Computer Experts please HELP! Keeps restarting!

[liloutlaws]

over the course of the past 3 months my computer will randomly restart. i thought it was the cpu, mobo, ram, power supply, video card, power strip...i switched all of those out one by one and the problem still persists...

i also have two hard drives and i have tried setting both as the master or each using it alone to run the OS but problem still happens.

What could the problem possibly be? The only device that i have tried is possible bad cd-drives? how unlikely as that might be. any other ideas what could be the problem?

Thanks!

PS I just bought a new mobo/cpu thinking that would help, but it didn't. But it does load up with a message that says "Dram timing is too tightly so reload timing..." what does that mean?

 

[CraigRT]

maybe you need a UPS.. if you have literally switchd every part in the system, and it still persists... what is the only other factor?

 

[mechBgon]

Welcome to the Forums What we need here is a full spec list of all the parts, and if you can be specific, that helps (brand & models of stuff, including the memory modules and the power supply).

There's also the security area. Can you give us info on your firewall, antivirus, whether you have risk factors like P2P programs, and what operating system you've got and is it fully patched-up.

 

[WarDemon666]

in windows xp disable the "automatically restart" option in startup and recovery.

Try switching your ram slots if you have more than one stick

welcome to the forums n00b!

 

[liloutlaws]

sorry... here are my specs

2.4 Ghz Northwood 800 fsb
MSI 865PE Neo2-P
512 MB ram Mushkin pc2700
power supply 431 W Enermax
Running Windows XP reformatted twice on one hard drive, then tried using Xp Service Pack 2 on my second hard drive.

I don't think it has anything to do with security as it will restart w/o connecting to the computer.
And since my mobo and chip are new, I doubt those are the problem either.

My friend told me to check for the reboot beeps...which has the initial one that always happens on reboot, and then after a while it will beep again. Which problem might this indicate?

and if i disable automatically restart what would that do? Thanks

 

[liloutlaws]

forgot to mention..i even bought a new case too b/c i thought that could've been a problem but that's not it.

My temps are usually under 40 C, it rarely goes over it...but it reboots regardless of temperature.
And everytime I have been swapping out parts, I have been going to Fry's to buy new ones...so I'm thinking possibly either I got unlucky with a bad device or could it just be multiple devices failing?

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: liloutlaws
sorry... here are my specs

2.4 Ghz Northwood 800 fsb
MSI 865PE Neo2-P
512 MB ram Mushkin pc2700

You got any PC3200 you could try here? That's a mismatch with PC2700 trying to keep up with an 800MHz FSB, so this could be the hangup. Also, bump the memory voltage up a little to at least 2.6 volts if you're letting it use AUTO right now.

Nice power supply, that's one less worry

 

[Kishan]

Originally posted by: mechBgon

Originally posted by: liloutlaws
sorry... here are my specs

2.4 Ghz Northwood 800 fsb
MSI 865PE Neo2-P
512 MB ram Mushkin pc2700

You got any PC3200 you could try here? That's a mismatch with PC2700 trying to keep up with an 800MHz FSB, so this could be the hangup. Also, bump the memory voltage up a little to at least 2.6 volts if you're letting it use AUTO right now.

Nice power supply, that's one less worry

yeah its not software, definitely hardware as mechbgon stated. Try different RAM.

always on the ball, huh mech?

 

[mechBgon]

always on the ball, huh mech?

LOL, I've been practicing a bit

 

[liloutlaws]

i would've thought that was the case..only the original problem with my old cpu/mobo

1.8 p4
msi 845g

still rebooted with the old cpu/memory. i will try and upgrade the ram when i have the money...but that shouldn't be the case b/c of my reboots now and before i got the new cpu/mobo...unless the old ram is just really faulty b/c i did replace it w/ a new stick of the same ram on my old mobo..problem still persisted

 

[elecrzy]

your motherboard's just having trouble configuring your RAM... so as a start go into the BIOS and set the DRAM timing to SPD. if that doesn't work, you can go to the manufacter's website to look up the timing (2-3-3)? and just enter it in your BIOS. btw, your system will be better off with two DDR400 RAM sticks in dual channel mode whether 2x256 or 2x512.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: liloutlaws
i would've thought that was the case..only the original problem with my old cpu/mobo

1.8 p4
msi 845g

still rebooted with the old ram. i will try and upgrade the ram when i have the money...but that shouldn't be the cause of my reboots right now...unless the old ram is just really faulty b/c i did replace it w/ a new stick of the same ram on my old mobo..problem still persisted

Well, why not run Memtest86 to try to confirm/deny ram as the problem?

Fern

 

[liloutlaws]

Originally posted by: elecrzy
your motherboard's just having trouble configuring your RAM... so as a start go into the BIOS and set the DRAM timing to SPD. if that doesn't work, you can go to the manufacter's website to look up the timing (2-3-3)? and just enter it in your BIOS. btw, your system will be better off with two DDR400 RAM sticks in dual channel mode whether 2x256 or 2x512.

