scalliano
Elite
Posts: 1095
Yup, that's me
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I dunno, it seems that every time I post on this forum these days it's to do with asking for help fixing my crap PC. Sigh. Well, here we go again:
Fresh back from resolving my RAM issues (thanks everyone BTW) just in time to receive my brand new AMD Sempron 2400+ CPU through the post I spent in total 3 hours getting the bloody heatsink on and got everything properly installed and marvelled at the inproved loading times on pretty much everything I ran.
Then, while I was playing Juiced the PC restarted after 10mins. Initially I though nothing of it (happens all the time with said game) and tested out a few other games. Each time the PC restarted itself within minutes of loading without so much as a BSoD to give me half an inkling of what was wrong. I tried unchecking "Automatic Restart" in the advanced settings in My Computer but this only had a temporary effect. I've also tried disabling the video shadowing in the BIOS and this gave a false impression of working up until about an hour ago. I've checked the temperature of my CPU numerous times and so far it hasn't broken 40C.
I could be wrong, but I was thinking that perhaps my old Mainboard is putting some sort of cap on the CPU temp which is perhaps too low for my new processor. Could this be the case, and, if so, is there any way to raise the bar? Any other suggestions would be much appreciated also. I really don't want to spend another 3+ hours refitting my old proc again.
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PSN ID: scalliano
The Arena knows no gender, colour or creed, only skill.
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shambler
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If there is, it'll be in the bios.
You could try a better, faster fan, mind.
My sons did this a lot, and when I took of the fan from the CPU, all the thermal paste had 'gone' and the CPU had over heated the heatsink so it was tarneshed, like the bottom of an old pan!
new paste did the trick, and getting the heatsink on exactly right.
it was an AMD2000+ BTW. ran well for about 4 months, then he built a new PC, and it is sat under his desk, but I'm told its still OK.
Try the BIOS, and check your paste and fan.
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Phoenix
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If this started when you added the new CPU, then I'd suspect the possibility of either a defective CPU, or else a voltage problem. Check your voltage levels, either in the BIOS or if your mainboard included a monitoring utility, check them with that too. Make sure they're within specification for the CPU. If your power supply is weak it can cause random reboots, BSOD's, or any number of odd behaviors. Make sure you don't have the heatsink touching any capacitors either, and make sure it's socketed correctly. Sempron/Athlojn 64 systems shouldn't have this problem, but it's good to double check anyway. Sometimes those thermal diodes on the mainboard aren't entirely accurate or reliable as well. Make sure the CPU is socketed all the way in, too, and that no pins are bent or weak and that you've used enough thermal compound between the CPU die and the heatsink.
Another thing, sometimes overlooked, is that you might have accidentally loosened a cable or interface card. Make sure everything's securely seated. A friend of mine has a problem with losing the modem, and it's because vibration likes to work the the card loose in the PCI slot and the port vanishes, and the computer gets unstable. Reseat the card and voila, problem solved.
Sometimes a BIOS flash is needed, and sometimes clearing the CMOS data can help with any bad settings that might be interfering with the system's stability. I'd also nose around google and see if this is some kind of known issue before tinkering in earnest. If it's only happening when running specific games, it may be a driver-related compatibility problem that's showing up with the new CPU, but wasn't obvious with the old one.
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Lopson
Elite
Posts: 1133
Still Going In Circles
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You could try to update the BIOS.
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scalliano
Elite
Posts: 1095
Yup, that's me
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Well, while the reboots have seemed to be indiscriminate for so far, I have noticed that they are happening more often with certain programs than with others (it happens more often with GTAIII than with San Andreas, for example, yet SA is by far the more demanding game).
The problem with checking the voltage is that I was all over the manual and there is nothing to state what it actually requires. Nor is there anything about recommended running temperatures, minimum power supplies ar anything else. Basically a diagram showing you how to put the thing in (which I knew already).
As for the thermal paste, is it possible to buy that stuff on its own? I ask in the event that I may need to remove everything and start over. Also, is it possible to use too much (please excuse me, this is the first time I've ever upgraded a CPU)?
One thing I am absolutely shit-scared of doing is updating my BIOS. The reason being that this old crate was second-hand when I originally got it and such an upgrade would be permanent. I'm afraid of messing the whole thing up completely.
Given everyone's responses so far, I'm most inclined to go down the power supply route, however without any guidance as to what voltage is needed I'm kind of screwed for the interim.
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PSN ID: scalliano
The Arena knows no gender, colour or creed, only skill.
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Lopson
Elite
Posts: 1133
Still Going In Circles
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You could also try to run a virus scan. It can be a virus that is causing all your problems...
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OoPpEe
Spectre
Posts: 42
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Power Supply have enough watts? ]LoRE[ had this problem when he got 1gb RAM (upping from 512), his computer would randomly restart. He had a 330 (I think) powersupply, then switched to a 480 watt and he no longer gets the random restarts.
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Phoenix
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Hmm... so it reboots more when it's running a resource intense application. That suggests it could be power supply, or temperature related, but any time it's a game you have to look at drivers as well. A lot of times a simple driver update can answer the question. If you update and it goes away, problem solved. If not, well, it's cheaper to update a video driver first before swapping power supplies around.
Yes, you can buy thermal paste separately. There's a great product called Arctic Silver 5, it's the best heat conductor paste around. Otherwise, white thermal paste is sold at just about any computer supply shop. It is possible to use too much of it, but more often than not it's too little that's the problem if you're overheating. You should at least be able to see some kind of temperature in the BIOS. Just record what it's running. We have your CPU spec, so I can let you know if it's too high once I have the temperature data. The best time to get a temperature is after the PC has been on for a while, so if you can check it from within Windows that's best, otherwise run the PC for a while, reboot and go into the BIOS and get the temperature then. If you do buy something like AS5, you must remove all the old paste off the CPU before applying a different kind of paste. I've found lens cleaning cloths work fantastic for this. Just get the kind like they use on camera lenses or rifle scopes. They're lint free and pull the putty off like nothing else.
