Computer keeps restarting!!!

TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
edited January 2005 in Hardware
I just got this system all set up, and now all it wants to do is load Windows 2000 to the desktop, go to black screen, reboot, and start over. I just watched it do it about 8 times in a row while working on my main computer.

It has:

Powmax case and "400 watt" power supply. I know Powmax is junk but that's what it has right now.

DFI / Elite AZ30-TL motherboard
Duron 1100 CPU
256 MB PC3200 memory
Windows 2000 Pro
A wide variety of antivirus software and codecs / media players.

And not much else.

After fixing the previous problem, which seemed to require pulling and reseating the CPU, I downloaded Folding 5.03 and got it started, and that's exactly when all the shutdowns and reboots started.

Is this power supply quitting under the load? It wouldn't surprise me.

Comments

  • TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    I tried running the computer off the power supply from another computer that has been folding good for 2 weeks now, and it still shuts down. :banghead:

    There's not much I haven't replaced yet, except the hard drive.

    When I was doing the initial installation of 2000, I got a hard drive error, but when I reloaded the installation it worked good.

    Anyone else think it may be a worn out hard drive? It's a 3 GB Maxtor from 1998.
  • rykoryko new york
    edited January 2005
    my initial reaction to random reboots/shutdowns is bad memory.........memtest+???

    then if RAM passes, it think it would be psu.....but you eliminated that. :scratch:

    caps on the motherboard??? are any of them bulging or leaking?
  • TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    Don't you need a floppy drive to run memtest? I don't have one.

    In the latest blue screens, I was also getting the error:

    IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

    No capacitors are bulging or leaking.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    You can burn an ISO.

    IRQL is heat or memory related; emphasis on memory.
  • TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    I'll try swapping memory sticks again later this evening.
  • rc1974rc1974 Grand Junction, CO
    edited January 2005
    the last time I used my knoppix 3.7 cd it had a memory testing program on it.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited January 2005
    Tim wrote:
    I'll try swapping memory sticks again later this evening.
    That is a good idea.

    The error could also mean that two devices are trying to access the same memory range simultaneously - guaranteed lockup city. If the memory swap doesn't do it, you might try blowing out device manager and give Windows a second shot at setting things up.
  • TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    I didn't know there a Knoppix 3.7 out. My version is 3.6.

    When setting up this operating system, the hard drive already had 98 semi-installed on it (it had been loaded, but had to go through all the setup stuff), so I did a clean install of 2000, then the motherboards' driver CD.

    Maybe I should reload it with XP Home. Then the drivers will be less of an issue.

    But I'll try the memory swap and memtest first.

    *** I HOUR LATER ***

    Couldn't get Roxio to burn an ISO image. Don't know what I did wrong. I'd need a detailed step-by-step to do it.

    I don't know how I managed to get my bootable CD of Knoppix 3.6 done, but I know I went through 3 CD's doing it.

    Does Knoppix 3.6 have a memory test in it? I looked through all the files but didn't find one. If it has one, what's the name?
  • TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    Well, it's not the memory stick. I took the single stick out of the computer and put it in my main desktop system by itself. The computer started and ran fine.

    I took the 2 sticks (all 3 are PC3200 256 MB) out of my main system and put them in the computer with the problems. One at a time, and then both sticks at once.

    As long as there was a stick on memory slot 1 it had problems, but with a memory stick only in slot 2 it worked okay in a 5 minute trial.

    Could the motherboard have a memory slot problem?

    I'll test it further later tonight.
  • rc1974rc1974 Grand Junction, CO
    edited January 2005
    I heard about knoppix and went to download it. It's been 3.7 since I downloaded it last month. I discovered the memtest program as one of it's boot options. 3.6 may have it as well.
  • TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    I put the original memory stick back in, but in slot #2. The computer sat there on the desktop for about an hour without being touched. I thought it was fixed. Silly me. When I went to hook up an internet connection and restart it, it started doing the same start / restart / restart thing over and over again.

    I think it's got to be the CPU. There's not much else that can be FUBARed at this point. :banghead:
  • TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    Now that we've determined that it's not the memory, today I tried swapping CPUs. I took the unlocked Barton 2500+ out of my main desktop system and put it in the computer that keeps giving me problems.

    And I took that 1100 Duron and put it in my main system.

    So far both are running fine, and the troublesome system is folding away.

    So what else could be wrong with this computer? It just doesn't like Durons or something?

    :scratch:
  • rc1974rc1974 Grand Junction, CO
    edited January 2005
    I don't see how the DFI AZ30-TL board could not like Durons, but like the Barton. That is strange. You would think that an older board would have more trouble with the faster processor.

    I checked DFI's website and the latest BIOS for the board is dated 8/8/03.

    I've always thought that the only difference between a Duron and a regular Athlon was the cache size.
  • TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
    edited January 2005
    I think I figured out the problem - corrupted BIOS. I'm starting a new topic, since it's a new problem.
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