I'm trying to diagnose a friends computer so I came here because there are a lot of very knowledgeable people here that have provided me with help in the past. Anyways, his computer will randomly restart every 10 minutes or so and can be playing a game or just sitting idle. The computer was recently reformatted so their isn't a whole lot of software on the hdd. I also recently reseated the GPU fan/heatsink on his 7800gs which helped the temps out which are sitting right around 58 C. I checked the CPU temps and they are sitting at about 58 C also. There are no overclocks on the card so its not locking up because of that. Any other suggestions. I know that this can be a pretty vague subject to diagnose, but does anyone have any suggestions on where to start?
Random 10 Minute restarts
- Thread starter ryan29121
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I did not ask my friend exactly what he was doing on the computer. It was probably a mix of gaming and various non gaming activities. As for idle temps, they probably sit at around 54c. Anyways this is a recent problem and this temperature problem has been occurring since the computer was built roughly 8 years ago. Something else is causing this besides heat, or at least thats my best guess.
Take the side off, aim a household type fan into the guts and check temps while doing that.
I have a 3.6 P4 single core (one of the hottest ever made) and it runs about 42-46 idle depending on room temp.
If he has an Asus board, he should also check the Q-fan settings such that Q-fan is enabled and the target temp is the lowest available OR shut it off and listen to the roar.
I have a 3.6 P4 single core (one of the hottest ever made) and it runs about 42-46 idle depending on room temp.
If he has an Asus board, he should also check the Q-fan settings such that Q-fan is enabled and the target temp is the lowest available OR shut it off and listen to the roar.
Check the power connector on the HD
My son had a similar problem with his computer randomly reseting. I checked the SATA HD and discovered the power connector was conected in reverse. Connected it correctly and bingo, solved the problem.
My son had a similar problem with his computer randomly reseting. I checked the SATA HD and discovered the power connector was conected in reverse. Connected it correctly and bingo, solved the problem.
I had the same similar problem. Could be one of two possible problems, from my reboot experience. Either your power supply is crapping out on you or your cpu is overheating and shutting down to protect itself. about a month ago i took my side cover off for the first time in 3 years...cough hahahaha yea that long. the cpu cooling fan was so built up with dust, the fan wouldnt move haha. try using compressed air to clean off the components thoroughly. My power supply shot out on me 2 days ago. Replaced and installed for $80 and it runs like a champ... Other then my mysterious BsoD random messages. I think my DDR ram is shot.
gbhall
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This could be protective shut-down due to overheating, but the cause of the overheating could be 'capacitor plague', especially at that age. There was a period not long ago where capacitors were made in the millions with the wrong paste formula inside them.
here is a full description and useful pictures. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague It is altogether a very useful article. But note thre is no sensible solution.
here is a full description and useful pictures. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague It is altogether a very useful article. But note thre is no sensible solution.
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