Do I need a new Power Supply? HELP!

[Antz]

Hey guys recently my computer has been restarting out of the blue and it's becoming quite a nuisance! 🙁

I really have no clue what could be triggering the sudden restarts. They happen anytime from a couple mins after boot up to hours of being on.

At first I thought it was a virus controlling my computer (who knows?) but I used Norton Antivirus and found nothing.

But anyways here are my specs. I hope someone can give me insight on what to do!

Duron 850
MSI k7t Turbo
512MB RAM
60Gig WD HD
45Gig Maxtor HD
(SOON TO INSTALL)60Gig WD HD
Philips Acoustic Edge Sound Card
Geforce 2 GTS 32MB
network card
16x Lite on DVD Drive
12//10/32 Plextor CDRW

My current voltage reports seem quite stable....

Vcore = 1.50v
Voltage = 0.36v
5v = 4.98v
3.3v = 3.41v
12v = 12.20v

It is an Award 300W PSU and I've had it for about 8 months

I really have no idea whats wrong! Please help! Thanks to all that reply.

Anthony

 

[illusion88]

Could be a RAM problem. You probaly have 2 sticks of 256, try taking out one stick and then booting on one. Do it for both sticks. But explain the problem a bit more. Whats been going on? Any messages? What are you doding when it happens? Stressing the CPU? Writting alot to the HD? what?

 

[Dan]

It would be helpful to know which OS you're using but I doubt your power supply is the culprit. Most likely it's a power management issue.

First, check in your bios to make sure the power management options, i.e., ACPI, wake on LAN, power on by modem, power on by alarm, etc. are disabled. Second, be sure you are choosing "shut down" as your option when you turn off your machine.

 

[Nack]

I was going to guess the PS, but your +5V rail is pretty close to on-spec, so that probably isn't it. How high is that Duron overclocked?

Nack

 

[phlashphire]

Is this a newly built system? If not, how long has it been running? I'd go back and trace any newly added hardware and go from there.

 

[breathe]

I had the same problem, and I asked around on this forum and another one, and even in town. Everyone told me it shouldnt be the PSU, but it turned out it was the problem. Go buy one in town from a place that will allow you to return it...if that is the problem, keep it (or take it back and get one cheaper off the net), and if it doesn't fix it take it back and get your money.

 

[DeepSparklePupa]

If I bet money it was the PS, I would win 95% of the time. I had a similar problem with a similar set up. Completely random reboots (though, oddly, NEVER during Quake) that could happen during time while doing anything (opening email, surfing, etc). I'm the type that leaves the PC on 24/7, and I even noted reboots were occuring while the PC was idle. My PS was likely damaged during brownout conditions which occurred when my UPS ran it's battery down during a blackout.

I tried all the usual diagnostics, but in the end a new PS had me happy.

-DSP

 

[Jen]

i had a stick of memory that went bad on me ..........random rebooting

 

[redhatlinux]

Your Vcore seems low for a Duron 850?? is that the default, should be 1.6 to 1.65. Try upping the Vcore .

 

[Antz]

Hi again,

Just updates:

I do infact have 2 sticks of RAM
1 Generic 256 and 1 Kingston

.It would be helpful to know which OS you're using but I doubt your power supply is the culprit. Most likely it's a power management issue.

I am currently running Windows XP

But explain the problem a bit more. Whats been going on? Any messages? What are you doding when it happens? Stressing the CPU? Writting alot to the HD? what?

No messages just immediate restart, oddly it happens right at start up (when i havent even touched the computer) and also whenever I'm working on it so I'm guessing both. I'm not sure about the HD situation

How high is that Duron overclocked?

I don't have it OC its at 850 right now. I did have it up to 900 (changed voltage) during winter time.

Is this a newly built system? If not, how long has it been running? I'd go back and trace any newly added hardware and go from there.

I've had this computer since last August and I haven't added anything new since then.

Your Vcore seems low for a Duron 850?? is that the default, should be 1.6 to 1.65. Try upping the Vcore .

I lowered it to 1.5 because I thought my computer was running hot @42C avg no overclocking. I thought the computer was able to work on 1.5v?

THANKS TO ALL YOUR REPLIES! I really appreciate them keep them coming! Thanks all!

 

[Antz]

Just tested new ram...still restarts 🙁