self-rebooting computer

[saddy]

my system is rebooting itself randomly.

considering it reboots even when i am in bios (and not adjusting any options at all), what could be the most likely problem? i suspect it's the PSU but i would like to hear more opinions before buying another PSU.

can the ram or cpu actually cause the computer to reboot even when i am at the bios screen?

 

[kirbymixmasta]

I'm not sure but if your ram isn't working I don't think your computer boots at all?

 

[alcoholbob]

It will reboot if the computer thinks your CPU is really hot. In most cases, it probably isn't (I've once changed the heatsink-fan --HSF -- on a Athlon XP setup...the average temp went up from 55C to 70C. The comp rebooted all the time...there should be some options in the BIOS to disable this (maybe checking ignore system temp will work). I just told the comp to ignore it...since I just upgraded from a 60mm Delta screamer to an 80mm, dual-blade fan with an air duct attached to remove the dead zone...I couldn't care WHAT the motherboard BIOS was reporting, I wasn't getting any artifacts in 3D tests or problems with Sysoft CPU tests).

 

[saddy]

my cpu is at normal temperature (50c) and the heat protection is set much higher than that.

about the ram, it is possible that it is working but yet a bit touchy?

still, i've tried setting everything to very conservative settings and it still reboots.

 

[stevty2889]

Well you can run memtest to test the ram. It's definatly a hardware problem if it's doing even while in BIOS. Could also be the PSU, slim chance it's a heat problem, but I wouldn't supsect that, as that would normaly shut it off rather than rebooting. Would help if we knew what hardware you have..

 

[saddy]

i'm running memtest now.

off the top of my head:

barton 2500+
soltek nforce2 SL-75FRN2 board
2 x 256 mb kingston valueram
soundblaster
geforcefx 5200
tdk dvd writer 1616DLN

that should be it. setting the cpu fsb to 100 mhz helps a bit, but it still doesn't the reboot thing, though not as quickly.

 

[saddy]

memtest is still running. surprisely, it hasn't rebooted by itself yet during the test.

 

[saddy]

the com rebooted during the test, but i don't know if it completed the test properly while i was away. does memtest stay put after the test is completed or does it reboot automatically?

 

[stevty2889]

memtest should keep going until you stop it yourself..if it rebooted during memtest 99% of the time that means you have a hardware problem..

 

[saddy]

i set the cpu fsb to 100 mhz and am running the clock multiplier at 18x to get to the default clock speed of 1800 mhz. the system reboots only once in quite a while. normally i run it at 9 x 200, but that has been causing the reboots.

does that rule out the cpu?

 

[saddy]

brought the ram to the local distributor for rma. they checked it on the spot (in front of me with memtest as well) and they found no problems.

my last few attempts at using the com saw it hang in windows. again, temperatures are normal. would this be the cpu or mobo?