This is extremely nagging - whats the deal?

C

CASTLECASCADE

New Member
Lemme try to explain my problem with as many details as I can. Hope someone can help me, out here.

Problem: My computer switches off (without any warning, error screen etc) from time to time. Sometimes, it takes several hours to do this; and at times it takes just minutes.

The most obvious problem, it seems to me could be with the power supply/ cooling system. I have checked the top of the case at the back. It gets very hot (but i can still touch it); i kinda thought that this is natural.

My power supply is EVEREST DR-B450E with a total output of 450W (216W on 18 A, if that is important). The fans on both the supply and the motherboard are working (yes, i have a fan on the board as well). There is 1 hard disk, 1 floppy drive, 1 cd drive, 1 dvd drive, an agp video card (geforce 6800 gs/xt), satellite card, audigy sound card installed.

The video card does take in a power cable. But the problem has nothing to do with it since I just installed the card two days ago. The card I had before didnt' need any extra power.

This shutting off problem has been going on for a month or so :(

I think 450W is very good. But I don't know anything about my cooling system; where it is located or what its condition is.


Any comments would be appreciated :)
 
Hi Maineack............first of all, thank you so much replying to my first thread on this forum :D

My motherboard is "MSI MS-6540 661FM Sis 661". The processor, as I said is Intel P4 3.0Ghz; but it is an assembled computer (not a brand name one).

Sorry; I made the mistake of posting 216W. It is actually 18A on 12V (and power on 12V line is 12 times 18 = 216).

Yes I have installed new memory (1gb ram) and new video card. But definitely, this problem began a month ago...and i have installed these items only 2 days ago.

In any case.......I think you might probabaly realize what the problem is when you see these pics (with my limited knowledge, i think things are wrong with this photos).

http://img245.imageshack.us/my.php?image=20950689hm8.jpg

After getting these stats from speedfan, I checked my power supply fan again. It IS rotating; but kinda slowly.........there is not much air coming out and the area is hot.

So please confirm if it the problem. And please do help me with how to correct this problem (maybe including replacing the fan!?).

Thankyou. And I all set to work with you, on the problem :)
 

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The 81C and 75C temps are totally bogus, or they are on motherboard's power circuitry that can handle such high temps. What I would do is to replace the power supply. Your 12v rail is way below spec, as is your 3.3. The -5V and -12V are also quite out of spec. This signals a power supply problem.
 
CASTLECASCADE said:
Hi Maineack............first of all, thank you so much replying to my first thread on this forum :D

My motherboard is "MSI MS-6540 661FM Sis 661". The processor, as I said is Intel P4 3.0Ghz; but it is an assembled computer (not a brand name one).

Sorry; I made the mistake of posting 216W. It is actually 18A on 12V (and power on 12V line is 12 times 18 = 216).

Yes I have installed new memory (1gb ram) and new video card. But definitely, this problem began a month ago...and i have installed these items only 2 days ago.

In any case.......I think you might probabaly realize what the problem is when you see these pics (with my limited knowledge, i think things are wrong with this photos).

20950689hm8.jpg


After getting these stats from speedfan, I checked my power supply fan again. It IS rotating; but kinda slowly.........there is not much air coming out and the area is hot.

So please confirm if it the problem. And please do help me with how to correct this problem (maybe including replacing the fan!?).

Thankyou. And I all set to work with you, on the problem :)
Click to expand...

Hmmm...those temps do look quite high, and could be a misread by Speedfan, as Chris said. To check for sure, go into BIOS, and there should be a page there that shows you current temps.

As for the PM you sent me (regarding FAN 1 speed=0), that isn't a misread by Speedfan. The computer thinks that the fan isn't rotating because it isn't connected to the motherboard. You see, there are two ways a fan can obtain power. The first is through the motherboard...when plugged in this way the computer can control the speed of it. Another way is plugging direct into a molex connector from the PSU, as is the case with your (and most) case fans. It bypasses the computer altogther, so the computer obviously thinks that it's not there/not spinning.

Also, while your computer is on, take off the side panel and make sure that the fan on your HSF (on your CPU) is spinning.

To sum up, if those temps reported by speedfan are indeed the actual temps, that would be your problem...that's way too hot. Your PSU might also be at fault, but if those temps are a misread by Speedfan, than those voltages might be as well....

Oh, and that processor isn't a P4, unless Speedfan is misreading it...Speedfan is showing that you have a dual-core processor....
 
