very similar to the issues I have experienced. I had no luck swapping all components (but the CPU) but finally down-clocked the speed to 100mhz (thus enabling the Athlon to run at 900 mhz rather than the 1.2 ghz) and it was successful.

Possibly there are some heat issues involved but I find it hard to believe since this proc has been running flawlessly for nearly 3 years. If you have any other ideas, be sure to pass them on; quite possibly I may need to upgrade to another faster AMD chip.

 

[endyen]

The ecs k7s5a, and the generic copies of it, have a strange voltage regulator. If the psu is not very powerfull (300w+ true power) you will get this effect.

 

[jrooster]

Thanks guys, I finally got it though.It was just bad memory. I had just bought a new 256mb stick of DDR about 3 weeks ago at a computer sale, so I didnt think that could be it, but I was wrong.Problem is I lost my reciept,Its Micron, maybe they will cover it under warranty though.
Thanks again

 

[jrooster]

Also,endyen,my psu is a 350w,Do you think that is ok for the regulator problem?I havent heard that before and I havent had any problems before this.Could it have affected the memory?
thanks