PC problems...

[Ads_172]

Don't know what's going on with it!

It keeps randomly shutting down, so I've opened it up and given everything a dust off, checked connections, etc.

Having left the case open so I can see what's going on, there's a horrible scratchy noise coming form the motherboard, which seems to get worse until the PC just cuts out. The scratching seems random, but seems to increase as more memory is used up performing basic operations such as moving the mouse around and typing...

Any ideas!?!

 

[Mike_182]

CPU or Northbridge cooling fan. What PC is it? What motherboard?

 

[mas]

easy fix.....

Get a mac.

 

[Mike_182]

easy fix.....

Get a mac.

Macs can overheat too.

 

[dutch182]

Reckon the cpu is overheating. have you fucked about with the bios?

 

[mas]

Not possible.

They are too Cool to overheat

tehehe

 

[dutch182]

Not possible.

They are too Cool to overheat

tehehe

And too expensive for one that is of any use:clown:

 

[Final Maxim]

strip down the heatsink and drop out the cpu. give it all a good clean

 

[mas]

Not possible.

They are too Cool to overheat

tehehe

And too expensive for one that is of any use:clown:

Peasant:rasp:

 

[Ads_172]

I've never messed with the bios, it's a cheap 'custom' type PC. I have no idea what internals it's got, anywhere that it's detailed that I can find?

EDIT: I do know that it's a Celeron 2.8GHz CPU, but that's about it...

Oh, and the motherboard is an ASRock 755 V88+... about as old as babbage, I believe.

 

[Mike_182]

Likely to be CPU cooler knackered then - strip it off, clean the CPU down and get an aftermarket one for £20 with the s**t already on it and that should fix it. The ASRock 775V88+ doesn't have NB fan.

 

[Ads_172]

Pardon the ignorance... is this the one clipped onto the MB itself?

 

[Ads_172]

Also, can someone link to a CPU cooler that'll fit and do the job?

 

[Ads_172]

?

 

[Mike_182]

Yep, the one with the four big pushpins - should be the biggest heatsink/fan in the case.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...1&name=Akasa AK-955 CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775)

That'd do you.

 

[Ads_172]

Cheers mate, do I need any 'thermal compound' for it? Is this meant to form a seal between the CPU and heatsink?

 

[Chris1.4RT]

Always try the ram first.

So long as you have more than one stick (which you may not) try each one on their own in turn.

People often say to me my pc keeps shutting down when they mean restarting. If it is restarting randomly, it could well be the ram. Very easy to check this first before faffing about with the cpu.

 

[Ads_172]

I'lll check to be sure, but it's completely shutting off, not restarting.

 

[richy22]

Power Supply issue maybe?

 

[Mike_182]

Power Supply issue maybe?

Possibly, but they tend to fail and stay failed.

 

[richy22]

Power Supply issue maybe?

Possibly, but they tend to fail and stay failed.

Well I had a HeIchio?? PSU go on me the other day.. started to randomly reset itself (PC wise) and then stopped booting altogether. A quick check of the PSU concluded no voltage coming out what-so-ever. So duff PSU... caused by faulty Transformer (windings had gone)

I know they "usually" fail and stay failed but it could be a sign its on its way out like the one I had

 

[Ads_172]

Could be, but the strange light clicking / scratching noise is definitely coming from within the MB somewhere, as I remvoed the PSU from the case and then put my ears between the PSU and case! Definitely case-side...

 

[Ads_172]

Development - the PC is now starting and shutting off almost instantly... a couple seconds later. Could the CPU overheat to the point of shutting down in this time?

I've had a look at the CPU fan / heatsink and it certainly doesn't seem to be securely fastened to the mobo, I am assuming that there shouldn't be ANY movement!?!

 

[Mike_182]

No movement at all on S775, and yes it could do. I had a Pentium D that went to thermal shutdown after 7 seconds with no heatsink on.

 

[Ads_172]

Might try that first then, failing that then I guess it's a quick swap of memory and then looking at a new processor? I think my MB can only take P4 or Celeron, but I don't know whether this is because the dual core wasn't out when the MB was made...

 

[Mike_182]

Why do you need a new processor? or new memory?

Have you actually tried replacing the heatsink as suggested?

 

[Ads_172]

Sorry, was saying that I'd try replacing the heatsink and fan first and if it's still no better then it's a case of thinking what else it could be.

Memory has been mentioned in here and someone in work has suggested the processor itself may have given up the ghost if the fan/heatsink isn't the problem...?

 

[Mike_182]

Processor will only cook itself if it's an old skool AMD, as all Pentium 3/4 and Celeron of that generation had thermal protection.

 

[Ads_172]

Ah right, cheers mate.

So, if heatsink / fan is replaced and fitted properly and the memory is checked and I still have the problem, what would you recommend is the next step?

 

[Mike_182]

As mentioned above, power supply would then be my next port of call, followed by motherboard.

However, if it gets as far as the power supply on a 2.8GHz Celeron, bin it. I've got a complete Celeron 2.8GHz system you can have for £75 and it works.

 

[Ads_172]

Cheers mate, I've gotten pretty close to binning it several times! If your system has SATA so I can just stick my HDD into it then it might be the easiest option!

 

[Mike_182]

It does indeed have an SATA port...

 

[Darren S]

Ads, what graphics card have you got? I haven't read all this thread, so apologies if its been said already. If the fan on the gfx card is hardly moving (or dead?), it will trigger a thermal shutdown similar to the one on the CPUs.

Doesn't normally do it as quick as what you mention though. From experience, a good 15-20 seconds normally before it saves itself and switches off.

Might be worth putting your hand near the gfx card with the side off - 'feel' if it gets red hot, very quickly?

Just a thought.

D.

 

[Mike_182]

Graphics cards don't have thermal protection in the same way as CPUs do, and they don't get hot unless doing anything particularly challenging. They'd pixelate a long time before they turned off completely.

 

[wozzaa]

If the fan in the PSU has gone it could cause a similar thing. Replaced PSU fans before when I have had the same problems.

 

[Darren S]

Graphics cards don't have thermal protection in the same way as CPUs do, and they don't get hot unless doing anything particularly challenging. They'd pixelate a long time before they turned off completely.

Try telling that to mine when I got to the BIOS screen. Just making a few changes and 'blip' - straight shutdown. 'OMG' moment when I realised that I hadn't reconnected the GPU fan back to power supply pin-out. Feckin red-hot it was too.

Close call with that one.

D.

 

[Ads_172]

Right, new cpu fan means it takes longer to shut down but still does-at the point where its about to load windows. I've tried different memory with no luck. Am thinkin I'll borrow a different psu and check the graphics...

 

[wozzaa]

Just look to see if any fans are not moving when turned on.

 

[Ads_172]

All fans WERE moving but now the PSU is totally fried, not even powering up... I am probably at fault for pulling the power lead out in anger! Hmm...

 

[Mike_182]

Want a replacement? £75 for a Dell Optiplex GX270 - will take your disk and memory...