Mysterious Reboots...Help!

[Ongaku]

Well, I got my lil rig all set up a month or so ago. My first Seagate Barracuda went to crap and I had to get a replacement.

But now, I'm getting mysterious random reboots. I unchecked "automatic restart" in startup and recovery to get a BSOD thinking it was Windows, but I don't get one when it reboots....

What's funny is, it'll work all day sometimes with no reboot, and then it will when I'm doing something as simple as posting on a forum.

I ruled out my RAM and HDD...so I was wondering if that's my PSU acting up? It's old, like 5 or so years I think, just a temporary hand-me-down until I purchase a new one. But, it's just ticking me off because I can't use my computer and I'm hogging up my boyfriend's computer ( I really can't complain though lol, it's real nice.)

I don't know if it could possibly be my motherboard. Everything is up to date with it and I don't think the computer would not make it to Windows if that was messed up.

I just want to rule out what is wrong...I have to get new motherboard and PSU anyways, but I want to see what I have to get first...and plus, it's driving me nuts! :banghead:

[PVTCaboose1337]

I would personally say:

-CPU overheating

or

-Ram is bad (do memtest)

or

-PSU is done (buy new one)

or

Reinstall windows, that will see what the problem really is.

[Ongaku]

CPU is not overheating, it's running on stock speed at normal temperature levels, I can't really remember but it was like around 32-36C.

RAM is fine, I did memtest for an hour and no errors...

I reinstalled Windows twice and I still get all this rebooting crap


I guess it is the PSU, it's an old Codegen 350W..have to use adapters for the SATA connections. It's just weird though cos it was working fine with the motherboard and an x800GTO just fine months ago...it's like 5 years old though.

[PVTCaboose1337]

Have you reinstalled windows recently?

[Ongaku]

Yeah....my first HDD died on me. I got a replacement earlier this month and reinstalled Windows on it. I unchecked automatic restart and it reboots without a BSOD.

[PVTCaboose1337]

Are you overclocking at all?

[Ongaku]

no overclocking at all...motherboard is a MSI K9MM-V AM2/AGP mobo...my boyfriend bought it a few years ago when he wanted a dual-core proc with his AGP card. Believe me, I looked through the BIOS many times to make sure I didn't have something on that wasn't supposed to be on.

[PVTCaboose1337]

I want to make sure the chipset is not overheating or something really stupid like that... maybe you should check. If you are SURE it is:

Not a bad Windows install
Not a bad HD
Not bad ram
No OCing

Then it has to be:
Hardware related

So that means either:
Mobo, CPU, GPU, or PSU.

[CrackerJack]

go into bios, and take a look at all temps.

[Ongaku]

yeah those are all fine...I looked in Everest and everything is at a normal running temperature.

the motherboard is fine, there are no popped caps or anything that looks fried or damaged. I have integrated video on the board...and it plays SNES games and N64 games and Morrowind just fine.

What could be a problem with the CPU? It's not overheating.

It's so annoying...last time it did it, I was on the elder scrolls forum helping someone out with technical issues in Oblivion, and it rebooted. It made it back to Windows and rebooted again....so I turned it off and it's been off since...I really think it's the PSU....well hopefully it is...

[CrackerJack]

if your sure it's not a heat issue, then my guess would be a bad/dying chipset. But what are the temps anyway.

[Ongaku]

Hmm well, the damn thing isn't plugged in and I really don't really want to go and plug it in...but from what I can remember...the CPU was at normal running temperatures...so was the HDD...I think the northbridge was at 40-45C

I'm so not used to this, I was stuck with an Inspiron 1100 laptop with a Pentium 4 2Ghz for 5 years...lol thing's still kicking too.

[sneekypeet]

Can I ask what the BSOD code is?...that may lead you on the right track by googling that 0x000....#.

[Ongaku]

i'm not getting any BSOD....

I really shouldn't be worrying so much, but it sucks...I get my own real computer for once and I have all these terrible problems. I just wanted some advice from you guys. My bf is very computer savvy and he said it's the PSU, but I just want a second opinion

[PVTCaboose1337]

If it is the mobo then that is no really a big deal. Might be time to get a new platform.

[Ongaku]

oh yeah of course...it's just a temporary mobo until I get one I want. I'm thinking on one of those Hybrid Crossfire or SLI boards...but I'm not sure because I might be getting the 7950GT that's in this computer.

I just really hope it isn't the motherboard because I was going to pass this down to my grandma for her new computer. We just got her a AGP card last year and we don't want it to go to waste and we want to save her a little bit of money...and not let a good motherboard go to waste. It's not all that special, but it works for her. All she wants to do is play The Sims and all these little 2D games she buys heh...I just want a computer that will play Oblivion on max settings and max resolution, which is nothing really these days but it's my favourite game...and really the only one I care about right now...

Well, I'll be able to rule it out when I get my new PSU in a few weeks....so I'm still computerless for awhile :( Well, atleast I get to play Oblivion and enjoy a 22" widescreen monitor when he's at work :P

Thanks for listening and helping out :)

[keakar]

i think you are thinking correct on the psu, it may be failing not due to heat but just getting weak at times causing reboots due to low voltage issues. if you know what you are doing you could open it up and look for enlarged or swollen capacitors or other signs of trouble.

from what you said it looks like you have eliminated all other possabilities. anything else like a mobo issue would get worse over time (you would think) and have some "pattern" to how it fails.

[WhiteLotus]

I had a very similar problem, the first thing i did was to clean out my PC every inch of it, including inside the PSU. That solved the problem for a bit but then it kept coming back, I therefore had to buy a new PSU and now everything is ticketyboo.
If you come from the UK i can find the thread and post the PSU that other people recommended me, one of them i got and have not looked back.

[Nitro-Max]

have you checked for a bad driver or run a reg cleaner?

[Ongaku]

I had a very similar problem, the first thing i did was to clean out my PC every inch of it, including inside the PSU. That solved the problem for a bit but then it kept coming back, I therefore had to buy a new PSU and now everything is ticketyboo.
If you come from the UK i can find the thread and post the PSU that other people recommended me, one of them i got and have not looked back.

yeah I did that, made sure all the cords were in tight and secure, etc. etc. and it still does that. Yeah, I don't know what I'm going to get yet, I'd like a modular PSU but I'm on a budget, I need atleast 500W...prolly gonna get this Antec one or maybe a Rosewill one, I'm not sure yet.

Nitro...yeah I did that already....same problems with new drivers and the older ones.

thanks for the input guys...shall update once I get new PSU :)

[Ongaku]

Bit of an update here:

BF believed that the RAM voltage was too low so he bumped it up to 2.0V and we ran memtest for a few hours with no errors. Decided to check if I got another bad HDD from Seagate and ran the long tests with Seatools and it passed all of them (thank you....phew)

But I ordered a new PSU...it'll be here Thursday :D

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182075

Rosewill Stallion 450W and what a deal :)