Random Reboots - What's the Problem?

douceurdouceur
edited June 2004 in Hardware
I built a system about a month ago, and it had some problems soon after. I narrowed it down to a hard drive issue, RMA'd the drive, and have had no problems with the computer (w/ the new drive) until last Friday.

Basically, the system just restarts randomly sometimes. I've turned off Windows' Automatic Restart, and now 50% of the time it Blue Screens instead of restarts.

I've narrowed down the possible problems a little bit, but still have no real idea what it could be. Basically, I know that it's not the RAM (system restarts with new ram, plus MemTest86 ran for 5 hours and passed 15 times without errors), it's not the video card (system restarts with different video card), it's not the NIC (system restarts with NIC disabled and totally removed from system), and I don't believe it's heat (system has run prime95 for hours without restarting, only to restart an hour later while surfing the net).

So really, I'm just curious what else it could be. My only guesses are PSU and the mobo itself. If it's the PSU, I doubt not for a lack of power (it's 350w, and while that's nothing spectacular, it should be able to power what's in there). Any suggestions? I'm open to any and all suggestions, even if it's something I've already ruled out myself (I realize I may have overlooked something).

BTW, system specs are as follows:

Asus A7N8X-X
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton)
Stock HSF
350w Enermax PSU
512mb Crucial PC2100
Gigabyte Radeon 9200SE 128mb
Lite-On CD-R/DVD combo drive
D-Link DWL-G520 (Wireless NIC)
Western Digital WD800JB (80gb HD)

Newest drivers/bios for everything, not to mention all windows updates. Hopefully someone can shed some light on the situation. I have no idea where to go from here.

Comments

  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited May 2004
    what OS are you running. If you are running in XP/2k check the event logs and see if anything is listed.

    Also your random reboots. Does it just happen if you have your computer just sitting there doing nothing, or is it when you have X number of programs open, or only running a specific program. Does it only happen if you leave it sit for awhile then the screen saver kicks in.

    Are there any patterns at all that you can think of no matter how weird they may seem.
  • douceurdouceur
    edited May 2004
    Well, I'm running XP, and I have actually checked the event logs. Half the time it restarts it shows a 'System Error', which is category 102 and event 1003. It does seem to usually happen after a tcpip event, but like I said, I've tried removing the NIC from the system, and it still seems to restart. Is there something else I should possibly try relating to that?

    The system will restart at any time, yes. I don't really have to be doing anything, and no programs even have to be running. I can turn it on, leave for a couple hours, come back, and it will have restarted. Sometimes it takes ~6 hours to restart, and sometimes it happens after ~15 minutes. I can't personally find a pattern.

    Another thing I find weird is that I've turned off automatic restarts, and yet it still restarts around half the time. The half of the time I get a BSOD, but shouldn't that happen everytime if I turn off the automatic restarts? Is this significant?
  • HawkHawk Fla Icrontian
    edited May 2004
    #1. Try this- type into RUN regsvr32(space)ntdll.dll ...hit enter...see what happens.
    If you get a RegSvr32 box and It says "ntdll.dll was loaded, but the DllRegisterServer entry >point was not found. This file can not be registered." which is a DLL error, you need to #2. type sfc(space)/scannow into RUN..hit enter..have the CD handy.;)
    #3. Have you run chkdsk?
    #4 Defrag is your friend.
    Also, what sound card are you running? USB soundcards sometimes create problems.
    Depending on your setup, Soundblaster cards have been known to wreak havok on some unsuspecting folks.
    One more question-- Are you using hibernate on your pc?, because there is a problem with resuming from hibernation also. Here's the link on MS http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;831691.
  • douceurdouceur
    edited May 2004
    When I get home today, I'll be sure to try 1 & 2. I haven't run chkdsk. I'll do that, as well. I haven't defragged, either. I'll do that, too.

    I'm using the A7N8X-X's onboard sound. So that shouldn't be a problem. Like I said, I've got the all the newest drivers, including the Nforce drivers for the mobo. I'm not hibernating, as I don't really see the point for a desktop PC.

    Thanks for the reply. I'll try those things when I get home today. I'll post the results.
  • ChannelsurferChannelsurfer
    edited May 2004
    I know that you believe your psu is adequate, but as a test, unplu the power cable from the cd/dvd unit and see if you still have the reboot issue.
  • gtghmgtghm New
    edited May 2004
    Try increasing the voltages in your bios for both your CPU and memory.

    Insufficent voltage to either will cause this.

    I'd try bumping up it a few notches at a time and see if that does the trick...

    GL,
    "g"
  • douceurdouceur
    edited May 2004
    Well, yesterday I ran chkdsk and defragged the hard drive to no avail. I still haven't tried Hawk's 2nd suggestion, because I couldn't find my XP cd. I think I know where it is now, though, so I'll try that later today when I get to the computer.

    I unplugged the CD/DVD drive, and the system still rebooted, so I believe there is enough power. The volts appear to be alright, too.

    I will try bumping up the voltage a little bit too later on today.

    I'm beginning to think the mobo itself is bad. Would that make sense, though, since the computer ran fine for about a month?
  • gtghmgtghm New
    edited May 2004
    I won't say that its not your board, but in my experience random reboots are either the CPU voltage isn't high enough or the Dim voltage is to low.

    Its not a question of PSU really just settings in the BIOS to get the proper volts to all the parts on the board...

    I don't know what max voltage is on that board for that CPU but being ASUS I would imagine that there is a manual over ride in the BIOS that allows you to set the voltages for both the CPU and Dims seperately.

    Set the CPU voltage 3 clicks below the highest voltage setting and then bump the Dim voltage 3-4 from the lowest or one or two clicks above the middle number.

    Watch your temps though... One to 2 clicks above the middle voltage number shouln't cause over heat but its good to just watch it just in case.

    GL,
    "g"
  • douceurdouceur
    edited June 2004
    Sorry, haven't posted in a bit. I thought the problem had gone away, after I took everything apart and put it back together. It hadn't rebooted for a while, then it started again.

    I also ran sfc, which appears not to have helped, either.

    I will try bumping up the CPU and the Dim voltage later today, as well. I've noticed a strange behavior, though, in regular usage. If the computer has been sitting alone for a while, the CPU temp averages ~90 f. However, opening a browser and surfing the net brings the temps up to ~110 f. That seems like a rather large leap in temps for a CPU unintensive thing. I know the heatsink is only correctly and everything (I've got 2 other systems in the house running fine, both of which I installed the CPUs and heatsinks - one of them being the exact same processor), and I've used Ceramique as the thermal paste.

    Is there something that would cause this type of behavior? Because I don't know what it would be. Thanks.
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