Machine reboot?

[Valerion]

I'm gonna start the thread here, but I am not sure if it's hardware or software-related. Guess it could be either.

Sometimes my (fully updated) WinXP SP2 machine would just decide to reboot. No BSOD STOP error or similar occurs (had that a few times too, though). Like just now, I was busy opening some websites into tabs in Firefox when I noticed the mouse froze up completely. About 30 seconds later I was staring at the BIOS bootup screen.

Anyone have any suggestions for me to check?

[TigerTael]

I'm going to try and help out, work is really busy atm.

It could be a power supply problem. If certain components run out of power, your system will just reboot.

I've seen overclocked/overheating CPU's reboot without BSOD's.

It's quite normal for motherboards to beep (with the internal speaker) if the voltages are running out of spec. If you hear any of those, it may help isolate the problem.

Unfortunately, it's very difficult to determine the fault from the provided information.

Does the problem happen sporadically and randomly, or does it happen when you do CPU intensive or graphic intensive things? (I.E, Crysis, Games, etc...)

If it does, it could be a power or a heat problem...

If it does it whilst you're not even doing anything, that starts to broaden the range of the problem. It could be drivers... it could be the motherboard... Sound card... The list goes on...

[Valerion]

Thanks, Tiger. No need to rush, though, I was asking more for my own info and peace of mind.

I suppose the PSU could be the issue, but that will be hard to test. My CPU is not overclocked at all, in fact I used Cool&Quiet to bring the temperature down (mainly to see if I can reduce my electricity bill) to about 26 deg. C when idle. Didn't hear any MB beeps either.

This is very much a random event, as far as I can tell. I have seen this when I wake up in the mornings sometimes, and sometimes while doing intensive things like surfing the net. Once or twice in games, but those occurances are rare, as I don't play games a lot.

I am busy downloading memtest86 ATM, will give that a whirl and see how things turn out, maybe it's corrupted RAM.

I used to run this exact machine (with different HDDs) as my Linux server, and didn't see any crashes there that I can recall, but I may just have missed them as well.

[TigerTael]

Mmmm, memtest can help to reveal a few things.

Despite being called Memtest, when it finds a memory problem, there is a possibility that the NorthBridge is at fault. Granted, it's more likely a memory problem than that. Just a thought.

Linux is a lot more stable than windows, so even if the error was occuring, you probably didn't even see it. XD

I'm not sure which processor you're using or what motherboard.

A short in the wiring can also cause the PC to reboot (Internal wiring, such as molex connectors shorting. I've blown up a few PSU's before. Heh, no, not because of bad wiring...)

If this is a new installation of windows, upgrading to SP2 and installing the drivers from the manufacturers website can help. You probably know all of this, I'm just trying to achieve maximum helpfulness. XD

[Valerion]

Thanks for all your help

The machine is already SP2, and I made very sure it's up to date. There's a few minor updates like WMP 11 missing, but nothing that screams "stability" at me.

Specs:
AMD X2 5600+ CPU
GA-M55SLI-S4 Motherboard
2 x 1GB DDR2
Gigabyte 7300 GT
Seagate 120GB PATA
Seagate 200GB PATA
Seagate 250GB PATA
WD 500GB SATA

Yeah I know, not the most ideal gaming rig, but does the job for me *grins* I will go and disassemble it sometime (weekend, probably) and check all the connectors are properly seated, I didn't think of that.

[TigerTael]

Certain firewalls have conflicts with other software which can cause this.

ZoneAlarm is a big red flag. It might not be the source of the problem, but that software has gone down hill extremely fast.

I was also thinking that maybe if your in an area susceptible to it, you might want to check it out. That area what be prone to corrosion.

That's quite a few HDD's you have there. Try unplug a few and replicate the problem or test for a while. Maybe the PSU is slowly dying.

:3

[Valerion]

Yeah the PSU does sound likely. Don't have ZoneAlarm installed, using AVG right now. I will definitely clean out my connectors when I get a chance and check them, otherwise I will try to get a stronger PSU.

[Kad FoxWolf]

I'll just add my bit to the psu talk, there is one issue i had with my work computer that stood near a big power amp, each time that amp would start up or shut down the surge would trip the reset or shut down signal on the mother board. Check around if you don't have power supplies that could cause that near the case, if your willing to play around inside the case you could sheild the reset line with tin foil... (the simple way to sheild from spikes but not pretty)

Other then that, software could be too blame but the tiger covered that...

