Banging my head against the wall on this one..

Qui Gon-Jinn · Post by **Qui Gon-Jinn** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 7:30 pm

Stats first

MSI K8N SLI motherboard http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=K8N_SLI-F
AMD 3800x2 CPU
BFG 7900 GT
8 HDD's
1 16x DVD Burner
Case is the Thermaltake Soprano http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133023
Has the stock 120mm Fan in front and back.
2gb Ram 1gb is Corsair 1gb is Mushkin.

2 issues. First if my IPOD is plugged in system does not boot.. this is an easy fix.. pull the ipod off then reboot.

Next.. the one I am about to just chuck this PC out and start over with..

I will be surfing.. or gaming.. and then all the sudden I get a Long Loud BEEP over the speakers.. and system reboots.. and hangs on the first post screen. will not even start the memory check.. just hangs..

I have to pull the plug.. switch it off at the PSU.. then switch it on.. plug in the cord and then boot. 50/50 chance of it booting from there.

I thought heat first.. the video card was my guess it's a RMA return from BFG. Pulled the heatsink/fan combo on that 2 weeks ago.. used the AS Thermal Compound remover and purifier on it.. new coat of AS5.. and remount.

Looking at things like Speedfan or MBM temps on the CPU are in the 45C range all the time. GPU is sitting at 53C under full load in TF2.

Worst part is it doesn't do this while I am using the computer.. it's after I am done and walk away.. then 10 min's later BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP Reboot.

HELP ME KEEP MY SANITY..

renovation · Post by **renovation** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 7:41 pm

any of the parts come from reno -that maybe the problem .
this is a normal problem with me and computers.
i have a fix do its called DROP KICK !!!

renovation · Post by **renovation** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 7:53 pm

couple of ideas here maybe .
ram voltage .
power supply has a bad power lead .
try swapping out the power supply if you have a extra.
last thing to do is take my first advice !

Shadow250 · Post by **Shadow250** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:52 pm

perhaps the d-led can give you a clue.

wvjohn · Post by **wvjohn** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:55 pm

my first thought is that you are pulling too much power...if you have an old ps around, try using that as an external for the vid card and a couple of the hdds

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 10:06 pm

The iPod causing the system not to boot is because you have your BIOS configured to allow the system to boot from a USB flash drive before the hard drive. I see this all the time. Change the boot order to exclude USB or "other" boot devices.

The 2nd problem could be a lot of things: bad caps on the mobob (look for swollen or leaking capacitors), a bad PSU, timing issues with the RAM, or an overheating Northbridge chip. I've seen a lot of mobos with random BSODs due to an overheating Northbridge - often their heatsinks are too loose.

ZYFER · Post by **ZYFER** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:09 pm

My guess is this problem would be occuring when the system is A) attempting to using a power save feature, it fails and the problem occurs, or B) is paging alot of things from RAM to the hard drive and the problem occurs. Out of these two I mentioned, the first is more likely due to your consistency.

To make certain, you should disable all your power save features to be 100% sure.

If it was just pulling too much power the issue wouldn't be so consistent when it happens, and it would more likely happen in the middle of gaming.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 2:47 am

Ditto what FlyingPenguin said. All things I've seen as well. Especially bad caps recently (including bad caps in power supplies).

Qui Gon-Jinn · Post by **Qui Gon-Jinn** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 6:36 am

well I have some things to go on now..

I get off work at 7am Sun. and am off for 2 days.. till 10:30pm Tues.. this is my project.. ok.. just one.. but the most important by far.. cause I want to game..

I'll get back on this..

The Ipod thing.. I thought that was it.. just haven't had time to look.. working 3rd shift.. and trying to get some sleep and do other things with the places that are open only when I should be sleeping..

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 9:22 am

Zyfer might be on to something. If it consistently happens 10 minutes after you walk away from the PC then it could very well be related to a power saving issue.

Also see if the time correlates with your screen saver kicking in or power saver for the monitor. Could be something as simple as a bad video driver.

Also, you should turn off "auto restart on error" which MAY let you see a BSOD and an error message that gives you a hint of what's going on.

- Right click My Computer - Properties -> Advanced tab.
- Click the "Settings" button under "Startup and Recovery" and then uncheck "Automatically restart" under "System Failure".

Key Keeper · Post by **Key Keeper** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 11:04 am

Sounds like a hibernation/bios problem with the fact that it hangs on reboot at first post screen.