Save my marriage! My wife's possessed PC keeps restarting - related to new graphics card?

[Chedster]

Hi all,

I upgraded my wife's PC to Windows 10 last month, and then found out her graphics card had no drivers for Windows 10. Being an old relic, I decided to replace it with a new PNY Geforce GT 720 card.

The PC now randomly restarts without warning, and having lost her work mid-flow, my marriage is seriously in danger unless I get this sorted soon! There is no determined time the PC decides to power down - just randomly.

I have wiped all traces of the old graphics card and reinstalled the new drivers again. This morning, I cleaned up the dust from the inside of the case and the components, removed the old thermal paste from the processor and put some fresh on (the CPU temp was idling at 65 degrees when I was in the bios, which I figured was quite hot).

The motherboard is the MSI P55-GD80, with the latest bios updates.

Any suggestions

 

[Chedster]

Just a quick update on this...

I bought a new graphics card from Amazon and sent the PNY one back. I opted for the Gigabyte Nvidia Gt 730 Graphics Card (2GB, DDR3, 64 Bit, PCI-E).

Wiped the old drivers using the Guru 3D tool above... installed the most up-to-date NVIDIA drivers for this card, and...

The bloody PC STILL KEEPS REBOOTING!!! Aaaaaaargh!!

Will try a clean reinstallation of Windows 10 next and report back. If that doesn't work, will go for a new PSU.

 

[g-unit1111]

- Motherboard? No. If it POSTs and runs the operating system, it can't be the motherboard.
- PSU? It's a pretty decent quality Corsair unit and boots the system just fine. This is not the culprit.

appears you havent done much troubleshooting or repairing PCs. if either is damaged or going bad; power fluctuations from the PSU or the motherboard can and do happen very commonly after a system has booted. also, there are many connections coming from the motherboard that can die or wear over time that would still allow the system to boot and load but may not be able to handle workloads or extended use.

But a Corsair VX should not be a problem. I've seen that happen before on very cheaply made Ultra and Cooler Master PSUs (don't get me started on how much I hate Ultra :lol: ). I'm well aware that that does happen, but a well made PSU should not have that happen.

I bought a new graphics card from Amazon and sent the PNY one back. I opted for the Gigabyte Nvidia Gt 730 Graphics Card (2GB, DDR3, 64 Bit, PCI-E).

Wiped the old drivers using the Guru 3D tool above... installed the most up-to-date NVIDIA drivers for this card, and...

The bloody PC STILL KEEPS REBOOTING!!! Aaaaaaargh!!

This might be just a thought, but worth a shot - have you tried the GPU only in one PCI slot on your motherboard, or have you tried every single slot to make sure that it's a problem with the PCI slot? Because if you're limiting to just one slot, and another slot might be working, then it very well could be a motherboard issue.

 

[Chedster]

This might be just a thought, but worth a shot - have you tried the GPU only in one PCI slot on your motherboard, or have you tried every single slot to make sure that it's a problem with the PCI slot? Because if you're limiting to just one slot, and another slot might be working, then it very well could be a motherboard issue.

I tried two different PCI slots - the problem still persists 🙁

 

[g-unit1111]

This might be just a thought, but worth a shot - have you tried the GPU only in one PCI slot on your motherboard, or have you tried every single slot to make sure that it's a problem with the PCI slot? Because if you're limiting to just one slot, and another slot might be working, then it very well could be a motherboard issue.

I tried two different PCI slots - the problem still persists 🙁

Sounds like this could now be a motherboard issue, not necessarily any of the other issues that have been discussed so far. Have you tried the GPU in another computer? Because if you try that in another PC and it still works, it sounds like it could be now a problem with the motherboard.

 

[GObonzo]

I tried two different PCI slots - the problem still persists 🙁

just apologize and buy her a nice laptop. jeez, a nice Lenovo that can do what this thing does and more should be ~$650.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Sounds like this could now be a motherboard issue, not necessarily any of the other issues that have been discussed so far. Have you tried the GPU in another computer? Because if you try that in another PC and it still works, it sounds like it could be now a problem with the motherboard.

Different card, new, same problem. That makes for the third card with the same issue. It is not the card after three different pieces of hardware did the same thing.

It's either the OS, the motherboard or the power supply. I'd try the clean install first, as I suspect a driver issues since I've been seeing quite a few systems doing the same thing after the upgrade to ten.

If that fails to solve the issue, move forward from there.

Just out of curiosity, I'd also run Seatools for Windows on all connected drives, to rule out a drive issue. Run the short drive self test (Short DST) and the Long generic. If it fails either test, replace the SATA cable or try to reseat it. Test again. If it still fails, replace the drive. I'd probably do that before bothering to do a clean install so you don't waste your time if the drive has issues.


This almost sounds very similar to some bent cpu pin situations I've seen. Has the CPU been out at any point?

 

[Chedster]

Different card, new, same problem. That makes for the third card with the same issue. It is not the card after three different pieces of hardware did the same thing.

It's either the OS, the motherboard or the power supply. I'd try the clean install first, as I suspect a driver issues since I've been seeing quite a few systems doing the same thing after the upgrade to ten.

If that fails to solve the issue, move forward from there.

