Computer overheating - I've tried everything!

P

Parch

New Member
Computer: HP Pavilion Media Center m8120n TV pc
Specs

I'm working on a computer right now that I just can't figure out. It shuts down during operation - Either during prolonged high stress usage or just while surfing the web (Though the latter takes longer) - and will not start properly unless you leave it alone for half an hour. If you try to start it up before that, it gives you a BSOD with one of two error messages:

STOP:C000021a 0x00000000(0xc0000001 0x0010034c)
OR
0x0000008E(0xc0000005, 0x82E50B81, 0x8d4ddb08, 0x00000000)

Running a Speedfan check thing shows that the temp slowly crawls up to around 85 degrees in core 0 and core 3 and then it shuts off. I do not have much expertise in this area, but I have ascertained that the power supply works, the fans are spinning fantastically, and the heat sink is intact and doesn't look dusty (Though I do not have canned air to clean it with.) I have also put new thermal compound between the heat sink and the processor. The fans spin heavily (Around 3500-4000 RPM) about 10 minutes into operation and will not stop until you turn it off. I have tried everything I know of to do and have had no success. Please help!

Thanks!
 
Have you worked on anything inside the computer, ie. change parts or fiddled around with any of them?

My guess is that your heatsink may not be positioned correctly. It is either that or you have processes running in the background that it putting your cpu under a big load.
 
Yeah, I have. I work with computers a lot, but this is my first overheating issue. There aren't too many processes in the background, I try to keep it as clean as possible. And yeah, I've fiddled around a bit inside. Replaced the power supply just to be sure, removed heat sink and processor twice, put new thermal compound in, took a look at the fans.
 
Ok, here's a lits of things that I want to make sure first:

1. Make sure that the heatsink is properly installed (Just to make sure)

2. I'm assuming that since there is a lot of processes running, it might be a lot of unnecessary bloatware.

Can you tell me what kind of programs you are using, ie. anti-virus, any monitoring programs, spyware/malware programs, etc, etc.

The reason I ask is because a lot of the times they run bloatware processes that actually slow the computer down.

Oh yeah, and btw, what OS do you have?
 
OS is Vista Home Premium.

I use a variety of virus protection, mainly Spybot S&D, MalwareBytes, and Avast. There were a number of viruses on the computer when I got it, but I'm pretty sure I got them all with a boot scan.

As far as the heat sink.. I'm pretty certain it's installed correctly. At least, it was purchased with the heat sink on it that way. How would I tell it is installed incorrectly?
 
Oh right off the bat, i would recommend removing spybot because it slows the computer like crazy. Malwarebytes is you ideal choice for spyware/malware problems.

And the heatsink would be installed correctly if all the pins are sitting in their holes where they don't come out when slightly pulled on them. Its a bit harder with the plastic ones. I'm not sure what heatsink you have.

Also, if you could please go into system start up by going to start menu > run > msconfig > and under start up list what programs are listed.
 
Then yeah, the heat sink is installed correctly. Under MSConfig:

hpsysdrv (Hewlett-Packard thing)
KBD(Not sure what this is)
OsdMaestro
HD Audio Control Panel
AOL Service Libraries (Hey, give me a break, it's not my computer)
Windows Defender
RAID Event Monitor
NVIDIA Driver Helper Service
NVIDIA Compatible Windows 2000 Display driver
NVIDIA Media Center Library
Adobe Acrobat
Carbonite Setup Lite
Java(TM) Platform SE Auto Updater 2.0
SSDMonit Application
Avast! Antivirus
Microsoft Windows Operating System (This is listed 4 or 5 times)
CEEment (Hewlett-Packard thing)
AOL Instant Messenger

That's it. Thanks for all the help so far, by the way! :)
 
I would disable AOL Service Libraries, OSD, SSDMonit, AOL instant messenger

SSDmonit is a big one to disable.
 
I really don't think this is software related. There is something wrong with the cooling part of it, heatsink not on correctly, fan not running. We all know that HP don't have the best cooling. Is there actually a heatsink/fan on the cpu or is it ducted to a fan on the case?
 
It's an actual heat sink. It looks pretty clean, though I do not have any canned air to spray inside of it. I've inspected it and it doesn't look damaged in any way.
 
Stupid question but did you plug the fan back into the motherboard? When you turn on the pc, does it appear to work fine?
 
Yeah, everything works fine. Fans spin fine, good airflow. Everything is going in the right direction. I'd put in a third fan, but theres no space for it and I doubt it would work anyway.

I'm thinking the problem may be in the heat sink now.. I mean, those fans are powerful, and the heat is building up in the processor. If the fans are fine, the processor is fine, and the thermal compound is applied correctly, it's the only thing that could be damaged, right? Any thoughts?

Also, one last thing: When cleaning the thermal compound from the heat sink, I noticed a copper-looking circle on the bottom, where the thermal compound goes. I got it nice and shiny and compound-free with some alchohol, because it looked like it was supposed to be there. It WAS supposed to be there, right? :P
 
Hi Parch,

Sorry to hear that you are having overheating sisues with your Media Center desktop. I've checked our HP system and do not see alerts for overheating for this model. Do you mind posting an update?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top