Power Issue

Chan · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 2:30 pm Post subject: Power Issue

Hi, my computer is randomly restarting after using any hardware heavy programs, (Half life, BF1942 and so on) and I have been doing research about it, and have tried windows ME, XP pro, 98 and 2k, and all have the same problem. I currently have a 250 watt power supply and was thinking if I should upgrade it to 300 or more.

Since I bought the computer I added-
2 RAM sticks (now i have 512 mb total)
1 aditional HD (120 gig, 150 gigs total)
1 Geforce4 440 MX (64 MB)
A Sound Blaster live 5.1
Surround sound speakers.

Any Help woul be appreciated.

-Chan

(Compaq 5wv280)
(900 mhz AMD athlon)
(CD, CDRW, and floppy drives.)
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<TVB>IdiotSavant · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 2:50 pm Post subject:

Before you look to hard at your pc, look at the power connection at the wall. I hate to admit it but I have been know to get excited in a game and kick the back of my desk area. Doing this I sometimes hit the power cord and the wall socket is old and loose and allows enough play to cause a reboot. I know I should fix this but my UPS died on me and I am to lazy to get another.

If you are not doing something stupid like this then maybe this will help. If not then post your pc specs please. Also, are you overclocking? Is all the ram the same specs? ie. all PC100 or all PC133? Are all your power connections inside the box firmly plugged in? Any loose connectors?

Lots could cause it and Yes, it could be a power supply issue.
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Thom Yorke Obliterator · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 2:52 pm Post subject:

I could be wrong, but your power supply looks to be below spec.

Not to scare you or anything, but my old Athlon 700 started doing the exact same thing. The problem gradually got worse, and I tried a zillion things to fix it (including a different power supply) with no luck. It eventually died completely. I slapped in a new mobo/cpu and that machine has been groovy ever since. Someone told me later that the original model of mobo was prone to heat management problems, and may have destroyed itself? Eh, who knows. It was out of warranty anyway.

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Ktulu · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 2:56 pm Post subject:

Hi Chan,

My experience with that situation has led to bad RAM 90% of the time.
If you have another PC, swap the RAM out and see what happens. Also if you have 2 or more sticks of RAM in that PC try removing 1 stick at a time to find the offending stick.

The other 5% of the time its been a power supple issue.
The last 5% has been motherboard related in which case you will need to replact the motherboard.

The Nanite · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 3:04 pm Post subject:

I agree with TYO, your power supply looks under speced. It's prolly the easiest, cheapest thing to replace as a start.
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Spanish Warpig · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 6:37 pm Post subject:

i would have to agree with power supply

Secret Squirrel 006 · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 6:50 pm Post subject:

i have windows xp, and that happens to me every once in awhile
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PondScm007 · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 7:34 pm Post subject:

MORE POWA! i have a 250w on the crappy gateway downstaris with a 800mhz amd k6-2 and its barely enough
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BR, yo

Chan · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 8:21 pm Post subject:

Just got a 300 watt supply, gona test it out.
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hoaxie · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 8:25 pm Post subject:

Make sure your memory is seated correctly also.

If it is not seated right it can have the same effect.

When you boot your puter or when you view your system info, does it register all your RAM? And... are you using DDRAM or SDRAM?
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The Nanite · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 8:26 pm Post subject:

hoaxie · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 10:45 pm Post subject:

I also know a bit about carpentry.

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sharkbyte · Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2003 12:55 pm Post subject:

One other thing to consider is heat.

CPU's have a fail-safe that shuts them down when they get too hot. (Because there is still power to the machine, they immediately reboot.)

I have had a couple of instances where my users have placed their machines near a heat source - radiator, say - and with the extra heat, the cooling fan can't keep up causing the CPU to overheat.

An easy test would be to remove the cover, and operate the machine. The extra air flow is generally enough to overcome the heat problem. (And it is free to test.)
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Chan · Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2003 6:33 pm Post subject:

hoaxie · Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2003 6:51 pm Post subject:

Did you make sure that your RAM is seated properly? If you are in doubt... Do what I suggested. Look at your system info. Also, you can pull it out and pop it back in to be sure. And... you have 2 sticks? Are they each 256? I need a little more information here.

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LONG LIVE THE 'VILLE!