iPhone 3GS from AT&T. Free Shipping
Community Newsletter: Q&A: Help! My PC keeps rebooting every 10 to 20 minutes!
- 5/9/08 1:48 PM
It's the fan, man!
by PeninaD - 4/25/08 4:48 PM In reply to: Help! My PC keeps rebooting every 10 to 20 minutes! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
In any Athlon, cooling of the CPU is crucial.
Get the case open, carefully get the dust bunnies out of there, and if you can, upgrade your cooling solution ASAP. That means new thermal paste, larger and more efficient heat sink and fan, or you might consider a liquid cooling kit.
?? U mean P4
by Busboy2 - 4/25/08 7:10 PM In reply to: It's the fan, man! by PeninaDAthlon Runs soo cool...
NOT SHUTTING RIGHT DOWN?
by MAX764 - 5/7/08 2:00 AM In reply to: ?? U mean P4 by Busboy2I HAVE AND AM AN ANTHLON LOVER FROM WAY BACK...MAX MY COMPUTER WILL FREEZE ON ME AT ANY GIVEN TIME..IT COULD BE JUST AFTER I HAVE TURNED HER ON.. I CANNOT CONVERT A DVD BECAUSE WITHIN 3 TO 5 MINUTES OF IT SHE FREEZES UP SOLID...I FEEL I AM DOING HARM TO HER BY KICK STARTING HER...I JUST THOUGHT SINCE YOU ARE A BIG FAN OF ANTHLONS,MAYBE YOU COULD HELP ME OUT...OR ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE?
IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED...
THANK YOU
TENACITY
Computer rebooting constantly
by MajorHart - 4/25/08 4:48 PM In reply to: Help! My PC keeps rebooting every 10 to 20 minutes! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I had that problem a few years ago and after checking everything software and hardware related - I found out my cpu was overheating - the cpu fan was going off intermittently.
I replaced that and the problem was gone.
Good luck.
MajorHart majorhart@sbcglobal.net
Re: Reboot after 10 - 20 Mins
by Zouch - 4/25/08 4:52 PM In reply to: Help! My PC keeps rebooting every 10 to 20 minutes! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Santhsh,
Your problem could be many things, hardware, software or both. You've replaced the RAM (one of the usual suspects, reformatted your hard drive and presumably rebuilt your system, or did you reload from a backup?
You don't say what operating system you are using but I'll assume Windows XP. Are you getting an error message when it reboots? Some of them can be too quick to see if you still have Automatic recovery enabled. Worth turning it off while you are investigating the problem.
Start - Control Panel - System - Advanced - Start up and Recovery - Settings
Then Uncheck Automatic Restart
If it is a software error, instead of rebooting, it will give you a Blue Screen of Death (or maybe black) with the error message displayed.
You have checked the Event Log in Administrative Tools, I guess. These sort of errors often don't get logged because the machine is dead but sometimes, you can get a log entry after restart.
Since you replaced your RAM and have successfully reloaded (and therefore checked) your hard disk, the most likely hardware cause is overheating. Check that there is no build up of dust inside (POWER OFF, CABLE OUT OF WALL SOCKET!). Use compressed air and vacuum to clean it out - be careful not to touch anything if the vac. hose is metal tipped! Check all the fans are spinning freely.
One oddball you might want to check is the CMOS battery, if it isn't rechargable. A system I had would power up just fine, run for 5 minutes or so then reboot. Turned out the CMOS battery was failing and when it dropped below 2.9 v, the system rebooted.
Good luck!
reboot problem
by ramin rojaee - 5/3/08 4:25 AM In reply to: Re: Reboot after 10 - 20 Mins by ZouchI have had this this problem either,i searched very much so i could undrestand what the problem is.my Hard have had such BAD SECTORS that formatting could'nt help me.i changed my hard
restarting
by tedtks - 4/25/08 4:53 PM In reply to: Help! My PC keeps rebooting every 10 to 20 minutes! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
is probably caused by the cpu overheating.
check your fans. check that the cpu fan is plugged in and
working. clean the cooling blades on the cpu cooler and
make sure the connection between the blade unit and the
cpu is solid and even. you can verify this by looking at the
heat transfer goop that is between them - it should cover the
cpu evenly.
