An annoying comp problem...

[Sum1]

Originally Posted by kukmuk

Do you have an ATI video card? I have had this exact problem (video dies randomly, no choice but to reboot) before, but ONLY with ATI cards. If that is the case you might try a different catalyst version from their website (latest version if you aren't already running it, or read the version changes and see if any affect your setup and revert back to that version). To try shutting down your pc without video you can use this sequence:

1) Windows key + r
3) Enter "cmd" wait a second, press enter
4) Enter "shutdown -r -t 1 -f"
[shutdown (restart) (time = 1 second) (force)]
5) You should hear the shutdown "ding" if its Vista, or shutdown music if XP

If this is the case that eliminates the PSU (unless you run a Video card with a 6 or 8 pin direct connection). A passively powered card shouldn't have any problems if your computer is still running fine (i.e. able to be shutdown without video).

A few things to check:
1) Set ACPI to S3 suspend in bios, if you are suspending this will cause your fans to shut off
2) Video drivers (especially if ATI)
3) Set up a network share (or admin share if you have the ability) and try to browse the box after the blackout problem
4) Ping the box after the blackout problem to see if the NIC responds, this means there is at least power to the motherboard

EDIT - Dell PSU's are sometimes a pain to replace, I have only had 1 Dell and it was given to me with a missing PSU. I ended up throwing away a perfectly good P4 because I was not able to get a PSU or adapter that would create the necessary 24 pin + 4 pin Dell special adapter the motherboard took (granted this was an older Dell machine, they may have cleaned up their act nowadays).

haha... damn. I wish I had seen this before I ripped the PSU out. Going to head to try to pick up another one this morning and, if I'm unsuccessful, I'll throw it back in and see if this is the issue. I believe I DO have an ATI vid card.

What makes me think that it's not the vid card is what happens when it "randomly shuts off." Video goes, but the underlying system shuts partially down too. My toon in EQ, if I had one one in on that comp, will be uncontrollable and LD... I can't ctrl+alt+del to close down, etc, etc. Still worth a shot though if I have an issue finding a PSU to fit the dell box.

[dulak]

I'm running an ATI card and have always used them and never had an issue with them. More than likely it's the PSU dying. I got lucky with my old case, bought it on ebay for 10 bucks and it came with a 550w PSU that has the optional 4-pin connector for those retarded 24-pin things. I've had it for about 2 years and it's working fine for me. I got a good case and an uber PSU for 10 bucks + 30 for shipping due to weight. I would highly suggest changing the psu out or better yet, just hit ebay up for a case. Most come with a PSU. The seller of my case was xpcase. I had no issues with them at all.

[Sum1]

Bought a new PSU... tried installing it and the comp won't boot (or at least video won't). I'm hoping to trouble shoot it right now... we'll see.

*edit*

New psu is having the same issues as old one. Additionally, it's not heat because the computer has been off, unplugged, with psu out for an entire day and refuses to boot. Power comes on, I can hear the whir of a fan or something, and that's it. It doesn't boot.

*edit while editing*

Ok, I hit the power button enough times and it booted. Seems to be operating normally for the moment. I'm going to restart it and see if I have the same issue with that that I nornally would. Ok, if I try to restart it still won't reboot. This is all with the new PSU installed.

Mother fucker this is pissing me off.

[hankdean]

how olds ur harddrive....at thispoint its really sounding like hardrive....ur getting enough power...ur videocards fine...not over heating...sooo all that i c thats left is harddrive/motherboard. UNLESS. you have alternate "energy saving" settings that may be causing the "sleep" mode or whatever....no clue..now u got me wonderin lol...

[Sum1]

Sleep/energy saving modes are disabled. I use this comp as my trader sometimes, so I don't like it when it goes to sleep and EQ disconnects.

To add insult to injury (and further compound my confusion), I just got home and tried to fire the old girl up... sure enough first try she boots solid. I'm running a disk clean-up and defrag right now, and while I'm aware that it won't fix my problem, at least it's something to do.

I had another friend suggest that before I do anything else I disconnect every single wire from my motherboard and all components and try reconnecting them. He thinks that there might be a cable or wire loose (I tried it, but going to do it again for him). After that if it didn't work he said I should be looking to buy a replacement bios chip for my motherboard to try.

Hello, mr. square one! I'm back!

By the way... I want to thank everyone who's tried to help me thus far. I absolutely appreciate all the time and thought you've put in to hopefully steer me in the right direction (eventually!).

[JimJohnson]

for the cost of a new chip and installing it you might as well buy a new motherboard

[Sum1]

Originally Posted by JimJohnson

for the cost of a new chip and installing it you might as well buy a new motherboard

Ah, he led me to believe that replacing the bios chip was a cheap fix. I mentioned the same thing to him concerning the purchasing of a new motherboard and he said to try this first.... *shrug*

I've seen some great deals for 4gb RAM, duo/quad core comps from the local Best Buy and the military malls around here lately... most of which include flat screen monitors and stuff for like $600 or $700. If this crap keeps happening I might just buy a whole new computer and try to tear the hd out of this old one and stick it in the new one as a secondary drive (if that would even work without a lot of issues).

[dulak]

No reason it wouldn't work. I've done that several times. Just need to make sure that if your current HD is a SATA, that the new PC has SATA ports in it, other than that you should be fine.

[kukmuk]

Lol, do they even still make motherboards without sata ports? Even some servers nowadays come with a few sata ports.

If you do end up going with a new motherboard / processor, I would suggest an AM2 system or Intel 775 board. The ram for it is just dirt cheap, and if you go with a 939 board you'll have to go with pc3200 ram (which is quite a bit more expensive)... so don't be fooled by saving an extra $20 on the processor, you'll pay for it in ram! The only reason I suggest AM2 is because AMD puts the memory controllers on the die of the processor, whereas Intel puts them on the motherboard. So if you buy the wrong socket of AMD processor, you are screwed in the ram area.

[JimJohnson]

P5k Deluxe WiFi + Kentsfield q6600 + 4 gigs Gskill 1066 (pc 8500) ram run you like 400 with shipping. with default heatsink/fan you can OC the processor from 2.4 to 3.6 rather easy.