[TigerTael]

I'll just add my bit to the psu talk, there is one issue i had with my work computer that stood near a big power amp, each time that amp would start up or shut down the surge would trip the reset or shut down signal on the mother board. Check around if you don't have power supplies that could cause that near the case, if your willing to play around inside the case you could sheild the reset line with tin foil... (the simple way to sheild from spikes but not pretty)

Other then that, software could be too blame but the tiger covered that...

Where there are big amps around, surely there must be big speakers... >.>;

MAGNETIC FIELDS... RUN AWAY!

[TigerTael]

Any luck with Memtest?

[Valerion]

Finally had a chance to run memtest overnight (memtest86+ v2.01). When I woke up it was busy with pass 14. There was a single error listed on screen.

Test 8
Pass 4
Address: 0000017f1f4- (1.9MB)
Good: d4f8ab0e
Bad: d4f8af0e
Err bits: 00000400

The fact that it's only 1 error in 13 passes tells me it's not consistent enough to be bad RAM (I think). So possibly a Northbridge issue? Maybe it got hot or something due to fluctuations in heat during the night? I am tempted to blame this on hardware rather than software/drivers, though.

What do you think?

[TigerTael]

I agree with that conclusion. It doesn't sound like it's bad ram...

Overheating northbridge could cause that fluctuation... as well as an overheating CPU...

Most likely the northbridge. Check to see if the heatsink isn't blocked with dust. XD

Other than that, I dunno... try attach a small fan to the NB and see if the error happens again...

[szczurex]

I've been having a similiar problem since a few months...
Without any warning, the PC just reboots, and after that i get a message that windows recovered from a critical stability loss, plus the Send/Don't send window... (Happened in both Polish and English Windows)

I clean the PC constantly, so i'm not sure if it could be overheating.
I overclocked the CPU a few times... But it was happening before that.

The thing is Linux and OSX work without any reboots... Plus some apps were criticaly causing that reebot. (Sonic Adventure 1 ran for 5-10 minutes and then a restart).

Tried running memtest... no errors after one pass.

Might be a software+hardware problem.

[Red]

I've been having a similiar problem since a few months...
Without any warning, the PC just reboots, and after that i get a message that windows recovered from a critical stability loss, plus the Send/Don't send window... (Happened in both Polish and English Windows)

I clean the PC constantly, so i'm not sure if it could be overheating.
I overclocked the CPU a few times... But it was happening before that.

The thing is Linux and OSX work without any reboots... Plus some apps were criticaly causing that reebot. (Sonic Adventure 1 ran for 5-10 minutes and then a restart).

Tried running memtest... no errors after one pass.

Might be a software+hardware problem.

Have you tried to start from scratch by installing windows completely and then installing the softwares one by one until you come to one that actually causes your computer to crash? It would be slow, but might be a way to help you find the problem.

[szczurex]

Have you tried to start from scratch by installing windows completely and then installing the softwares one by one until you come to one that actually causes your computer to crash? It would be slow, but might be a way to help you find the problem.

It would be no use, because the PC can run without a reeboot even a week and sometimes it reboots twice a day. It's a random factor.

[Red]

Have you tried to start from scratch by installing windows completely and then installing the softwares one by one until you come to one that actually causes your computer to crash? It would be slow, but might be a way to help you find the problem.

It would be no use, because the PC can run without a reeboot even a week and sometimes it reboots twice a day. It's a random factor.

Then make a list of all the softwares that you use and then search on the internet with keywords to find out if they cause the computer to crash to reboot. It is a slow thing, but it *might* help.

[szczurex]

Have you tried to start from scratch by installing windows completely and then installing the softwares one by one until you come to one that actually causes your computer to crash? It would be slow, but might be a way to help you find the problem.

It would be no use, because the PC can run without a reeboot even a week and sometimes it reboots twice a day. It's a random factor.

Then make a list of all the softwares that you use and then search on the internet with keywords to find out if they cause the computer to crash to reboot. It is a slow thing, but it *might* help.

I don't think it'd help. I can leave the PC running at it might restart itself. Plus after the reboot, no program is reported faulty.

[Red]

I meant do a fualt finding search by listing all the processes on your computer and check it up on google seeing if anyone else has reported a similar problem.

[szczurex]

I meant do a fualt finding search by listing all the processes on your computer and check it up on google seeing if anyone else has reported a similar problem.

I'll just wait for the SP3 to come out, maybe that might fix it?

[Red]

I meant do a fualt finding search by listing all the processes on your computer and check it up on google seeing if anyone else has reported a similar problem.

I'll just wait for the SP3 to come out, maybe that might fix it?

SP3 is not as good as you think it is, it is only a large bundle of all the progressive updates and some small features along with it that helps people manage their networking more in large networked internal systems, but that is about it.