random black out problem

[stefan099]

ok this is a problem thats really starting to annoy me now.

a few days ago my computer crashed while booting up, i logged in as i have windows xp but while loading the screen went black and the light was flashing indicating the screen had gone into stand by. the computer then restarted itself.

however this has continued to happen randomly at any time, except now the screen cuts out and the computer doesnt restart it just freezes. atleast i asume its frozen and the screen hasnt cut out.

when this happened the windows error message came up telling me a solution could be to update my graphics driver (which i did), and turn down hardware acceleration to none (which i also did), but the problem still persists.

this has happened previously and the windows error report said it was a stop error (i think) but gave no solution

my hardware is as follows: abit av8 motherboard, 1gb RAM, AMD 64 3200, ati radeon x700

could someone please suggest what the problem could be and possibly a solution

thanks

[#43 fan]

Could be any number of things including:
Bad RAM- Check it via memtest, which you can download.
Bad videocard, but I would eliminate the RAM first, unless you have a videocard laying around.
Also, what is your Power Supply, include the brand, amperage on the 12V rail, and the wattage.

[stefan099]

well the PSU came with the case i bought which was this:
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/90997

the PSU itself is and icute 350w / p4

the amperage on the 12v rail is 17A (i think if i read the right bit)

do you think it could be that this is not powerful enough

[fruit_bomb]

I believe it's your graphics card... Try this next time it happens:

When you boot up set in your properties so that your power button shuts down your computer then next time your screen goes black press the power button and see if your computer shuts down. If it does it means it's for sure a graphics problem... If not it could still be a video card issue, but then I would take the PSU into consideration also the RAM.

[stefan099]

right i've used memtest and there were no errors,

also fruit_bomb previously when the problem happened i tried to restart the computer by turning it off using the power button but it did not respond, so i have to use the restart button

[Shoryu]

How long have you been running that x700?? Is it a new upgrade or you have that video card since you built the pc??

When you say that it's a random issue I guess you can log into Windows from time to time. If you can log into Windows try this:

Right click on the desktop> select "display properties"> "Settings"> "Advanced Settings"> "Troubleshooting" > disable "Write Combining"

[fruit_bomb]

I know your probably tired of hearing this...

But are all your drivers up to date

[stefan099]

shoryu - i have had the card since i built the pc and it is now about 2 years old

yeah i can log in normally, but by random i mean that i can be using the pc and then it suddenly freezes or it can be left for i few hours and when i come back i cant get it off the screen saver because its frozen whilst on the screen saver

i did what you suggested before along with reducing hardware acceleration to 'none' but that made it worse

fruit_bomb - yes as far as i know all the drivers are up to date

[fruit_bomb]

I would try this next. All motherboards are different, but there is always a way to activate it's integrated graphics card. Try using the integrated graphics and if it does it again it's most likely a problem with your graphics.

Also download a program called: Everest Home Edition.... and in the program go into the sensor section and post a screenshot of your temperatures.

[stefan099]

right this is the screen shot of my pc temperatures, very useful program

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...423/pctemp.jpg

[fruit_bomb]

Wow can't be the temperatures those are great... The only thing I can suggest is try using your integrated graphics on your motherboard and see if it happens.

[JPMiller]

I would try this next. All motherboards are different, but there is always a way to activate it's integrated graphics card. Try using the integrated graphics and if it does it again it's most likely a problem with your graphics.

Very few mobos have onboard graphics...
And its irresponsible to assume its not temperature, considering his Video card temps aren't shown due to limitations of the free version...
(and for the record 51 isn't a GREAT temp for the CPU... its merely acceptable under most circumstances, but I doubt these temps were taken under load, so thats not really a good temp at all)
His card could easily be overheating under certain full load


This is much more likely a power supply issue
If nothing else the PSU should be replaced either way...
http://www.techimo.com/forum/t124252.html
Then, in order of most to least likely the cause would be Video card and then Motherboard after that

[stefan099]

what wattage PSU would you recommend for my pc ?

also for integrated graphics, where do you look to see if the motherboards got one ?

[Ol'Tunzafun]

Randomness usually indicates a problem with capacitors. This could be on the motherboard, the video card or in the PSU.
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=195
http://home.earthlink.net/~doniteli/index27.htm
Examine the mobo and vid card carefully for bad caps. If they look OK, then try swapping out the PSU. Generic PSUs like the one you have there are common failure points. A 450 watt Fortron would be a good choice for that machine. They have the lowest failure rate and are reasonably priced.
http://www.behardware.com/news/8550/...lure-rate.html
If you have on-board video, there should be a second VGA or DVI connector up near the keyboard and PS2 mouse ports.

[stefan099]

thanks for the capacitors information i'll definatly check my board out, worryingly ABIT is mentioned

i dont have a VGA connection on my board but there is something similar, i'm guessing this is DVI

i think my main priorities are to replace the PSU and then think about possible graphics card replacement although i cant afford both at the moment

yesterday the pc was fine it didn't crash at all, yet today its already crashed twice when i tried to boot it up

[Ol'Tunzafun]

On-board graphics ports

[stefan099]

i know think this is a graphics card problem, my reason for this is because of the error message i received after sending a windows error report,

here it is,

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...crashinfor.jpg

[stefan099]

i've just opened up the pc to look for any visible damage but from what i can see there is none,

also while it was open i hoovered up the dust inside and when i started it up again the cpu temperature has significantly decreased by 6°c, from 53 to 47 !!!!

[#43 fan]

It may be your PSU, this should be just what you need-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104953

[stefan099]

right this morning i couldn't even start up the computer properly because about 10 seconds into booting up the screen kept going to stand by mode. i'm not sure if it was booting up propery but i couldn't see anything.

i'm gonna try using my sisters graphics card and see what happens,
a quick question though, can i just take out mine and slot the new one straight in ? are there any other procedures to be done, theres something in the manual about clearing CMOS