Computer just restarts.. what the hell?

[ob1]

yep, everynow and again my computer just shuts down and restarts itself? It happens mostly when playing games, but now it is happening with XSI.
I run 2 P3's 933mhz and quadro 2 pro under windows 2000.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? please let me know as I am starting to feel suicidal..

[senshi]

it's most likely a power supply issue

there isn't enough power to keep the computer running when the Graphics card is being used to it's fullest extent, such as when playing games or using it in 3D apps

can anyone think of a better cause?

[ob1]

That's what I thought!
so I bought myself an enermax 430w powersupply, but that did nothing, it's still restarting ??
crazy huh?

[juan-sanchez]

Have you checked the Amp-age aswell as the Wattage of the PS ?
we had a 350W PS recently that was 1/2 an Amp down on the recommended rating for the mobo...it seemed to be part cause of a problem we had getting the machine up & running.

[gmask]

Could it be getting too hot?

[ob1]

Hi, How do I check the amp-age?

[ob1]

Hello gmask, both my cpus run at 85, I have disabled all the overheating bios stuff,
is this too hot? and would it shut down even if all they bios stuff is disabled??

[gmask]

... Well I guess you'd have to look a the specs on the rpoc to see what the normal operating temperature is.

If it does go over that temmperature.. what do you think would happen? The cpu is either goign to have errors and shutting down is one of them.. never working again is another. Anyway I was testing a used proc I had gotten but didn't have a fan for it yet.. the computer would restart shortly after booting .. worked fine once I got a fan on it.

[juan-sanchez]

85 sounds a little hot to me,...that is Degrees C yeah ?
you could fry an egg on that (I've a bookmark somewhere to a site documenting the process if you're interested )

I only ever get up to 60 with a real heavy session,...but have a lot of fans on the machine as I'm a little paranoid.

To rule out the Ampage cause though, check the mobo's spec in the documentation, or on the Manuf's web site & compare this to the info on the little sticker that's on your PS (usually on the side you see when your case is opened) which should by rights display Voltage, Wattage & Ampage info.

[hell-raiser]

I have this problem when I use Photoshop. Only when I'm working with a HUGE image with lots of layers.

From researching and swapping out almost every component in my machine I've narrowed it down to the motherboard and memory. It's either a motherboard error or motherboard/RAM conflict.

I'm not sure if this is your problem or not, but it sounds similar. Does it happen consistantly while working on the same file?

You may want to take out a stick of RAM or swap them around. There is a machine at work that does't like more than 512 megs, but only crashes with Fusion.

dave

[ob1]

yeah degrees C, Im interested your bookmark, could you post it? thanks,

[juan-sanchez]

Right, I've found it

http://www.handyscripts.co.uk/trubador\_egg.htm
<<<
This just shows how radical our UK scene is
A quote from the site, from the egg fryer's mouth is....
"I wanted people to think "Cool, Thats er, wierd" "
I think he's achieved his aims : )

FYI (ie. all the US citizens around here)
The margarine/spread used in the final project is 'Flora light', a reduced fat sunflower oil based product that can be used "for spreading, frying & baking"; the Harvestime is a not so healthy "medium sliced family white loaf" & HP sauce is THE best condiment for potato chips (British-style thick cut potato strips/fries)...and not bad on egg sarnies too : )

[ob1]

heh heh, thats funny,

[juan-sanchez]

Yeah, it made me chuckle a little...
more to the point though, is the re-start trouble sorted yet ?