Shutting down without warning, driving me crazy!!

[fainis]

well .. i understood you have wd drives........wait ...to take a look at one of it...i have a wd2500js ..in my store......


on my wd2500js...i see a table with jumpers.....on the label it saids...short the jumper 1 and 2 to enable ssc...spread spectrum clocking.......this means that the channel ..the sata channel..is tricked...it means that the channel reserves more for the hdd......the bandwith is enlarged..and the clock is more stable.......this is usefull for many situations...like overcloking ...

i`m sure this is not the case but ..take this into consideration.......you`ll never know


you could try only one hdd.....one memory module ....no expansion cards like modems ..or sound cards...just the video card...and see what happens...
good luck.....

 

[snape]

Right I get it. OK then Ill give it a go.

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[llama_man]

Sounds like a heat problem to me. The give-away is the fact that you can't restart immediately - sounds like something is overheating.

I'd make you main priority finding out the temps of your components and checking the fan RPMs.

Also, trying running your computer with the case open. This will help cool it, so it should run longer before shutting down. Also listen out for any weird noises that might indicate a faulty fan.

 

[snape]

When you say check the temps of the components do you mean other than the ones I have already checked?

Is there a way to check temps of other components on the mobo?

 

[llama_man]

Sorry, I missed that post where you listed your temps. They all look OK to me - GFX cards tend to run quite hot.

Did you check what the shutdown temp in your BIOS settings is?

 

[snape]

Yes the shut down temp was about 80 for the cpu.

By default auto-shutdown is disabled for power supply and system temperatures.

 

[llama_man]

Well I'm stumped then. If it was anything other than temperature, I'd expect the computer to be able to restart immediately.

Probably a fault with the motherboard.

 

[snape]

hopefully Ill work it out, thanks

 

[fainis]

check this out ...my friend i have another ideea........

you said your cpu is 80 degrees.....
check whether you have a shut down temperature set in bios.........maybe a default setting is arround 75 degrees......set it a little higher to isolate the problem...anyway 80 degrees for a cpu is quite high........


clean the dust of the heatsink or ...make sure is properly seatted

 

[snape]

No the temp is usually between 28-56 depending on how much processing is going on. The shutdown temp is set at 80 in the bios.

 

[fainis]

ihh.........than that`s out of question.......ahhh..keep searching

 

[Z-Man]

Had the same problem but without the apparent temperature sensitivity. System would inexplicably shut-down/re-boot while running DVD or even an MPEG, also when running programs like AutoCAd and MS Office.

Drove me crazy for almost two weeks before I slicked the disk and reinstalled everything one thing at a time and I found it was the Realtek HD Audio Driver that came during an update session.

Although my board is a Gigabyte GA-8I955X Royal vice an Abit, they both use Realtek's HD Audio chip, don't know if its the same but it may use the same bogus driver provided by Microsoft Update.

My original installation CD had a driver dated 5/4/2005, version 5.10.0.5125, that worked perfectly. Did the normal update thing with Microsoft which installed a "signed" driver version 5.10.0.5127 dated in SEP 2005 and that's when things went south. Uninstalled the updated driver and no reboot!! Reinstalling the original driver from the installatio CD fixed the "New Hardware Found", everything works and I'm happy!

Sent an email to Microsoft about a month ago - no response! Not surprising I guess.

Hope this helps. If it works, be sure to check the "Don't Tell Me Again" box for the update before it reinstalls itself again.

Good luck!

 

[fainis]

ihhhmmm ... it worths trying this one.......

 

[snape]

If the problem was caused by a driver wouldn't it only crash in windows though?

I used the mircosoft diagnostic tool which checks the RAM from DOS last night and this morning as we discussed; the pc still shutdown of its own accord after between 5mins and 30mins on 3 consecutive occassions. I left it off overnight so it had a good chance to cool down and so that any previous system temperatures could not attribute to another crash.

When I tested it again this morning it lasted about 10mins I think before it shutdown.

I had unplugged all the uneccessary components leaving only the graphics card, ram and cpu plugged into the mobo although it was still inside the case so I suppose there is an outside chance that something is shorting it out from within the case. It is worth mentioning though that I have stripped and rebuilt the whole pc only a couple of days ago to check for this possibility.

What I am wondering now is what these crashes during the memtest mean....does the memtest test rule out the cpu leaving only the ram and mobo in question (since I have a brand new graphics card in replacement of the old one, therefore ruling out it out)?

If so I will borrow some ram from my associate Joe, which is compatible with my mobo but a different spec (corsair value pc4200 dual channel 533Mhz) and if it still shutsdown then I know its not the ram.

