(Vanity) Help this dying computer

me | 2-10-8 | Petronski

[Petronski]

Here's a 2.4Ghz P4 with a random reboot problem.

Yes, at any given moment, it reboots itself spontaneously. Problem did not go away after power supply swap.

Here's the odd part: in BIOS diagnostics, I see these voltages:

+12: 11.51
+5: 5.12
-12: -11.62
-5: -61.34

I reinstalled WinXPpro (wondering if it were some kind of driver problem): no dice. Then I installed Kubuntu, but again, the problem persists.

I think the power regulation on the motherboard is shot, but would like to save this hardware.

Any thoughts?

[Petronski]

Ping list and help please.

[AmericaUnited]

Download memtest86 (www.memtest86.com, chose ISO, burn a boorable CD) and test your memory.
BIOS voltage readings are notoriously inaccurate.

[shuckmaster]

It’s time for a Mac.

[Bigh4u2]

negative -61.34 volts??

umm....it’s supposed to be -5v

Sounds like a bad regulator to me.

[Petronski]

...would like to save this hardware.

[A knight without armor]

“Then I installed Kubuntu, but again, the problem persists.”

I have a feeling we will be hearing this out of Obama someday.

[djf]

Ditto what AmericaUnited says. Random reboots often, not always but usually mean a memory compatibility problem.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

I recommend a 12 gauge blast right near the power switch. If that don’t get it, repeat near the fan. ;-)

[red-dawg]

Look at the capacitors on the motherboard, are the tops flat? If they look expanded or bloated then the m’board is shot. Also look at the toroid coils, do they look cooked? That is another indicator.

[Petronski]

The visual inspection checked out. It all looks super clean. No odor either.

[Petronski]

I know the feeling, believe me.

I’m trying to help out a friend here, and I’m starting to run out of ideas.

[GoforBroke]

I would do the motherboard anyway.

[red-dawg]

Intermittent reboot problems are hard to diagnose and I’ve seen some weired ones. One time I had a client that would touch the reset button with their knee. The clock battery caused it on another machine because it was old and shorted out. Most of them were problems with the motherboard and we had to replace them. On one occasion I could “flex” the motherboard with firm pressure in the middle and it would restart. Another was that the CPU fan was slightly unplugged and it would make/break contact that would drive it crazy until it rebooted. A bad VGA card or PCI modem card could also be the culprit.

[jdm]

Don't know if this will help. Hopefully...

Turn off the automatic reboot feature so you can actually see the error code/STOP Message when it happens - this is also known as the Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD).

To change the recovery settings and Disable Automatic Rebooting, go to Start > Run and type: sysdm.cpl
Click Ok or just press WINKEY + Pause/Break keys to bring up System Properties.

• Go to the Advanced tab and under "Startup and Recovery", click on the "Settings" button and go to "System failure".
• Make sure "Write an event to the system log" is checked and that "Automatically restart" is UNchecked.
• Click "OK" and reboot for the changes to take effect.

Doing this won't cure your problem but instead of crashing and restarting you will get a blue diagnostic screen with an error code and other information that will allow you to better trace your problem.

[stylin19a]

my experience is random reboots are generally heat related.
though I’ve found some weird solutions to random reboots.

- once I swapped out the power cord on an AMD box and the reboots stopped.

- though reboots are not a symptom, I put in a new CMOS battery on a P4 and the reboots stopped.

P4’s generally slow down to 1/2 rated speed when overheating.

however, you might try

- cooling fan could be going
- thermal pad/paste could be cooked. you could try and repaste the cpu.

- though it’s not recommended, you could open the case and run a small table fan over the insides while the PC’s running and see if the the reboots stop. ( opening the case could actually increase the heat.)

not much...good luck

[Petronski]

This is news to me. I will try it next.

[Petronski]

Good advice, I’m putting it on the list. Thanks.

[Petronski]

A bad VGA card or PCI modem...

I could shut off the PCI modem (in BIOS) and retry, or swap in a different vga card and turn off the onboard graphics.

More things to try. Thanks.

[jdm]

Another thing I would try is Lavalys Everest. Will help in diagnosing hardware issues. Here's the freeware version, which works just fine.