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[Tainty]

I recently opened up my computer to unplug the connector for the internal speaker. After I did so my computer booted just fine and I began to play a EVE online. Well, about 10 mins in, the computer just shuts down. Bam. I press power, it begins to start up again, and just shuts down while loading Windows. I open it up, recheck all the connections, and I think they are all fine, reseat the video card, and start it up again. It boots to windows, then just shuts down. Next time, its just about to finish the bios check and it shuts down. After that, it boots and I start up EVE online in windowed mode, it runs fine for about 5 mins then I hit alt-enter to fullscreen it and bam, shutdown. This continues on, with it randomly shutting down somewhere in between the bios check and after starting Windows. What could be wrong?

EDIT: I replaced the video card with another one, and this did not help.

Specs:
P4 2.53, 533 FSB
512 DDR333 generic
ABIT IS7
Radeon 9700pro
2x80gb WD in Raid with PCI raid card
1x40gb Maxtor
SB Audigy

 

[xsarien]

This may sound unbelievably retarded, but make sure the power cable in the back of the computer wasn't knocked loose.

 

[jobber]

overheated?

 

[Tainty]

Don't think its overheating, as I have been monitoring the CPU temp throughout, and it has never passed 45 C, which is very normal for this system. The video card and hard drives all have fans blowing on them, so I dont think its that either. I checked the power cable, and it is seated firmly in the computer and in the wall.

EDIT: Is it possible that plugging in some of the power switch/speaker/led connectors to the headers on the motherboard backwards could cause this kind of instability?

 

[BugCatcher]

I had this exact problem with my old computer; it turned out to be a bad stick of RAM. Try booting with only one in at a time to check if this is the case with your computer. Of course, if you've only got one, this may be difficult to test...

If this is not the problem, I would suggest disconnecting everything; HD, DVD, video card, etc, until you have only the bare components you need to boot your machine. If it seems stable after a few minutes, power down and reconnect a part and reboot. I'd start with video myself, so I could monitor CPU temperature in the BIOS. Continue adding components until the computer starts to power itself off again. This should help you determine which part is malfunctioning.

 

[Wellington]

http://www.memtest86.com/

Run that.

I'd bet it is your RAM as well. Had a similar problem. Everytime I'd play a 3D game the system would randomly restart. Heck sometimes even when running Excel or modelling applications I needed to use. Ran Memtest and both sticks turned out fine by themselves, but turned out to produce thousands of errors while paired. I never did figure out the reason why. I'd just assume it's fauly connectors in the motherboard. Well I took a stick out and haven't had a problem since.

 

[Blackace]

http://www.memtest86.com/

Run that.

I'd bet it is your RAM as well. Had a similar problem. Everytime I'd play a 3D game the system would randomly restart. Heck sometimes even when running Excel or modelling applications I needed to use. Ran Memtest and both sticks turned out fine by themselves, but turned out to produce thousands of errors while paired. I never did figure out the reason why. I'd just assume it's fauly connectors in the motherboard. Well I took a stick out and haven't had a problem since.

Also (if someone said this already sorry) make sure your MotherBoard is grounded. Like it isn't touching any of the metal inside of your case.. I have that happen before when I was setting a motherboard and the riser broke (hate those plastic ones) So I said fuck it closed up the case and fired the sucker up and boom shut down all the time like you are saying

 

[goodcow]

Also (if someone said this already sorry) make sure your MotherBoard is grounded. Like it isn't touching any of the metal inside of your case.. I have that happen before when I was setting a motherboard and the riser broke (hate those plastic ones) So I said fuck it closed up the case and fired the sucker up and boom shut down all the time like you are saying

Ah, now I know what those plastic risers are for...

 

[B'z-chan]

Shit this started happening to me back in May after i installed a GFX card. Is there any other way to test your ram in windows? I cant even run 3-D games at all. My computer just boots back up. Its annoying as fuck and i need to fix the problem.

i've got two sticks of 512mb DDR2100

Everything looks grounded to me. I could have created a problem when installing that card though mabye? Static discharge or something? I just need to get this problem fixed and once i get it fixed i'll be a happy camper.

EDIT shit i dont have a floppy anywhere damnit

 

[boo7z]

another vote for RAM...make sure it is running at the speed it is intended to. i've run into these issues b4 and 99% of the time it turns out the RAM is either faulty or being pushed too hard.

 

[Shogmaster]

another vote for RAM...make sure it is running at the speed it is intended to. i've run into these issues b4 and 99% of the time it turns out the RAM is either faulty or being pushed too hard.

Yeah, if you buy RAM from unscrupilous sources, they often sell a slower RAM as a faster one.

 

[B'z-chan]

another vote for RAM...make sure it is running at the speed it is intended to. i've run into these issues b4 and 99% of the time it turns out the RAM is either faulty or being pushed too hard.

how can i check if my ram is being over pushed or something. As i couldnt get my floppy to work and do that Memory tester, that was posted above.

 

[Shogmaster]

how can i check if my ram is being over pushed or something. As i couldnt get my floppy to work and do that Memory tester, that was posted above.

Does your CD-RW work? You can download an ISO image from the site with the test on it. I tried it and it works like a charm.

 

[B'z-chan]

Does your CD-RW work? You can download an ISO image from the site with the test on it. I tried it and it works like a charm.

yeah i'm gonna have to try that. Do you have to use a boot disc before using the floppy with the test on it? Cause if so that might be my problem. I reall need to check out what is going so wrong with this computer. Ever 5-10 minutes it just restarts and it flashes a screen telling me its a memory problem but it never sticks on that screen. I've tried removing a stick, moving the two around and it just doesnt seem to help. And my psu is grounded and i've never had problems before.

 

[Tainty]

Hey, thanks for the suggestions guys, and sorry for the delayed response, but it isnt my ram. I slapped in a completely different stick of ram (diff. brand, size, and speed) and the problem still remains. One thing that should be noted too, is that my computer shuts down completely, just bam and the screen is black and it is off within a second. I find this to be pretty strange, as I've certainly had it reboot from hardware problems before but just shutting down is kinda odd to me. I'm gonna try swapping out the processor and see if that does the trick, as the processor itself might just be failing (it's not overheating, ive been monitoring its temp). Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Shogmaster]

yeah i'm gonna have to try that. Do you have to use a boot disc before using the floppy with the test on it? Cause if so that might be my problem. I reall need to check out what is going so wrong with this computer. Ever 5-10 minutes it just restarts and it flashes a screen telling me its a memory problem but it never sticks on that screen. I've tried removing a stick, moving the two around and it just doesnt seem to help. And my psu is grounded and i've never had problems before.

I don't have a floppy drive on any of my computers. Not for the last 2 years.

BTW, make sure you change the boot order around so that it boots off the CD in the BIOS settings.

 

[NetMapel]

I think it's a problem with your power source...

 

[Tainty]

Yeah I'm thinking that it may be that my PSU is failing. Do you know of any way to test if it is failing besides swapping it out for another PSU?