Let's play, what the #$@# is wrong with my computer

[nitromullet]

Replacing the PSU with a different one to see if it solves the problem is about as 'sure-fire' as you can get at home. Didn't you just buy/build this rig? Do you have any sort of guarantee on the parts? If so, I would suggest returning/exchanging the PSU.

 

[Deinonych]

Originally posted by: Vinceisg0d
Is there any sure-fire way to figure out if its a PSU or not? I fucking hate how everything with computers is guessing. And if you don't have another piece to replace and test individuals, you're screwed.

Honestly if I had a better PSU to test it out I'd just be using it not this one anyway...

And the PSU is the last one,

PowerStream (SLI-Ready) OCZ520ADJSLI 520W: +3.3V(28A), +5V(40A), +12V(33A)

You could try a PSU Tester. The Frozen CPU tester has gotten good reviews.

 

[Vinceisg0d]

No, I didn't just get the comp. I got it a year ago or so. The problems been here since the start, just randomly once or twice and not very often so I shrugged it off like an idiot.

Today when I woke up and booted up, the fan was louder than shit and I was crashing constantly before the windows screen. I was like, fuck this game. I banged the top of my computer and the fan slowed down. Also, I haven't crashed since.

Trying the CPU Test now!

 

[Vinceisg0d]

8 Hours later no crash. Did I fix it by hitting it!?

 

[Raider1284]

Originally posted by: Vinceisg0d
8 Hours later no crash. Did I fix it by hitting it!?

A good beating solves everything

The only thing I can think of is your computer was overheating, which is what caused it to restart. When was the last time you dusted out the inside of your computer?

If you have alot of dust it will literally act like a blanket for your components, since the air from the fans can't cool down the metal. My friend's video card was overheating and crashing randomly, when I brought it out the entire heatsink was covered in a solid layer of dust. After blasting it off with compressed it he hasn't had a problem since. By banging on the computer you might have knocked off a bunch of dust therefore letting your components be cooled again.

Just a thought

EDIT: after reading the rest of the post, I have a new idea. As someone mentioned, your computer could be shorting out somewhere. There could be a loose wire/connection that shorts the computer every now and then. By banging on the computer you might have moved the connection so it cant short out anymore.

 

[Vinceisg0d]

I was thinking of that too Raider, the short thing. But the comp isnt being moved or touched when it crashes. That was actually what I was trying to do when I banged it, force a crash.

I cleaned it out recently as well. It didn't change the occurence of crashes.

 

[Vinceisg0d]

Well, a full day without a crash. bashing it fixed it. It's quieter than it's ever been and free of crashes. What the fuck did I do?

 

[gorobei]

not to jinx you, but it probably isn't fixed. But I wish you the best.

One possibility is maybe you had a TIN WHISKER
http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/background/index.htm

hopefully smacking the pc dislodged whatever short it was making.

 

[Aberforth]

you have oc'd your RAM beyond its boundries, set it to stock speed or buy a new one if it crashes again.

Edit: your RAM is wearing off.

 

[AdamK47]

Originally posted by: Vinceisg0d
Well, a full day without a crash. bashing it fixed it. It's quieter than it's ever been and free of crashes. What the fuck did I do?

You see, if you followed my suggestion here you would be on your way to a golden path of golden glory. Take that mofo apart and put it back together. You clearly have symptoms of what's known as disconjoining of the hardware.

 

[Vinceisg0d]

I'm guessing it's the PSU. Since that's what I hit. I didn't hit it too hard either so it really couldn't have moved or tapped anything anywhere but the PSU.

I'll keep you updated in the next couple of days. I know it's not perma-fixed, but compared to last week it is.

 

[Vinceisg0d]

Had to move it like, 3 feet, did it with the most care i possibly could.

After booting it up, it said the chipfan failed. I rebooted about 5 more times and finally it worked.

It's also louder than usual now.

No crashes yet though. And none since I hit it.

 

[kmmatney]

The best thing to do is to start swapping out parts with another computer and eliminate possible sources of the problem. I have 4 computers at home, which is very useful for testing things out.

I had a similar problem several years ago with an ASUS motherboard using the original nForce chipset. I upgraded my video card to an MSI 6600GT (from a Ti4200), and I would get weird graphical glitches and very erratic behavior - while sometimes it would work for a few days just fine. I tried several driver revisions, updated all Bioses, and RMAd my video card for a new one that had the same errors, amd re-installed windows several times. All parts worked perfectly when tested in another computer. My final fix was to swap my nice ASUS motherboard for my son's cheapo, but newer, Biostar. Everything worked fine with the Biostar, and my old Asus board runs like champ with my son's ATI 9200. For some reason, though, my Asus motherboard and 6600GT would just not work reliably with each other no matter what I tried.

 

[abast]

Power issue. Had one that would sometimes do the same thing. Very frustrating.