Just out of curiosity, I'd also run Seatools for Windows on all connected drives, to rule out a drive issue. Run the short drive self test (Short DST) and the Long generic. If it fails either test, replace the SATA cable or try to reseat it. Test again. If it still fails, replace the drive. I'd probably do that before bothering to do a clean install so you don't waste your time if the drive has issues.

This almost sounds very similar to some bent cpu pin situations I've seen. Has the CPU been out at any point?

CPU hasn't been moved at all, no. When I replaced the thermal paste and cleaned the heatsink and fan, the CPU remained in place.

Thanks for the Seatools suggestion. I ran it as you suggested and both sets of tests passed fine. I have now backed up the system and am about to do a clean reinstall of Windows 10. Fingers crossed!

 

[Chedster]

🙁 🙁 🙁 Windows 10 clean install completed, restart problem is STILL THERE 🙁 🙁 🙁

So it's either the PSU or motherboard, I guess. This is becoming a costly diagnosis! Wish I had a spare PSU to test...

 

[g-unit1111]

Sounds like this could now be a motherboard issue, not necessarily any of the other issues that have been discussed so far. Have you tried the GPU in another computer? Because if you try that in another PC and it still works, it sounds like it could be now a problem with the motherboard.

Different card, new, same problem. That makes for the third card with the same issue. It is not the card after three different pieces of hardware did the same thing.

It's either the OS, the motherboard or the power supply. I'd try the clean install first, as I suspect a driver issues since I've been seeing quite a few systems doing the same thing after the upgrade to ten.

That's why I said I suspect it's a motherboard issue. If you take the GPU out and try it in another machine, and it works in the other machine, then the motherboard is most likely the culprit.

So it's either the PSU or motherboard, I guess. This is becoming a costly diagnosis! Wish I had a spare PSU to test...

Oh believe me, it does get costly. I had a relatively new motherboard fry on me thanks to a defective CPU cooler, after tons of hours spent diagnosing the problem and multiple trips to my local Micro Center, they determined that it was the CPU cooler, and that's after I spent nearly $350 on a new motherboard and CPU, and my PC had been out for several weeks at that time. The cooler I had in that PC is now sitting in a box awaiting an RMA. :lol:

 

[ComputerSecurityGuy]

Possibly the PCI express power connector does not supply enough especially if it is an original slot. As the GPUs used have no power connector it might very well easily crash.

 

[Chedster]

Ok, I bit the bullet and took out the PSU from my computer. Fit it into the wife's... And so far it seems to have resolved the issue! It's been running over 2 hours now and still no restart!!

Looks like I'll be shopping on Amazon tomorrow for a new PSU for her PC then. Any suggestions for a decent spec, reliable one?

 

[jimmysmitty]

Seems odd it would be the PSU. As for decent, it depends on how much you want to spend. Since the system is a more low power susytem then you don't need a top of the line one like the AX1500i.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093

Seasonic is always a good choice and modular is a plus.

 

[GObonzo]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093

i want to say someone is deliberately bashing that PSU through reviews but the time between them is pretty far apart. the DOA reports are very high. 9 with that model just through Newegg. i know Seasonic produces some great products but i would never buy anything that has that bad of a history through a single site.
could always just have been a bad batch. i would check other retailer's reviews of that particluar model before purchasing

 

[Darkbreeze]

This is more than enough for that GTX 730 and is pretty reliable.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: Antec Green 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Directron)
Total: $39.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-18 23:55 EDT-0400

 

[Chedster]

OK... latest update... I left my wife's PC on all night with my PSU in and it was still running this morning with no restart, so that definitely proves that it's the PSU that's caused all the problems.

But before I stumped up £70 on a new PSU, I had a closer look at the old one. It was pretty dusty inside, so I opened it up and cleaned all the dust out with compressed air and a vacuum cleaner. Reassembled it and installed into the PC. It's now working like a dream - no restarts!!

Thanks to everyone for your help and suggestions - this is a truly great forum. In the end, it was DUST IN THE PSU that was causing all the problems 😀

 

[Darkbreeze]

So the unit was probably overheating. I'd keep a close eye on it, because once it has started showing signs of being affected by overheating, there has probably already been some kind of damage that's occurred. It might be fine, or it may have recurrent problems. Just be aware and keep an eye on it. Especially a unit with a rather low heat rating on the caps.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Dust is one of the biggest enemies to a PC, next to water/liquids that is. Dust can create tww issues:

1. Overheating
2. Shorts

Yours was probably overheating due to excessive dust but it could also create shorts as dust can be conductive.

It is wise to dust out a system completely, including the PSU, at least once every couple of months. More if you live in a very dusty area, like I do in Southern AZ. Hell I even went and bought a 5 gallon oil run compressor just for dusting out my systems.

 

[Darkbreeze]

^^^^Which is a very good idea, for anybody. Even a really cheap harbor freight unit, even a one gallon, is a good idea for anybody who wants to avoid paying for cans of compressed air or having somebody else do it for them. Reversable shop vacs are ok too, but more likely than a compressor to blow crap BACK into your unit if it's not cleaned well first.

 

[jimmysmitty]

The biggest problem with reversible shop vacs, besides what you stated, is the static field they can create.

I actually once had a customer who said that vacuuming his PC was the best way and argued that the static field created would not harm the components. I just walked away.

 

[Darkbreeze]

That too.