Pc Restarts

**Ruslan** · January 11th, 2006, 11:07 PM

Restarts also can be caused (I didn't see someone mentioned that before)
by bad sectors on the harddrive(s). Driver problems also can be connected to bad sectors (problems with reading files on HDD, for example).
You can try a WD diag utility from the manufacturer,
but... none of manufacturer's utilities says exactly "how good" or "how bad" the drive is. They are saying only - "passed" or "failed", but drive could be between these two opposite states... I've seen drives that "passed" manuafacturer's tests but nevertheless were clearly dying (clicking, freezing and so on).

I prefer latest MHDD utility (v4.6 supports serial ATA drives)
or similar utility called Victoria
http://www.benchmarkhq.ru/english.html?/be_hdd.html

or HDAT2 utility from http://www.hdat2.com/

**Sly294** · January 13th, 2006, 06:28 PM

hi all, all replys have been great and i have tried all of them.
but i thought that i should back-up everything i have and go for a fresh install of XP PRO.
so did that and also done a format of all drives.
I also took out my 24bit soundblaster and since then not experianced any restarts as yet.
its been about 3 days now so my fingers is crossed, but all seems well.
thanks again, Sly294

**clauded** · January 13th, 2006, 06:48 PM

you did the right thing,if it starts acting up again then you will know it is not software caused and you can move from there,good luck

**Sly294** · January 14th, 2006, 07:14 PM

This is a sad day.. my computer again restarted and gave a "recovered from a serious error" message again which i reported to microsoft.
the message again said it was a driver installed on the computer that caused the error.
so i tested the HDD drives (spinRite 6.0) and memory (MemTest) again and still found that all is working just fine.
I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and ask anyone out there if they think my problem is with BIOS ??? i did update BIOS awhile ago and this could be the reason ?
the down fall is.... is that i dont have the CD or have a backup of the old BIOS, As i overwrote it and saved it to desktop. And then when the computer crashed it wouldnt let me into windows and so i formatted harddrives. I used the ECS software to update BIOS through windows and saved BIOS to desktop

Anyone know how to get the old BIOS ?? or anyone have it by chance, Thanks in advance.. regards Sly294

**Ruslan** · January 15th, 2006, 01:10 AM

Try another PSU (if you have any spare good one),
and check the motherboard for bad capacitors (with bulged tops).

**confus-ed** · January 15th, 2006, 06:33 AM

Chipset patches ?!? No mention of applying any that I can see, windoze doesn't really know what an Nforce chipset is, until you tell it .. & maybe a repair install is in order ? we've been taking stuff in & out quite a bit ..

btw 'old bioses' should be on ECS's site somewhere (if you mail them, support ought to be able to send you it, if it isn't) - but I don't think its that personally ..

**Sly294** · January 17th, 2006, 01:56 AM

man u guys are great, as frustrating as this is i feel like you guys are with me all the way.
Ruslan.... i'll try another PSU for a few days... only thing im concerned about is that the other PSU i have is a generic 500W which probably runs at about 300-350 true power.

Confus-ed.... I got all the drivers installed for my motherboard as i downloaded all of them from ECS website.
not sure on the repair install as i only just formatted drives and reinstalled XP (like 4 days ago i belive..maybe 5)
One thing tho is that when i do get that "windows has recovered from serious error"
i did click on the more info before sending to microsoft and saw something like C:/Locale documents tempdump ??? or something like that.
my computer is trying to take a dump ? amusing

**format c:** · January 24th, 2006, 05:03 AM

I would go out and get the Antec true power 550, You have two raptors running in there and they need power
I am not sure if your running SLI but if you are 550 watt may do it , When I build I always like to put a bigger power supply in than what I need, just in case
And look for bulged capacitors, they look like coke cans except they're not red, if the tops are bulged then they are faulty and need to be replaced by some one good with a soldering iron ( Or get an Asus A8N sli premuim )

**Sly294** · January 26th, 2006, 08:43 AM

Hi Format C
i think i should invest in a bigger PSU once i get my other 6800gs and put in the SLI

but for now im still stumped as to why the computer restarts, But some good news i think and that is... my computer restarted today and once restarted told me i should send error report which i did and it said this time and finally that it is a hardware failure.(but im sure we all knew that anyway but atleast its comfirmed.
the report is here if it helps anyone http://oca.microsoft.com/en/response...638d08&SID=134
So... i've Tested the Hardrives (spin-rite) and memory (memtest) so what program can
i test the CPU and PSU and the system board ???

