Computer Rebooting/Turning Off. Really NEED HELP

[Snowhill]

Hey guys.... I really need help in this matter. I recently put together a computer.

Intel Core 2 Duo 6300
Corsair XMS2 512x2
WD 160 GB SATA HD
Asus P5B Deluxe MB
Asus GeForce 7600 GS 512 MB
PSU 430W

The computer was running fine until it ran into a strange problem. There are many symptoms but I think it stems out from one problem.

1) It will reboot itself and gets stuck in an endless rebooting loop. (It makes it to that "one beep" sound and keeps rebooting to that one beep)
2) When I hit the power button, it will power up and turns off before making it to the "one beep" sound. And it will attempt to power up again, only to get stuck in the loop of never making it to "one beep"
3) Sometimes, it will boot to windows. and it will reboot and go to either 1 or 2 above. The time to reboot varies. Sometimes, I can play hardcore 3D gaming for hours without problem. Sometimes, it will reboot after about 5 minutes of idleing.

I thoguht that it was either power supply or overheating. So I replaced the power supply with many different ones (including dual processor certified antec ones) but no help there. I don't think it's overheating as I can monitor my temperature and even after hours of hardcore 3D gaming, it doesn't go above 35 to 37 C. So I thought maybe it's because of other components, RAM or Graphics card, MB, etc. So I replaced everything and it worked... only to have the same exact problem. I ran virus check, and no virus. I did some research on the web and there were some articles saying that it could be the power from wall, namely power surges. And I was not using an UPS.

The thing is, after experiencing the above problem, if I unplug the computer and let it sit for a day or two, it will work fine for some time unitl it encounters the same problem. And I am beginning to suspect that it's the unreliable power or wiring in my apartment. Will buying a UPS help or is my compter sustained enough damage already? But the thing is it will boot giving sufficient time of rest...

Can a power surge screw up the electricity in MB that the capacitors and what not in the MB need time to discharge?? I am no electical engineer but is it possible? What is wrong with my comptuer??? PLEASE help!!!

 

[mc866]

I had some power issues even when plugged into a UPS system. I'm not plugged directly into one of these, maybe it could help your situation also.

http://apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm

 

[Paperdoc]

Try a couple of ideas.

1. Test your idea about unreliable power in your building. Take the computer somewhere else for a while - work, friend's house, whatever - and run it. If it behaves the same, you know to look in the box, not in the walls.

2. You could have a wierd software glitch in the OS. Get some bootable disk - a Linux CD of some sort, or just an old DOS boot floppy - and start from that. Just let it sit there, or do minimal things like asking for directories. See if it misbehaves when it is NOT running your normal (Windows??) OS.

3. You say if you unplug and don't use it for a while, then re-start the problem is gone for a while, then comes back. That REALLY sounds like a component that malfunctions when warm. If it is not in the PSU (you say changing that made no difference), then it would have to be another component in the system. This takes a systematic approach to investigate. First you have to remove (physically and electrically) everything not essential for the basics. Take it down to PSU, motherboard, keyboard, video card, monitor, CPU and its cooling ystem, ONE memory module, one hard drive. In fact, if you can rig it to boot from a floppy, you can even eliminate the HDD for a while. If you still have the problem then it must be in those componenets somewhere. If not, start putting things back in slowly and watch for it to start misbehaving.

This may not get you to the total solution, but it's a good start at investigating.

 

[Snowhill]

Thanks for the reply.

I tried isolating the components. Same thing with the bare miniums.... The weird thing is I took the computer to the professional shop which had a good power protection and AVR and computer runs fine. I ended up paying 30 bucks for nothing. The guy didn't find anythiong wrong with my system.

If it were overheating issue, why would my computer sometimes run fine for hours with intensive 3D gaming?

And I run windows xp updated.

I am wondering, rather than buying a UPS, maybe AVR (automatic voltage regulator, I know some UPS come with AVR) would help in this matter....

The funny thing is this has happened to 2 fresh computers....

 

[Jiggz]

There are quick portable outlet testers at hardware stores to find out if your house wiring outlet has problems. As for the overheating, ran the system with case open or better yet direct a fan into it.