Computer restarts at random

[Soapy Bones]

Sorry, I have been unable to reach this thread to update it, the problems have scaled way larger now than I had thought before.
Here is what happened

I downloaded MbM5 to check out the heat going on inside, after restarting the computer with this installed (required) everything seemed to go to hell. I was having problems with memory, i would try to open media player 10 and it would say that there was a low memory error (1 gig of PC 2100 ram shouldnt cause this)
The bigger problem was that I was seeing temperatures inside the case of about 86 degrees F and 158-160 degrees F for the CPU. After realizing this was bad news, I ended up taking it to an air compressor and completely cleaning out all of the dust from the heat sink and bringing it back. This helped tremendously and its now back to 120 -125 degree's F range. However, have I already done or could i have done damage to my processor.

I basically have limited access to anything on the computer, I can open internet explorer but i cant really use any java script or advanced programs on the web. I could see this thread but I could not actually reply to anything. I get memory errors from just about everything, and can't get anywhere at all. My task bar down at the bottom is empty, when i have a window open it does not show up down there. The only way to go back and forth is using Alt Tab to switch. I have run spyware checkers, anti virus on the boot sector, normal, just everything. There's nothing that was downloaded that is causing the problem. What else can I do?

I can read this thread but I cannot reply to it from home, so does this sound like it is a physical problem or is it worth while to try to reformat and clean everything out and try again. I'm up for just about anything and I can't get anything working.

Sorry for the long post but I'm at a computer lab at school and its my only chance to update this thread.
Thanks

 

[DreamerSpawn]

Too bad you didn't have a copy of XP WITHOUT SP2. I realize this may cause heated debate, but SP2 causes too many conflicts with programs that we may already be using and depending on. A service pack should NOT cripple or mess with ANY programs we can run. I DO NOT like it...just my opinion tho. You COULD get a copy of XP (WITHOUT any SP's) and try using your key. It should still work. To see what I mean, go here (Microsofts own site, listing only PART of the programs affected in a negative way). MS SP2 Problems List Site Link

Not that this has anything to do with your rebooting...but anything is possible.

Originally posted by: lather164
This is the 6th time in the past 6 weeks I had the original error message or some form of it coming up. This last time though, i wiped every hard drive completely clean and started fresh from the beginning with nothing at all. Put XP SP2 (direct from CD) on and then added all of my programs back on, freshly downloaded.

No UPS here, although it is through a Belkin PowerAuthority II model FSC140 (just a simple power strip with buttons activating each device basically, nothing fancy)

I had never seen an error message that i can recall relating to the system file being missing or corrupt until this january, when I did add the 5 gig hard drive, and the dvd burner to the system. The 2x256 ram chips are crucial, the proper model for my motherboard, and they are used from a seller in FS&FT, I trust they're in good shape.

 

[PoxMeister]

Have you tried swapping out the monitor and trying another one? I've seen faulty monitors be the cause of random reboots before. Just something to consider.

 

[Soapy Bones]

Ok, I reconnected other hard drive with 2nd install of XP.
Let me clarify some things: I have windows XP, not with SP2, its from about 2.5 years ago, its an OEM version i got with my computer (from micropro, builds custom computers).

On the most recent install that I have been using (the one with all the problems) i had installed XP, and then immediately installed SP2 via CDrom, before an internet connection was established. I updated drivers and then went about restoring my programs. Basically I had installed: Office XP Pro, adobe photoshop7, matlab, AIM, yahoo IM, mIRC, ares, and a handful of other random utilities.

I am hopeful to know whether running the CPU (AMD XP2100, 1.73 ghz) at temps of 150+ for who knows how long will actually do damage and if it did, how can I find this out. I now have some fans running inside that are keeping everything cool, however i uninstalled the motherboard testing utility i had because it seemed to complicate things, and have no actual knowledge of the temperatures.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: PoxMeister
Have you tried swapping out the monitor and trying another one? I've seen faulty monitors be the cause of random reboots before. Just something to consider.

 

[PoxMeister]

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU

Why are you confused? He said he's willing to try anything. This is a minor thing to be sure of before going to alot of other trouble. Albeit, the problem is probably something much more in-depth and elusive to find.

Hope you get it figured out soon lather, good luck.

 

[xbassman]

I am hopeful to know whether running the CPU (AMD XP2100, 1.73 ghz) at temps of 150+ for who knows how long will actually do damage and if it did, how can I find this out. I now have some fans running inside that are keeping everything cool, however i uninstalled the motherboard testing utility i had because it seemed to complicate things, and have no actual knowledge of the temperatures.

Well, if that is idle temp you are getting into the danger range. It also depends on which bios you have. When I was using that board different bioses gave varying temps. Eventually both board and processor died. It taught me a lot about how to cool a HOT running processor.

