My PC problem...(Warning: A little long winded!)

[slicer15]

Alright. I have finally given up on it, and saving up for a new one. But I'll try one last shot. You see, the problem I have is that it reboots randomly. Or seems to. When I'm in the middle of something, or just forum-surfing and listening to music, it just gives up and restarts. The Event viewer doesn't log anything, and I've removed the tick in the box that says "restart if critical error occurs" or something similar. Now, I don't think its an overheating problem as it reboots when it is freshly turned on sometimes. It is not the RAM as I used memtest and it found no errors. I recently had to format my harddrive as it corrupted a core file when it rebooted. Since then I've had the blue screen three times when it rebooted.

Could it be the harddrive overheating? I'm only suggesting this as I had to connect this drive to another PC to back up my files, and after it had been on only 5 mins or so, it felt very warm. I also think it has something to do with the harddrive as when I use the PC at all, when loading it makes a funny clicking noise (don't panic!! it is NOT dying!! [img]smile.gif[/img] ). The clicking is a kind of stalling thing. Everything freezes for a second, then either carries on or reboots. It is really hard to explain the noise. But when I had it connected to the other comp it was making the same noises when it was transferring the files, albeit without rebooting as it was a slave. Oh, and the noises don't happen all the time. Only sometimes, like when loading a game or something big. Or small.

Could software have something to do with this?

My PC's stats are:
WinXP, 40GB HDD, 256MB RAM, 64MB GeForce Ti graphics card, DirectX 8.1 or above. Please ask if you need anymore. I always run Kazaa, but I'm pretty sure that can't be the source. I've had the problem since I got it, and my warranty has expired. *Sigh*. My own mistake. I switched from Windows 2000 to XP in the vain hope it would solve it. It didn't. Since I switched I've had to format it several more times due to permanent problems...

I really appreciate bearing with me and reading all of this. Must have been a pain, I'm sorry. I also really appreciate any help anyone can offer. Once again, thank you for reading.

PS: Oh, my friend's stepdad said it can't be overheating as a PC won't come back on after it shuts down cos of heat, but then my other friend said it can come back on! Can anyone verify whether the PC can come back on after it shuts down because of heat? Thanks again!

[ 07-23-2003, 09:12 PM: Message edited by: slicer15 ]

[SpiritWarrior]

Could be your video card also you know. I had a similiar problem with my old system, the video card would either freeze up the screen or reboot the whole system at random. It was due to a bad (damaged/burned out) AGP port.

[Night Stalker]

Either overheating or your powersupply is failing - possibly under supplied. With the hardware you mentioned you need at least a 350 W power supply.

[slicer15]

Is there any way to check what my PC's optimum power supply should be? And if it isn't right, how would I correct that, if possible?

And about it being my video card (I assume that is a graphics card, right? [img]tongue.gif[/img] ), is there any way to check that too? I guess I would have to find out what my motherboard and other hardware makes are, right?

Thanks for all the help!

EDIT: Oh, I'm going to bed now, so please forgive me if I don't reply in a while. Its 2am here! Way too late! I'll check thsi thread first thing in the morning! Thanks once again!

[ 07-23-2003, 09:59 PM: Message edited by: slicer15 ]

[Paladin2000]

Originally posted by slicer15: Is there any way to check what my PC's optimum power supply should be? And if it isn't right, how would I correct that, if possible?

Read this great guide from from of my favorite game site--FiringSquad

[Zero Alpha]

Originally posted by slicer15: Could it be the harddrive overheating?

It could be. thats not really a major issue unless your case isnt properly ventialted. it is ventilated, right?

Originally posted by slicer15: when loading it makes a funny clicking noise (don't panic!! it is NOT dying!! [img]smile.gif[/img] ). The clicking is a kind of stalling thing. Everything freezes for a second, then either carries on or reboots. It is really hard to explain the noise. But when I had it connected to the other comp it was making the same noises when it was transferring the files, albeit without rebooting as it was a slave. Oh, and the noises don't happen all the time. Only sometimes, like when loading a game or something big. Or small. Could software have something to do with this?

Youv'e got it. i hate to say it, but that sounds like a dead hardrive. and when i say 'sounds like', read 'is'. get yourself a shiney new one [img]smile.gif[/img] . and you are correct 'it is NOT dying', it is already dead

Originally posted by slicer15: My PC's stats are: WinXP, 40GB HDD, 256MB RAM, 64MB GeForce Ti graphics card, DirectX 8.1 or above. Please ask if you need anymore. I always run Kazaa, but I'm pretty sure that can't be the source. I've had the problem since I got it, and my warranty has expired. *Sigh*. My own mistake. I switched from Windows 2000 to XP in the vain hope it would solve it. It didn't. Since I switched I've had to format it several more times due to permanent problems...

I dont think XP is going to be your problem. what is your CPU? that would be useful, as the old AMD's run rather hot, a good Throughbred will run naitivly cooler. i would use Win98 on your machine anyway as XP takes 128mb of ram when idle anyway!

Originally posted by slicer15: I really appreciate bearing with me and reading all of this. Must have been a pain, I'm sorry. I also really appreciate any help anyone can offer. Once again, thank you for reading. PS: Oh, my friend's stepdad said it can't be overheating as a PC won't come back on after it shuts down cos of heat, but then my other friend said it can come back on! Can anyone verify whether the PC can come back on after it shuts down because of heat? Thanks again!

depends. most computers have a cut off temperature now, witch they will shut down if they get too hot so that they wont fry. it should be able to restart if it overheats, but you need to do something about it. the more times it runs hot, the shorter the life of the rest of the pc.

in summery: Replace your Hard Disk! i suggest trying someone elces working one in your machine for a while to test. and ill bet thats the problem anyway.

(edit for clarity)

[ 07-24-2003, 11:07 AM: Message edited by: Zero Alpha ]

[MILAMBER]

I'm a tech and I see this stuff every day. 9 times out of 10 when a pc reboots itself it is due to either a memory problem or a power supply problem. Usually it is memory. You are not overclocking are you?

[Felix The Assassin]

Since you didn't give us the year and brand of your puter, we all must guess it all. I'm thinking you are running a 3 year old low top end (D) company or the spotted, it looks like a milk cow on a box company. You have a 40GB HDD that reports 36.789 or some odd number under that OS, and it has a label on it. That label will either be, starts with and S and leads you think about water. Or starts with a Q and makes you think of an old TV show. Hard drives are cheap now days, go get a new one and keep on trucking.

[Sir Kenyth]

Originally posted by MILAMBER: I'm a tech and I see this stuff every day. 9 times out of 10 when a pc reboots itself it is due to either a memory problem or a power supply problem. Usually it is memory. You are not overclocking are you?

I concur. Bad memory is tricky.

Also, MAKE SURE YOUR CPU HEATSINK IS INSTALLED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!

It's very easy to put it on backward. The heat sink is cut (milled) out on the part that goes over the lever base side of the ZIF socket. If you put it on backward, you will get poor contact between the CPU and the heat sink. This will cause the CPU to cool poorly. Usually the on-board cache memory malfunctions from the heat first. Slowness, freeze-ups, weird memory errors and re-booting are the symptoms.

[Zero Alpha]

Originally posted by MILAMBER: I'm a tech and I see this stuff every day. 9 times out of 10 when a pc reboots itself it is due to either a memory problem or a power supply problem. Usually it is memory. You are not overclocking are you?

i thought this too, but with all the troubles he's obviously having with his hdd i suggest he deal with that first. (save money)