Computer issue
by mrobinsonjr - 4/25/08 4:57 PM In reply to: Help! My PC keeps rebooting every 10 to 20 minutes! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
i rebuild computers and work on them what i think based on the description of the problem it sounds like the power supply or motherboard is going out. i would try swapping out the power supply and see if that worked. if it did discard the old one. if it didn't then it is your motherboard that is the problem. be aware the motherboard is the most expensive part of the system.
An odd solution
by transfigure - 4/25/08 5:03 PM In reply to: Help! My PC keeps rebooting every 10 to 20 minutes! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have an Athlon 2600+ and I had the same problem. I went so far as to get a new everything. New power supply. New memory. New hard drive. New motherboard. New processor. The only things I did not change were the case and the DVD-RW drive. The problem did not get away until I got a new install disk of Microsoft Windows.
Possible Causes
by Acaykath - 4/25/08 5:03 PM In reply to: Help! My PC keeps rebooting every 10 to 20 minutes! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
There are a few things that could cause this.
The first and most common cause is malware, like the Sasser worm. Even if you reformatted, you could still have gotten it again from the same source that originally gave it to you. The best way to prevent this is to make sure windows is up to date and make sure you have a firewall. Every second Tuesday of a month, Microsoft releases a set of patches, including a 'Malicious Software Removal' tool that automatically scans and removes common worms, however, if you have a software firewall, even the one built into windows will stop this specific threat.
The second possibility is an insufficient power supply, however, assuming you bought a pre-built system and haven't made any major upgrades, the power supply should be sufficient.
The third possibility is inconsistent power. If your local power spikes and drops, even a little, it can disrupt the computer's function. The best solution for this would be to purchase an interruptible power supply, or UPS, which manages the flow of power, and will even keep you computer going during short power outages.
The fourth possibility is overheating. If your computer gets too hot, some of the connectors inside may disconnect due to the expansion. In this case, you will have to improve the airflow by upgrading the fans, or if it is in an enclosed area, move it out so that the heat does not get trapped. (This is the cause of the infamous 'red ring of death' on XBox 360s)
If it is an issue with power, then there may be an additional issue that arises from these forced reboots. You may start up one day and receive a 'critical system file cannot be found' or other similar error that renders your system unbootable. This is caused by the hard-drive head spraying random data onto the hard drive ad it is snapped back to its resting position, this can sometimes even scratch the hard drive's platter. If this happens, the drive will have to be reformatted, and if you want to retrieve any data off the drive, the only program that will render it bootable again is SpinRite from GRC which costs 80 dollars, so I would suggest making regular backups until the issue is resolved.
System rebooting every 20 minutes or so ....
by Watzman - 4/25/08 5:08 PM In reply to: Help! My PC keeps rebooting every 10 to 20 minutes! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This kind of problem cannot be definitively resolved by E-Mail based on a 100 word description, but we can take a stab a likely causes. While an engineering lab could invest tens of thousands of dollars in diagnostics and engineering services and pinpoint the exact problem, as an end user, you really are limited to a few diagnostics and then component testing by substitution. But here is how I would proceed:
00. I'm omitting software considerations, because what you have already done (reinstalling Windows clean) suggest that this is probably not a software problem. That's not QUITE good enough to rule out software issues 100.0%, but it's all I can do as far as responding to you request for assistance. However, before going further, definitely run "Windows Update" to install all OS patches, and get and install the latest drivers for all of your cards, especially your video and sound cards (or equivalent circuitry on the motherboard).
0. Before doing anything else, remove non-essential expansion cards, if you are overclocking anything STOP IT, and reset all BIOS parameters to their "default" values.
1. Test memory. TEST IT, DON'T JUST REPLACE IT (the "new" memory could be bad also). You need a good memory test program, either Memtest or Memtest-86 (two similar but now different programs that evolved from a common base). In your situation, run it overnight, and remove the media (disk ... floppy or CD) so that if the system does reboot, it does NOT continue running the memory test program and you know that it rebooted. This is one of the top causes of hardware problems and the easiest to test (note, however, a reboot during the running of the memory test where there had been no errors reported by the test does not specifically suggest a memory problem).
