Random restarts when idle, but not when under load

[CarolinaKSU]

So yeah my subject pretty much says it all, my gaming rig keeps restarting randomly when I leave it alone overnight torrenting or just idling, yet I have yet to have it crash on me when gaming or browsing the internet or even when stressing the CPU using two instances of Orthos!

It will run nice and cool while being stressed for 9+ hours overnight, yet if I leave it alone for a couple hours just idling it will crash and restart and I will get a message upon loading back into windows that the system has recovered from a serious error.

I am stumped. :confused:

[PVTCaboose1337]

Are you sure it does not do a thermal shutdown?

[spud107]

eist/speedstep enabled? disable it or less oc,

[PVTCaboose1337]

Mebe?

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread1040.html

[Black Panther]

Does it crash only overnight? Particularly after 3 or 4 AM?

Could be windows update necessitating a reboot...

[erocker]

Perhaps there is a program that runs while your computer is idle that causes the crash?

[CarolinaKSU]

I am absolutely sure it is not a thermal shutdown. My temps at idle rarely get above 20c. Speedstep is disabled as well. And it doesnt only crash after 3 or 4 am, it will do it at anytime of the day if i leave it. Plus, I have configured windows update to allow me to manually choose and install updates that I need.

[thoughtdisorder]

Alright, don't be hatin, but I have to ask:

Have you double checked the power settings to make sure they have not been reset to "hibernate" or "shut down" perhaps by an update? I've actually heard of that happening.

[erocker]

Alright, don't be hatin, but I have to ask:

Have you double checked the power settings to make sure they have not been reset to "hibernate" or "shut down" perhaps by an update? I've actually heard of that happening.

Indeed! And are you using Vista? Many power options that need to be tweaked...

[CarolinaKSU]

Im on XP Pro and I have configured my power settings to run continuously. It is set to never hibernate or shut down or anything, I dont even tell my hard drive to spin down after X number of minutes.

Plus, I think if it was a timed hibernate it wouldnt restart all the way and come back to the windows login screen and then give me a serious error message upon logging back in.

[erocker]

How about a screen shot of the processes running in your Task Manager? :)

[KBD]

Do you have all your up-to-date chipset/mobo, video drivers. Sorry, i had to ask but that could be it.

[CarolinaKSU]

I am actually at work right this second, but one thought that crossed my mind was the possibility that my extremely full hard drive could be part of the problem? It is at 99% right now and I am waiting for my two Samsung F1's to come so I will be under a fresh install then anyway..

[erocker]

I am actually at work right this second, but one thought that crossed my mind was the possibility that my extremely full hard drive could be part of the problem? It is at 99% right now and I am waiting for my two Samsung F1's to come so I will be under a fresh install then anyway..

Whoa! Dingdingdingdingding!!! That IS your problem for sure!:toast: I'm suprised you only have problems while idling! Do you have indexing turned on?

[CarolinaKSU]

I am not sure if I have indexing turned on or not to tell you the truth.. I knew my hard drive was becoming an issue hence why I have already purchased two more, but I figured that a full drive usually leads to slower access times and load speeds, not random restarts. Even though it is full, I keep it defragged and relatively clean and organized.