It's also pretty easy to check the power supply's rating. Just open the case and jot down how many watts it is. Let me know your hardware specs beyond your CPU (graphics card, sound card, how many drives and what type, etc) and it'll at least give me an idea if you're underpowered.
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« Last Edit: 2005-08-01, 16:01 by Phoenix »
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scalliano
Elite
Posts: 1095
Yup, that's me
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Well, I ran a virus scan last night and my comp came up completely clean (odd in itself). My CPU's temp tends to hang around the 30-35C / 85-90F mark. This is after manually rebooting whenever the comp restarts as I haven't been quick enough on the draw with the delete key yet. Power supply and PC stats to follow. Also, this might be  but I've noticed that since installing the CPU the little red LED on my analogue joypad keeps flickering on and off. The analogue mode remains enabled, but on occasion the light goes off altogether. Could this be power-related? |
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PSN ID: scalliano
The Arena knows no gender, colour or creed, only skill.
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scalliano
Elite
Posts: 1095
Yup, that's me
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Thanks, Pho. I'll check that out later. My joypad is a USB, so I'm pretty much guessing here anyway.
So far everything's pointing towards a weak power unit. Here's the output specs verbatim from the sticker:
MAX POWER OUTPUT: 300W (+3,3V & +5V = 200W MAX)
My PC specs as they stand are as follows:
1.3GHz AMD Sempron 2400+ CPU
512MB RAM
Inno3D GeforceFX 5500 256MB 3D card
Matshita 4x (I think) DVD-ROM drive
Memorex 32x MAXX CD-RW drive
Maxtor 6L040J2 40GB master HDD
Samsung SP0802N 80GB slave HDD
FIC Mainboard AZ11EA motherboard
From what's been said, I'm thinking that a better PSU is the order of the day, but I'm still unsure of how much power the mainboard can take. This model is discontinued and details available on it are sketchy. That said this comp is only 3 years old.
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PSN ID: scalliano
The Arena knows no gender, colour or creed, only skill.
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Phoenix
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300 watts is underpowered. Even Athlon specs require a 350 Watt PSU minimum, and I wouldn't want to go below that with a Sempron, especially with two hard drives. You don't have to worry about the mainboard taking too much power. The mainboard only draws what it needs, and you really can't have "too much" power for a PC. The only thing really power-related that can harm the mainboard, besides a defect causing bad voltage from the power supply, is if you have a fan that's over wattage plugged directly into the mainboard. It's not a published spec, but most boards can't power a fan that draws more than 4 watts (0.3 amps) from the 3 pin connectors built into the main board. Some newer boards can run up to an 8 watt fan, but you have to check the manual to be sure. If in doubt, don't go over 4 watts. This applies only to fans powered directly from the main board. If you are running a fan from the power supply's 4 pin cables it's not a problem, even if there's a single yellow wire that connects to the 3 pin connector on the mainboard. That's only the tachometer line and is of no concern for power demands.
I'd recommend at least a 460 watt PSU for what you've got. The brands I favor are Enermax and Antec, but I don't know what's available where you are.
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scalliano
Elite
Posts: 1095
Yup, that's me
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That would explain why my floppy drive disappeared (not that I use it anyway)! I've had a quick scope around the net and a decent PSU appears to be cheaper than I first expected. I'm off work for a week over my bathday (sic) next month and the money I save in not going to work should cover the cost alone.  In the meantime, for gaming purposes I'll see if disabling my slave HD has any effect. On the topic of fan watttage, it does plug into the motherboard, but I'll need to keep digging on that score. I found the specs for the CPU itself and the temp turns out to be WELL within acceptable levels, but nothing on the fan yet. Thanks once again. I'll let you know in a few weeks if I get the problem sorted (it's worth noting that NOT ONCE did my computer reboot while playing Gen the other night, so I can be thankful for small mercies :rules: ). |
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PSN ID: scalliano
The Arena knows no gender, colour or creed, only skill.
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games keeper
Elite
Posts: 1375
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I'm also starting to think its your PSU , it would explain some things like why in some games the PC restarts and with others not .
because some games use more power from your CPU AND VGA card
its good possible that it doesnt crash that fast in San andreas sinds its more optimized then vice city .
making you use more power in Vice city .
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scalliano
Elite
Posts: 1095
Yup, that's me
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*touches wood*
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PSN ID: scalliano
The Arena knows no gender, colour or creed, only skill.
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scalliano
Elite
Posts: 1095
Yup, that's me
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PSN ID: scalliano
The Arena knows no gender, colour or creed, only skill.
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Tabun
Pixel Procrastinator
Team Member
Elite (3k+)
  
Posts: 3330
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In that list I'm not seeing ram-tests.. you probably already thoroughly checked the dimms, but just in case: are you sure it's not the RAM?
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| Tabun |
?Morituri Nolumus Mori? |
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games keeper
Elite
Posts: 1375
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on the motherboard , check your condensators , if there have no longer the from of cilinders ( they can stand thicker then usuall ) that means they are dried out or are just broke .
I know I had this problem since gigabyt used a bad type of condensators .
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scalliano
Elite
Posts: 1095
Yup, that's me
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I do have Memtest. I wanted to test the RAM, but without a floppy drive that's pretty much impossible.
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PSN ID: scalliano
The Arena knows no gender, colour or creed, only skill.
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