2. Check the power supply. Measure the voltages with a multimeter. Good readings don't tell you much, but a bad reading (more than 5% off nominal) suggests a power supply problem although most systems will work with a power supply that is 10% off.
3. The real problem is that you can't measure power supply transient response with any tools available to you. That is, the CPU might need a "surge" of over 20 amps but only for 1 nanosecond (billionth of a second). If the power supply can't supply that, the CPU crashes, which can take the form of a restart, but which may show up as just a locked up system also. There is no way for you to test transient response, so even if the voltages seem ok, consider buying or borrowing a known good replacement power supply, as this is one of the top 2 causes of the kind of problem you are having. DO NOT BUY A "CHEAP" POWER SUPPLY. Buy a brand name, high quality supply. You are going to have to spend at least 10 to 20 cents per watt. But a GOOD 350 watt supply will easily outperform a cheap 500 watt supply no matter what the rated requirements of your system. And to determine what you need, use a few different online power supply calculators (do a google search), average their results, then add 25%.
4. Double check the mounting of the CPU and heatsink. CPU overheating can cause restarts, which can be caused by improper heatsink mounting as well as dirt (dust) buildup around the heatsink & fan. Blow out the heatsink and fan with compressed air, but the real key is that the heatsink is properly mounted to the CPU with a properly applied "thermal solution" (may be either a heatsink compound or a "phase change pad"). Note, too much thermal compound is a problem also, the right amount is about 1 or 2 grains of rice, and that is about all. If you take the heatsink off, clean both the top of the CPU and the bottom of the heatsink completely with solvent to get them both smooth (DO NOT use an abrasive), the reapply new thermal compound. Thermal pads are one-time and should not be reused.
5. Now it's tough, because we are past all of the easy, cheap problems. CPUs rarely fail. Can't say never, but it's rare. The next most likely culprint is the motherboard, and obviously that is expensive and difficult to test, and you can really only do it by buying a new motherboard, which is tantamount to getting a new computer. Further, this will in some cases will require you to "reactivate" your software, which reactivation might be denied because in the software vendor's view, it IS a new system ..... an issue that goes way beyond the scope of this response. Unfortunately, if you have eliminated software, memory, the power supply, the CPU and it doesn't look like the video card or disk drive ..... well, there just isn't much left.
Hope this helps. This kind of problem can be very difficult to resolve and can take a LOT of time and effort, in part because even if you do fix it, or after every attempt to fix it, you may not really know if it's fixed for a significant period of use.
By the way, now I am going to get controversial here and come right out and say something that a lot of people think, not many will say, and some will disagree with vehemently: You have an AMD system, and people who value stability and reliability (and, at the moment, even performance) are better served by an Intel system. The issue isn't so much the CPUs, but chipsets and motherboards. Intel simply makes better chipsets (and, at the moment, I personally believe, CPUs also). Further, AMD systems generally are "cheaper" and more of the motherboards are made by "2nd tier" motherboard makers. Intel systems (and I mean systems with an Intel CPU ***AND*** an Intel chipset) ARE more expensive, but in my opinion (and that's all this is) they are simply more stable and more reliable. That said, I make this statement as a degreed engineer with over 40 years of computer experience (1967), a college instructor in Information Technology, A+ and Network+ certified and a holder of US patents on motherboard circuitry. Others are going to disagree, that's fine, this is all a bit controversial, I recognize that, but that is my view based on my experiences using, building, servicing and teaching computers for decades.
