Unexpected Restarts

[earthling30]

I've got a problem with a pc having unexpected restarts. I believe that it's hardware related because it will do it in the bios screen. I've swapped out the memory with a different brand and still the same results. I've pulled the modem and still the same. I've checked all the IDE cables, all are pushed in all the way. The CPU (Celoron 2.6 with retail fan, budget build) is staying in the low 40's.
Mother Board=Foxconn 650M02-G-6L
Power Supply=Powmax 230 micro ATX
HDD=Matrox 40 GB
CD-ROM=40X Aopen
I've googled my problem and didn't see anything similar to my problem other that software related. I've ran Memtest with no errors. If someone could help me out with this it would be greatly appreciated, I'm banging my head into a wall here. Thanks in advance.

 

[mechBgon]

I suggest trying a different power supply. PowMax has earned themselves a poor reputation in the power-supply department. If you want a respectable microATX unit... lessee here... how about a nice little Enermax?

 

[ronach]

If your sys has been running awhile without any faults until the restart problem, I would do a shotgun repair & maintenance.
1- Get yourself a can of air [dust remover] from the computer section of Walmart.
2- Take the covers off your sys, put the thin plastic tube that comes with your air can into the air outlet, then carefully blow all the dust off of your motherboard, vid brd, cpu fan and heatsink fins, pwr supply fan & interior of your pwr supply [ thru the slots of the PS], and generally all around the interior of your case. Do all this without stressing or damaging the computer cables.
3- Give your sys a good visual look see with a good light source, look for anything unusual.
4- If this was my sys I would replace all the ribbon cables, you can't tell a bad one by looking at it, I have recieved bad ones with a new motherboard, an intermittent cable will be eliminated by doing this.
5- Run your sys for awhile and note if your problem is fixed or not, if not, carefully note the conditions that cause the restart. If they are random, then you may consider upgrading your Pwr supply to a higher rating. If this is the case, purchase one that will do the job for your NEXT computer, so you won't have to buy another one later.
6- Consider including a UPS into your computer equipment, to protect your computer investment, if you have any pwr line problems a good UPS will go a long way to eliminating them.
7- If your restart is still evident, then you might consider doing an OS refresh, by installing your OS overtop of itself.
8- Think if you or anybody else has done any recent additions ,maintenance or movement to your sys that may have brought on your restarts, [ such as; your wife or GF took your sys to a lan-party in the back of a pick-up truck with no protection for vibration], don't laugh, people do this stuff who don't know how to treat delicate electronic equip, and end up with all kinds of problems as a result.
Off the cuff, without actually seeing your setup, the above are MY suggestions. good luck.

 

[earthling30]

thanks for the replies, I'll give them a try.

 

[Farmer]

Maybe backing down the RAM timings.

 

[earthling30]

Originally posted by: Farmer
Maybe backing down the RAM timings.

Thanks, I didn't mention it in my fisrt post, but that was one of the first things I tried after swapping out the memory.

I did the following last night before I went to bed:
1. Took everything apart including the CPU, heat sink and fan which included pulling the motherboard.
2. Used compressed air to make sure everything was dust free even though it appeared to have none.
3. Put everything back together with a new set of IDE ribbons as suggested by ronach.
4. Booted it up before going to bed.
5. It has been up and running for more than 8 hours with no restarts thus far (knock on wood).

I'll try to run everything under a load later such as launching and running programs, etc. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for your replies.

 

[nanaki333]

who knows, maybe your motherboard itself is bad. maybe the PSU. check your voltages in your BIOS to see if it's getting too much or not enough, or just enough power.

 

[earthling30]

Ran it for 24+ hours with no problems. Again, thanks for the replies.

 

[ronach]

Have a nice day.

 

[Slimline]

On a side note to anyone reading, I can attest to powmax power supplies being of terrible build quality!