BIOS is already set to timing of SPD and right now its 2.5 - 3- 3

 

[liloutlaws]

Originally posted by: Fern

Originally posted by: liloutlaws
i would've thought that was the case..only the original problem with my old cpu/mobo

1.8 p4
msi 845g

still rebooted with the old ram. i will try and upgrade the ram when i have the money...but that shouldn't be the cause of my reboots right now...unless the old ram is just really faulty b/c i did replace it w/ a new stick of the same ram on my old mobo..problem still persisted

Well, why not run Memtest86 to try to confirm/deny ram as the problem?

Fern

Tried running memtest, but still reboots even while running memtest after like 5-7 hours of testing.

 

[w00t]

you have switched out all the parts?mobo?cpu?video card?ram try the pc3200 like they said.i am thinking this is somthing in the bios. o i got an idea i know this is a stupid question but it could be true "do you know how to reformat".you have to unplug your internet connection before you install xp if your dont you will get viruses,also you need virus protection and updates before you pluggin.did you do that?

 

[Matt155]

Plug your computer in a different circuit or get a UPS with avr.
Maybe your power drops enough once in a while so that your computers power supply don't
get enough juice and restarts.

 

[Jojo7]

Will the computer reboot itself while just sitting in the bios? Or you can try a windows 98 boot floppy. Let it boot up with the floppy and remove it. Let it sit at the command prompt for a while and see if it reboots.

If it does, I'd guess you got a bad mobo.

 

[liloutlaws]

if that is the case...then that means my old mobo, and the other 3 different kind of mobo i bought new and swapped all are bad... so i don't think that is the case

 

[liloutlaws]

Originally posted by: Matt155
Plug your computer in a different circuit or get a UPS with avr.
Maybe your power drops enough once in a while so that your computers power supply don't
get enough juice and restarts.

what is UPS and avr?
the power supply could be a thing..but has that happened to people before? I bought an Antec 550 to swap it with but it had the same problem...but the Antec did have a faulty 5 V b/c it was reporting it at 3.3 V

Also I don't think its related to any virus problem since I have reformatted both of my HD

 

[cyberknight]

so you have tried different mobos?

that would be my bet at the problem.

 

[Toro 45]

Originally posted by: liloutlaws
But it does load up with a message that says "Dram timing is too tightly so reload timing..." what does that mean?

Thats telling you your problem your ram can't handle the speed/timmings. Change it from SPD to manual or expert and loosen your timmings, try 3-3-3 or 3-4-4 or better yet try some 3200 like the others mentioned. I've seen spd and auto set my ram tighter than the ram is spec'd for and ram timmings that are to tight almost always cause a reboot.

 

[tk149]

Originally posted by: liloutlaws
what is UPS and avr?

Uninterruptible Power Supply
Automatic Voltage Regulation

Basically a "line conditioner" to ensure that your power supply is fed a steady current. It's possible you have "brownouts" occurring that cause the voltage to drop too far.

BTW, did you try switching electrical outlets or even trying outlets in a different room?

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: liloutlaws

Originally posted by: Fern
Well, why not run Memtest86 to try to confirm/deny ram as the problem?

Fern

Tried running memtest, but still reboots even while running memtest after like 5-7 hours of testing.

Well it's defintely not a corrupt OS install (although it may now be corrupted as well). The error message is trying to tell the ram timings are too tight. Either loosen them, or try other ram and clear the cmos (to see if the mobo will pick up the correct "SPD" timings.

Fern

 

[liloutlaws]

Originally posted by: tk149

Originally posted by: liloutlaws
what is UPS and avr?

Uninterruptible Power Supply
Automatic Voltage Regulation

Basically a "line conditioner" to ensure that your power supply is fed a steady current. It's possible you have "brownouts" occurring that cause the voltage to drop too far.

BTW, did you try switching electrical outlets or even trying outlets in a different room?

i did try different electrical outlets...i'll try loosening the ram as the previous guy said....but if that was the case then why did my original mobo/ram reboot...b/c it didn't have that message before

 

[liloutlaws]

Originally posted by: Toro 45

Originally posted by: liloutlaws
But it does load up with a message that says "Dram timing is too tightly so reload timing..." what does that mean?

Thats telling you your problem your ram can't handle the speed/timmings. Change it from SPD to manual or expert and loosen your timmings, try 3-3-3 or 3-4-4 or better yet try some 3200 like the others mentioned. I've seen spd and auto set my ram tighter than the ram is spec'd for and ram timmings that are to tight almost always cause a reboot.

sorry i'm a newb at setting ram stuff... is 3-3-3
CAS latency 3, RAS precharge 3 and RSA to CAS delay 3?