Regards,
Barry Watzman
Mr. Watzman, I disagree.
by Bill F. - 4/25/08 5:30 PM In reply to: System rebooting every 20 minutes or so .... by WatzmanI have an AMD K6-2 400 system that still works, if I was crazy enough to use it. And my XP2000 systems are fine (several children have them) and my Socket 939 3800+ single core all work just fine with those 'second tier' motherboards and chip sets. And I thrashed hard drives on more then a few of them. So I think your comments on AMD's procs and their MB suppliers is out of line. I can't tell you how many Intel computers I've had to fix for people I know. I did finally throw away my old Intel 486 system, but only after I proved you could run Windows 98 on it. I'd say that both manufacturers make good product. I agree that Intel seems to be a bit ahead on the power curve right now. But AMD's instruction sets have been superior for a long time. This is a hardware discussion and I only know of one serious hardware problem and that was on a top tier manufacturer and was a problem with leaking capacitors. Chipsets on the newest hardware sometimes need a few revisions to get it right both manufacturers. WE are all their beta testers.
You are certainly entitled to disagree ....
by Watzman - 4/25/08 8:37 PM In reply to: Mr. Watzman, I disagree. by Bill F.I was only stating my person opinion. But it's an opinion formed over decades and based on a LOT (truly a lot) of knowledge, formal eductation AND experience. Including years as an engineer and marketing manager in firms that make PCs, being a degreed Electrical Engineer and having industry certifications and a lot of experience.
Please note that I never said that no AMD systems are reliable, by any means, but in my opinion, no one makes CHIPSETS as good as Intel (the real issue here being chipsets, not CPUs). Additionally, because AMD systems TEND to be "lower cost systems" (ON AVERAGE), more of the motherboards that are used in them (not all of them, but more of them) are made by lower quality motherboard vendors. Sure Asus, Gigabyte and other "top tier" motherboard makers make AMD motherboards (with various chipsets), but a higher percentage of AMD systems are made by 2nd & 3rd tier manufacturers and are "low cost" systems.
And, while I largely am focusing on the quality of the chipsets for AMD systems (which are usually not made by either AMD or Intel, in general), and the quality of the motherboards (also not made by the CPU makers), the I also believe strongly that AMD has simply not had CPUs as good as Intel's since Intel came out with the "Core 2 Duo" line in August 2006.
A lot of this is bull, and you should know it.
by Bill F. - 5/3/08 5:26 AM In reply to: You are certainly entitled to disagree .... by WatzmanIntel had one of the worst chipsets ever back in the P3 days I seem to recall. I've had computers with VIA chipsets, Nforce chipsets, and now Radeon chip sets. I have never run into driver problems or all of the other nonsense spouted by people as those 'inferior' AMD chipsets. AMD makes their own now. I haven't personally worked on a computer or built one with the new AMD sets. But I don't expect a problem.
I'm not saying everything is perfect in this world, far from it. What I am saying is your condemnation of the AMD chipset side is completely off track.
The MB's I've used are FIC, ECS, Soyo, Shuttle. I'm sure some or all of these would be considered beneath your lofty standards. Not one of them has failed. Some of them will still run today if we wanted to run them. So either I've been lucky, or you've been wrong.
Intel is what's bull
by yetijones - 5/7/08 8:44 AM In reply to: A lot of this is bull, and you should know it. by Bill F.I completely disagree with Mr. Watzman; Intel, although has produced some extrodinary products, generally does not produce quality chipsets or boards. My computer is an AMD Athlon 64-bit 3500+ with 3 GB of RAM and an nVidia XFX 8600 GT 256MB graphics card, and I have not had one problem with it, besides the pesky ISUMP running randomly and using a large partition of memory (thus, I am in the middle of a program and it will suddenly lag, but the simple solution to this is just to end the process tree that ISUMP comes with, including agent.exe and a number of other smaller programs).
On the other hand, I have also had an Intel system, and the problems that arose with it were too great to fully evocate. However, the most annoying problem with the Intel was the as soon as I had bought it, the system lost a DLL link, and number of programs were unusuable from that point forward. Also, I noticed numerable error dialog boxes appear (mostly from Microsoft) but occasionally they were system errors.
AMD and Intel are both sound computer manufacturers and produce quality products, but some (AMD) produce better chipsets, boards, and other hardware than others (Intel...cough cough). Now let's turn the attention back to the orginal question, which was to solve the problem of the spontaneous rebooting of a computer.
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