Thanks again for any help with this.

 

[LazyGarfield]

The only thing that bothers me is the way it behaves once it has shut down and I attempt to turn it back on. It seems like something has to cool down before it will start up properly....could this tally with the auto-shutdown theory??

I just know that behavior with power fluctuations. Once the board gets too much juice it turns off and needs 5 - 15 minutes (depending on the board) to get it to work again. But with this error you would have to unplug the power cable as well to make it work again, without unplugging the power cable it never worked, so it might not fit to your problem, except they changed it so that you dont have unplug the power cable in case of overvoltage.

 

[snape]

Yeh I have also got a surgemaster power adapter which might minimse the chance of power fluctuations. Also when I bought my computer into work recently it suffered from the same problem so I doubt if its the power in house causing the problem.

 

[snape]

What I would really like to know is; does the microsoft diagnostic memory test that runs from dos use the cpu? If it doesnt then I know my problem is down to ram or mobo...

 

[cmptrdude79]

It does use the CPU, although very lightly. It's not processor-intensive at all. Very memory intensive though. So that leaves you with RAM and motherboard being your main possibilities (although the CPU is still possible. Not likely, just possible).

-J

 

[snape]

Righto thanks bud

 

[waylander]

I'm going to suggest the all time default of hardware trouble shooting. Take out everything (not cpu) and only plug in video card, HDD (the one with OS) and one memory module.

Then download memtest86 (it's free), can't stand microsoft diagnostic stuff, doesn't work well (just like their defrag). Run that for at least 4 hours but probably 8 and see what the results are.

Do you have the most up to date bios and drivers for everything?

I actually don't think the amount of power is the issue, even if that PSU sucks and is only 70% efficient it should still have enough juice for your system.

After you know it's not the memory it has to be either your MB, CPU or HDD, don't think your vid card should shut down your system that way. Not easy to test those except to try installing your OS on another HDD so you can rule it out. After that only the CPU and MB are left, unless you know someone with another exact CPU to test in your setup you may be stumped.

 

[jap0nes]

you said your power supply reaches 70C... how do you measure that? does our psu has some shutdown temperature?

 

[snape]

Yes the psu does reach 70 sometimes and my uguru mobo utility measures that but it is rearly on long enough to get that hot it usually shuts down within the first 30mins if im using it.

If have swapped out the hdd already and the same problem occurs.

I have a mates ram to use tonight so I can rule that out hopefully.

Yes I will run memtest86 with the mobo outside the case with only the gfx card, ram and cpu in.

Im off to ABIT tomorrow and they said they will test/swap my mothrboard for if necessary.

I will post what happens tomorrow incase anyone is interested

Thanks

Spence

 

[sojrner]

I agree, with the lag in the startup it is heat related and to get a heat related shutdown that prevents immediate restart it is the mobo or cpu.

snape: you mentioned earlier that just touching the power switch (not acutally pushing it) causes freaky things too. That could be a short somewhere, and not just a ground on the mobo. (I saw you checked for that) It could be a faulty ground on the outlet you are plugged into for the system. That ground is for the psu, but also grounds out the case and all connected components. If you are shorting out on the case that could be a bad ground in the outlet or the psu. I realize the psu seems to be good, but it could be failing to ground. If the casing of the psu is not contacting the case right, or if the outlet is not properly wired that could cause the shorting out.

This could also be resulting in the mobo capacitors or other components overheating.

Check that the psu is seated well with bare metal on it and the case touching each other. (even just the screws are fine) also try plugging it into another outlet, preferably at another house or if you know for certain that a particular outlet in yours is good...

Finally, try re-seating your processor... I know you said it is cool, but just before the shutdown it could be spiking its temp. and a reseat w/ thermal grease could fix that...

Just thoughts man... good luck

 

[snape]

Right, well I guess that stripping down the pc and testing it out of the case with just the mobo, cpu, floppy, psu, and graphics card on a wooden table should eliminate any shorts due the case or nearby environment.

Also when I mentioned the power turning off when I touched the power button it is only after I have depressed the button, therefore turning on, then off - in an instant.

 

[sojrner]

Also when I mentioned the power turning off when I touched the power button it is only after I have depressed the button, therefore turning on, then off - in an instant.

right, which could be from static build up in the case from improper grounding.

I would still try to plug in the system in a known-grounded outlet, even if you have it out of the case... but the reseating the processor is prob a more heat-related option to try first. It could be that the heatsink is just not fully in contact w/ the proc and after a short time the temp spikes...