Also if it helps..... I did get restarts on my old system which was a
Amd Athlon 3700 Clawhammer (S754)
Gigabyte Mainboard
1 GIG of Ram (ddr400)
250GIG HDD (ata 133)
and that Generic 500W PSU.

the weird thing is.. not one of those components is in my new set up. Weird ???

**tyamada** · January 26th, 2006, 10:50 AM

Have you tried the drivers from the Nvidia site, seems the forceware drivers are newer there than from ECS. Here is a link. http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_2k_81.98.html

**Sly294** · January 26th, 2006, 01:08 PM

hi tyamada...

i have the newest forceware drivers for the graphic card.
thx for the reply

**Sandwich** · January 26th, 2006, 08:54 PM

Format C is right! The bulging can just be ever so slight, but it means a bad main board. Otherwise-- to ck the cpu, you really need to try it in a known good build ie another computer. As far as the PSU is concerned, why wait to buy your better psu till you buy the other video card? Buy it now and rule that problem out. You plan to buy one any way!

Just the way I'd look at it.

**format c:** · January 27th, 2006, 02:20 AM

Remember when you buy a new PSU get a good brand name like Antec or Enermax , Go for at least 600 watts with two 6800s in SLI mode
There is no software package that I know of to test the power supply, there are powersupply testers out there
Check those caps on the board fo bulging, If they are a new board would be in order
Pirme 95 is used to test CPUs, My local shop tested my system and fond the board to be defective
Now about you power, Are you grounded properly, I mean are you using all three wires, Black , white, green or bare copper
Is your power bar up to the task or is it getting old, Get a good surge suppressor
When I had my friend wire my computer room we went with the code which included the ground wire , I had a three hole plug that did not have the ground wire
In some areas you may need a power conditioner, If you suffer from brownouts our sags, In this case I would use a UPS ( Battery backup ) that will give you good clean power
Just some idead, I would start by replacing your power supply with a good brand name unit

**Sly294** · February 3rd, 2006, 09:06 PM

Thanks for the replies people.. sorry its been afew days but at moment im saving for that monster PSU. i have taken your advice very serious in buying a Antec or Enermax PSU and tend to purchase that in the next week, so im hoping that will solve the mystery.. but i have a feeling (well more of a gut feeling) that its not the PSU, But would be great if it is as i intended to buy a better PSU anyway

I was thinking about my old post in saying that none of my older parts are in this PC, And i have realized that i do have a few parts that are some what old.
CD-RW---Phillips... which in Event Viewer does state that it has a bad block!?!?! Normal ???
DVD-RW---LG no known probs.
Epson R300 Printer--- When i burn a disk and print at same time my computer freezes and dosent restart... have had this awhile and maybe related ???

Again Guys... all posts are much appreciated as i spent a small fortune and still spending and would love to get this restarting thing sorted, But just want to let you know that i appeciate your time and guideance... thx Sly294

**confus-ed** · February 4th, 2006, 03:15 AM

Originally Posted by Sly294

..CD-RW---Phillips... which in Event Viewer does state that it has a bad block!?!?! Normal ???..

Definately not - removable media devices can't have bad blocks, as they ain't got none ! (well they might have, but as the media is removable the device can't have a bad block) & that points to a problem with hardware setup ..

(Tell me the exact message though, it may just've come out wrong in 'translation'

)