Computer randomly reboots

[jmebonner]

Wondering if it could be my psu...


Asus A7N8X Dlx
Barton 2500
512 Mushkin pc2700
psu that came w/ my chenming case
memorex 2.4 burner
buslink(liteon) 52x burner
Radeon 8500 aiw
ibm Death Star


Every once in a while it'll just bomb. No rhyme nor reason. It'll just absolutely quit and then just start from the beginning again.
I ran memtest on the ram for 34+ hours, it gave no errors at all. The processor is fine, as the problem happened w/ the old one too. Hdd is new, again, the problem happened w/ the old hdd too.

Would prime 95 tell me where the failure was if I ran it until it barfed?

So, whassya think? PSU?


EDIT:

I can post the minidump file if someone can translate it and tell me how to do it

[imac9556]

Hi,
I think check the PSU votages. Then try to reset the CMOS

Thanks, Paul

[Bovon]

A deficient PSU has been known to cause reboots...there are other anomalies that can cause a random reboot...not just low voltage. I do not have many answers because there could be quite a few possible answers...but if you can get your hands an another PSU...I'd say give that a shot.

Other possibilities may be a 'noisy' PSU...this is not noise that you can hear..it is a hum..or, AC type noise that comes in when a power supply's filtering capacitors begin to leak voltage (not any liquid..LOL).

Motherboards were made with defective capacitors for about 2 years..we are still having motherboards die from these things..that could definitely cause a reboot.

BTW...what is the wattage of the PSU that is there now.

[omalleytrading]

The other thing to look at is the heat. Is your PC enclosed in a cabinet? Tucked somewhere without a lot of airflow? I've seen PCs that overheat and start to reboot themselves.

[The Real Bingo]

That happens to me too...I always thought its because I have a crappy emachines. Intriguing.

[MitaDC]

Originally posted by The Real Bingo
That happens to me too...I always thought its because I have a crappy emachines. Intriguing.

No that is just from the crappy emachines lol

[Omardeth]

ya it could be the power supply . i have found that that is what causes random reboots most the time . heat would be my next quess then ram . any one of the 3 can cause the problem . but most the time it is the power supply . what are the posted specs on the side of the power supply ? and what are the voltage reads ?

[ZX48K]

To rule out heat, when the PC randomly reboots, go into BIOS and take a look at the temp, most BIOS's ahve a menu item that allows you to do this.

[jmebonner]

I checked heat, pc is only 45 or so under full load, mb is 28.

Ram, is fine.


Not sure on the posted specs omar as I have modded the thing and the specs are now gone Readings on the psu right now are :

12v 12.16
5v 4.703
3.3v 3.248
Vcore 1.664

I have Asus' pcprobe recording the voltages, so next time it bombs I'll check the history.

[ZX48K]

To rule out heat, just after the PC decides to reboot, go into BIOS and take a look at the temperature. Most BIOS's have a menu item that allows you to check the CPU temp.

[imac9556]

Hey,
Could it be bad ram?
I was thinking, when you leave the computer on sometimes background processes like windows update might run. Then when it runs, it needs more memory. So, the computer gets more memory but maybe one part of the ram is bad. Then it automatically reboots or a BSOD occurs?
Something similar happened to my sisters system. First running win xp, auto reboot, then used windows me then 98, it just gave me BSOD all the time. Until I removed one of the ram and it worked. I exchanged the ram and now the system runs perfectly!
thanks, paul

[Shawn711]

I have the same board with a Powmax 400 Watt ps that kept doing the same thing...........sometimes it would crash constantly and others it would run good for a while and then crash with longer intervals in between......replaced the ps with an Antec 430 watt ps and haven't had a problem since........I did the same thing as far as running memtest and all..........seems these boards demand a very solid ps with all the bells and whistles on em...........I would replace the ps with a good one (Antec, Sparkle, etc.) then you should be good to go...........besides, the better ps should also give you slightly better performance from your processor as well........my XP 2200+ was running at 1.797 Ghz before changing ps and now is at 1.804 Ghz.......not much of a difference, but I would think this would also result in it running slightly cooler since it would probably be running more efficiently with a better power source.........

Shawn

[jmebonner]

Thanks for the help fellas.
Imac, no b/c memtest shoulda picked it up.

Shawn, I've ordered one, thanks for sharing the similar experience. Gives me a little peace mind.