random and rapid restarts

delciotto · 03-20-2009, 11:24 PM

i posted this in the MB part of the forums but after talking to some people and inspecting my mb i really don't think its the cause and the hdd seems like it could be the problem

There is this problem I've been having with my computer. just randomly while I'm using my comp it restarts or semi shuts down. What i mean by semi shut down is all my fans and hard drive are still running and the power light is off, i get a no signal this on my screen and my hdd light is steady on instead of flashing and i have to sometimes cut power to my comp to get it out of this mode. The thing is that i don't think its a software problem because it does this the second the computer posts as well. Just 10 min ago it decided to restart about 8 times right as i heard the beep for the post.

At first i thought it was the power supply so i replaced it and that didn't work and now yesterday i just took the whole thing apart and put it back together and it lasted a good 20 hours before it decided to restart. So does anyone have any idea what might be wrong.

comp specs:
ASUS M2A-VM motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 x2 4200+ processor
2 1gb sticks of generic ram
SilverStone ST65ZF 650W powersupply
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 640 MB video card
200gb IDE WD hard drive( it almost 5 years old now)
LG (I think, its older then my HDD) dvd/CD rw combo drive
I'm running windows vista ultimate

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...o/hddstuff.png

theres some results from a hdd test i did

**raptor_pa** · 03-21-2009, 03:20 PM

Could also be power supply or video card. disconnect power to some of the peripheral devices, like the cd, and boot as bare as possible and see if that helps any. Sounds more like something is loading up the supply.

delciotto · 03-21-2009, 04:06 PM

its not the power supply, that was my first guess and i put in a new one and it still did the same thing and its not my video card because I've tried just using my on board and it still did it. i ran the hdd test that WD has and have done a memory test. the memory test came back with no errors and the only problem with the hdd is that its just old and has been running for a long time So im running out of ideas

edit: i also inspected my mb. there are no bloated or leaky capacitors and i didn't find any burn marks from a short or something

**raptor_pa** · 03-21-2009, 04:56 PM

This is a good one... could be the motor on the HD or CD is just pulling more current as it ages... tough one to troubleshoot...

delciotto · 03-21-2009, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raptor_pa

This is a good one... could be the motor on the HD or CD is just pulling more current as it ages... tough one to troubleshoot...

tell me about it, that cd drive one is one i haven't thought of. I forgot to add one thing, ive been getting boot errors every time i do a cold start up for many months thats another thing that pointed to the hdd for me

delciotto · 03-21-2009, 11:31 PM

so i found a old hard drive with XP on it and my comp booted up with no boot errors with it and ran fine until windows bugged out from being corrupt so im pretty sure its my hdd now. Anyone wanna help me pick a new one out from this website ncix.com and this is the link to the sale there having right now http://www.ncix.com/promo/promosale....bid=spring2009 . my limit is 120-150$

**grimx133** · 03-22-2009, 12:00 AM

I'd go with the 640GB WD Caviar Black. Nice price, and 5 year warranty, like Seagate used to have. Tempting, maybe I'll talk myself into it, haven't ordered anything from ncix for a few weeks.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...D&promoid=1019

delciotto · 03-22-2009, 02:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grimx133

I'd go with the 640GB WD Caviar Black. Nice price, and 5 year warranty, like Seagate used to have. Tempting, maybe I'll talk myself into it, haven't ordered anything from ncix for a few weeks.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...D&promoid=1019

oh wow didn't see that one. yeh with that price i'll be able to pick up a new dvd/cd burner haha

delciotto · 03-23-2009, 09:08 PM

god dammit this is wearing on my nerves now, i bought the new hdd and its still ******* doing it, it must be my motherboard now right?

delciotto · 03-24-2009, 12:35 AM

bleh i figured everything out

**raptor_pa** · 03-24-2009, 01:35 AM

OK so what was the solution?

03-20-2009, 11:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
delciotto Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 38 OS: Windows XP	random and rapid restarts i posted this in the MB part of the forums but after talking to some people and inspecting my mb i really don't think its the cause and the hdd seems like it could be the problem There is this problem I've been having with my computer. just randomly while I'm using my comp it restarts or semi shuts down. What i mean by semi shut down is all my fans and hard drive are still running and the power light is off, i get a no signal this on my screen and my hdd light is steady on instead of flashing and i have to sometimes cut power to my comp to get it out of this mode. The thing is that i don't think its a software problem because it does this the second the computer posts as well. Just 10 min ago it decided to restart about 8 times right as i heard the beep for the post. At first i thought it was the power supply so i replaced it and that didn't work and now yesterday i just took the whole thing apart and put it back together and it lasted a good 20 hours before it decided to restart. So does anyone have any idea what might be wrong. comp specs: ASUS M2A-VM motherboard AMD Athlon 64 x2 4200+ processor 2 1gb sticks of generic ram SilverStone ST65ZF 650W powersupply Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTS 640 MB video card 200gb IDE WD hard drive( it almost 5 years old now) LG (I think, its older then my HDD) dvd/CD rw combo drive I'm running windows vista ultimate http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...o/hddstuff.png theres some results from a hdd test i did

03-21-2009, 03:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,788 OS: XP	Re: random and rapid restarts Could also be power supply or video card. disconnect power to some of the peripheral devices, like the cd, and boot as bare as possible and see if that helps any. Sounds more like something is loading up the supply. __________________

03-21-2009, 04:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
delciotto Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 38 OS: Windows XP	Re: random and rapid restarts its not the power supply, that was my first guess and i put in a new one and it still did the same thing and its not my video card because I've tried just using my on board and it still did it. i ran the hdd test that WD has and have done a memory test. the memory test came back with no errors and the only problem with the hdd is that its just old and has been running for a long time So im running out of ideas edit: i also inspected my mb. there are no bloated or leaky capacitors and i didn't find any burn marks from a short or something Last edited by delciotto; 03-21-2009 at 04:10 PM.

03-21-2009, 04:56 PM	#4 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,788 OS: XP	Re: random and rapid restarts This is a good one... could be the motor on the HD or CD is just pulling more current as it ages... tough one to troubleshoot... __________________

03-21-2009, 11:31 PM	#6 (permalink)
delciotto Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 38 OS: Windows XP	Re: random and rapid restarts so i found a old hard drive with XP on it and my comp booted up with no boot errors with it and ran fine until windows bugged out from being corrupt so im pretty sure its my hdd now. Anyone wanna help me pick a new one out from this website ncix.com and this is the link to the sale there having right now http://www.ncix.com/promo/promosale....bid=spring2009 . my limit is 120-150$

03-22-2009, 12:00 AM	#7 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,137 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: random and rapid restarts I'd go with the 640GB WD Caviar Black. Nice price, and 5 year warranty, like Seagate used to have. Tempting, maybe I'll talk myself into it, haven't ordered anything from ncix for a few weeks. http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...D&promoid=1019 __________________

03-23-2009, 09:08 PM	#9 (permalink)
delciotto Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 38 OS: Windows XP	Re: random and rapid restarts god dammit this is wearing on my nerves now, i bought the new hdd and its still ******* doing it, it must be my motherboard now right?

03-24-2009, 12:35 AM	#10 (permalink)
delciotto Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 38 OS: Windows XP	Re: random and rapid restarts bleh i figured everything out

03-24-2009, 01:35 AM	#11 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,788 OS: XP	Re: random and rapid restarts OK so what was the solution? __________________