I would reinstall MBM5, Speedfan, or Asus Probe though. You want to keep a good eye on your temps. You don't have to run it all the time, just fire it up occasionally.

 

[Soapy Bones]

I will do that, I will try the asus probe though since its an asus motherboard. I'm going to add some better fans in the near future to help cool things down though, I dont know that is the problem.
I guess at this point I'm just going to do a low level format on all the drives and go from there, reinstalling OS once again and see where it takes me.



UPDATE

Ok, I downloaded and installed the Asus probe to run, it says my CPU temp is 134 degrees F and my motherboard temp is 96 degrees F

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU

Originally posted by: PoxMeister
Have you tried swapping out the monitor and trying another one? I've seen faulty monitors be the cause of random reboots before. Just something to consider.

Neat.. that's an odd one to be sure. It could theoretically happen - I've seen PnP CRTs with corrupted EDID data, and if the video card's driver tries to read that data and make sense of it, and then use it to perform internal freq/sync calculations to program the card, it could, in theory, cause a video-driver crash or a video card to go haywire. But I thought that the EDID stuff had some checksums too, so if the drivers are properly written, they should theoretically fall-back to some sort of "safe mode timing" or something to program the card with.

 

[xbassman]

Ok, I downloaded and installed the Asus probe to run, it says my CPU temp is 134 degrees F and my motherboard temp is 96 degrees F

For future reference, you should post temps in Celcius since that's what most of us use reguarding computer systems.

You board gives high temps readings to begin with, so that in context you are probably out of trouble for now. Since you are going to reformat and start over, I would go ahead and pull that generic power supply and put your TP430 in there. This will give you the oportunity to make sure you are getting proper airflow to all your components.

The only Palomino processor I still have access to is a 1600+ on an Asus A7V133. It runs about 29C sys and 42C proc (idle) Those are the best results that could be achieved with the case it resides in.

You might Google for a guide to cleaning up wiring or power supply sleeving. The whole idea is trying to give your case unrestricted airflow. If you take the time to make your case cooling more efficient, you can also run quieter fans without worries.

On another note, during my Palomino escapades, I quit using fan filters since most prople don't clean them often enough to maintain efficient cooling. The dust presented less of a problem than the filters did.

 

[Coquito]

I had this problem every now & then. For me, it was always the signal that I either needed a ups on the line, or my current ups was overloaded/needed a new battery(always adding more hardware). The power lines in this house are very old & unsteady. A strong uninteruptible power supply, with some sort of clean power filter, will keep a true, flat line of power provided. Spikes can damage your hardware, while sinks can cause disruptions. I've protected my pcs, & they've stayed crunching.

 

[Soapy Bones]

I think that I am going to do what the last 2 posters have suggested. I am going to do the full format on all drives, and I ordered some new case fans from newegg that seemed to get some solid reviews, because I definitely know I need one on the front to get better circulation.

In fact, the Antec power supply has all of the leads sleeved already, so that will be beneficial. I am going to go to the round IDE cables as well, because I feel like that will help the air flow as well. This thing has a total of nine drives in it, and with all those IDE cables, its quite a mess.

Do those fans that work in a 5 1/4 drive bay actually do any good, I was considering adding one of those in there as well, because it would blow directly towards my CPU and RAM chips. I will post some pictures in a few minutes to see if that helps anyone give me some better suggestions on cooling.
Thanks


The temps with the side panel off via asus probe are
54 C cpu and 34 C motherboard

When I put the side panel on it will jump all the way up to the almost 60 range easily.

 

[xbassman]

When I put the side panel on it will jump all the way up to the almost 60 range easily.

Yep, your cooling can be much improved.
After many case mods, My personal box heats up when I remove the side panel.

I wouldn't waste you money on those bay coolers. They use 40mm fans that are inefficient and loud.

It is probably time to take your questions to cases and cooling, since that is the direction that this led.

 

[Rock Hydra]

I've had this problem with a friend:
Before you go replacing your RAM, try this. Pop the RAM out and take canned air (better than most air compressers because most also blow out tiny droplets of oil that lubricates parts inside). If you have no other option, I guess you could use the compressor. Anyway, blow out the RAM sockets good. My friend had a piece of dust partially wedged into the slot somehow and it made contact wiht one of the leads and caused a buttload of memory errors. He tried reformatting and he wasn't able to copy it to memory because of just a little piece of dust.

 

[Soapy Bones]

Thanks for your advice everyone. Thus far I dont know that I have solved the problem as to what is actually starting the problem which I had originally. I will begin with the cooling section post, but I'm still at a loss to know what actually started the problem.

As far as I can tell, I've done just about every test that there is.... is this something that is just subject to happen?

Thanks again everyone.