so i’m chillin on the old pc (win 2k/xp 524k ram, 2,7ghz celeron processor) workin on my latest video projects, set everything up for me to go to bed and process lay down and hear the familiar beep of a reboot, wait a bit and try again, same thing. dual boot so i try in win xp, same thing. when i try to process the video to save as an avi the pc resets about 4 minutes after i set it up to convert.
i know taxing the processor can sometimes cause this behavior, or an improperly working cooling system, how would i check to see if those may be the culprit, or find out what is?
I’d check with the vendor of your computer or motherboard and see if they have software that monitors the status of the system. I have a computer with an Intel motherboard. Intel supplied software with the motherboard that monitors CPU temperature, power supply voltages, and fan speed. If it detects anything out of limits, it logs the problem and generates an alarm.
I assemble my own confusers, I really like MSI motherboards, they have utility software exactly as mks57 described for the Intel boards. I would take an aggressive approach, pop that box open, (unless there is a warranty violation involved) and blow the dust out. I have seen many heat sink/cpu fan assemblies entirely crusted over with dust. The power supply has a fan blowing air out the rear of the computer, sucking fresh air in the front. That makes your computer basically a small vacuum cleaner, sucking in every bit of dust available. Even in a clean environment, this can build up fast. This may or may not be your problem, but it is a quick, easy and cheap thing to try before spending any real painful cash. One rule of trouble-shooting is check/try the easy stuff first. Good luck!
Hijak: Is it OK to run my computer with one side panel off? (For cooling)
Will it have enough circulation to keep it cool?
My Intel motherboard alarm went off yesterday. I checked inside, it was fairly clean. I just left one side panel off and now it seems OK but I want to be sure.
My understanding is that removing the cover can interfere with airflow from the fans, and actually make the problem worse. However, I may have picked up with tidbit from an old boss of my who had some really strange opinions about certain things, so take it with a grain of salt unless someone else can confirm.
That’s correct. In a properly engineered system, the air flow is part of the design. Fan placement, the number/size of fans, baffles, etc. are use to ensure that all components are properly cooled. Removing a cover can disrupt the air flow inside the case, like dynamiting the bank of a levee. There are many systems that will overheat if operated with the case open. On the other hand, many PCs are assembled, not designed, so they may actually operate cooler with the case open.
The other problem is that an open case destroys the RF shielding integrity of the system, which can result in RF interference to other equipment, such as radios and television sets. It can also make the system vulnerable to RF interference from external sources.
Once it reboots, simply re-reboot and hit DEL to enter BIOS. In most cases you can see the CPU temp there somewhere. The temp of you graphic card is available by opening Dispaly in the control panel. Find the advanced button, and you will then find the temp somewhere, unless you have a MSI card (MSI has omitted the temp info in a lot of their cards).
Remember tough, that depending on what Motherboard you’re using you might just see the CPU temp at idle - not a great benchmark if you think 100% load is the problem.
Removing a side door is definently worth it in my computer (self assembled) - I bsaically have to on the hottest days of summer - then again I’ve so much stuff in there that airflow is not that good. (Extra HD’s, cables going everywhere, crammed full og expansion cards - it is a cooling nightmare )
well i got into the cmos and set it to an automatic shutdown at 60 celcius… dropped dead after opening 2 windows. got a new heat sink/fan popped it out and the processor yanked out with the sink… the contact grease was a SOLID mass on the top of t he processor and pins got bent… so alas looks like a new processor in the morning. as for dust… i take care of that every couple months with my dads air compressor.
Sorry about your bent pins. I built a new machine last year and had intermittent restart problems myself, and thought I might have a heat problem. Reapplied thermal paste to the CPU a couple of times, and considering it’s an FX-62 and (at the time) pretty expensive, it always made me a bit nervous.
After countless minidump analysis sessions and hours of messageboard reading, I pretty much had to give in and assume it was a dreaded memory problem (which is painful to troubleshoot.)
As it turns out, the BIOS on my motherboard had the memory timings all wrong when set to default. I consider myself pretty tech-savvy, but I have to admit that all of that memory timing stuff is Greek to me. I set them manually to Corsair’s recommendations and have had no problems since.
Replace the CPU fan when you replace the CPU. You may also wish to get some silver heatsink compound, instead of the white general purpose eletronics heat sink compound.
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