ATX Spec calls for a 5% tolerance on the positive rails, so those are just within tolerance. Readings that low may indicate a PSU problem, although software readings shouldn't be considered 100% reliable. If you have a multimeter, it would be worthwhile confirming them.

Ignore the readings on the negative rails, the board will always read those incorrectly. The -5V rails isn't even present on a lot of modern PSUs.
 
Hi..........thank you....all of you guyz.

To update things.....

I went to the BIOS and got the actual stats (i don't think it is very different from the speedfan stats). Please check the photo. The only thing that is NOT in the photo is: "smart fan target temp = 50 degree celsius"

http://img402.imageshack.us/my.php?image=26197781xr3.jpg

And I also checked the CPU fan...which is rotating well.

Do you guys think that my SPEEDFAN stats are correct. If so, what exactly should I replace..........the fan, cooling system(?) or the whole power supply?

If I need to get a power supply would you please recommend one for me.

Thanks folks.
 
CASTLECASCADE said:
Hi..........thank you....all of you guyz.

To update things.....

I went to the BIOS and got the actual stats (i don't think it is very different from the speedfan stats). Please check the photo. The only thing that is NOT in the photo is: "smart fan target temp = 50 degree celsius"

http://img402.imageshack.us/my.php?image=26197781xr3.jpg

And I also checked the CPU fan...which is rotating well.

Do you guys think that my SPEEDFAN stats are correct. If so, what exactly should I replace..........the fan, cooling system(?) or the whole power supply?

If I need to get a power supply would you please recommend one for me.

Thanks folks.
Click to expand...

Your CPU is way too hot, and I'm almost 100% certain that that is what's causing the system restarts.

Are you using an aftermarket HSF? What thermal paste did you use (or did you just use the stock thermal pad)? What socket is your CPU?
 
ZALMAN Quiet CPU cooler is what says on the heatsink fan.

I removed the fan and the CPU says:
INTEL M C '03
PENTIUM R 4
3.00Ghz/1M/800
SL79L MALAY
Q413A619

T413B407
0833

Now.....until I read your posts, I didn't know what a thermal paste was. But now I know....and read a bit about applying it (artic silver etc).

But I have no idea about my computer's thermal paste. The guyz who assembled it must have pasted it (hopefully). In any case, for the past 3 years......I have never repasted it again.

Couple of photos too to show you the inside:
http://img410.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0004nh6.jpg
http://img440.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pict0005st9.jpg



Please give further advice. Thanks people.
 
totally forgot to add something.....

Now I cannot even log on to the computer.

The computer starts.........shows the black/white screen with system information (everything normal); then goes to "windows starting" screen (black with XP logo). Then the monitor says "switching off; check the cable connections". Tried with two monitors several times....same thing.

When I tried with the other monitor, the computer switched off at that point. At other times, only the monitor switched off. But all at the same XP logo screen :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
The last problem I mentioned...........I find that some people in this forum are having the same problem recently. I will deal it in another thread.

So ........ please do tell me..........

as I have posted the photos of processor chip etc.......

Should I buy a thermal paste and apply (how long will the layer last?)
OR
Should I change the heatsink or the powersupply?
 
Well, firstly, every time you remove the fan from the processor, you need to reapply the thermal paste. Had you removed the fan before? Also, maybe the picture is just bad, but it didn't look like there was anything on the processor (thermal paste)...was there anything on the part of the HSF that touches the processor?

To be clear, your PSU is almost certainly not the problem.
 
No buddy.......there is NOTHING on the processor. Not even a speck of thermal paste.

Now next thing to do:

1, Buy thermal paste (artic silver, maybe?)
2, Apply it on the processor (i will read some website instuctions to how to..)
3, Fit the fan again and switch ON the computer

Is that the way to go ?

(good to know PSU is prbly not bad)
 
I wanna shower my sincere appreciation and thanks to everyone who helped me in this thread and ESPECIALLY to COMPUTERMAINEACK.

A combination of two solutions solved my problem. One of it was removing the new video card (which needed power supply) and reinstalling my old one (which doesn't need extra power).

The other most important solution was APPLYING ARTIC SILVER 5. Before this thread, I never knew about something called the thermal paste.

Now my computer consistently shows the following stats:

http://img396.imageshack.us/my.php?image=heatrz4.jpg

.......which I know is good because now I can feel the computer case and it is not at all hot (unlike the case before). Also, ofcourse, the temps shown by speefan are way lower than it used to show.

Thanks again people.

Thanks again COMPUTERMAINEACK!!
 
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