Bizarre Computer Problems

[kozak6]

Ok, this infernal contraption looks like it can go about 5-6 hours before it paralyzes the mouse and shuts down.

I forgot to enable logging. Doh!

The first time it shut off today, the temp readout in the task bar said 0.1. I immediately restarted, and I had just enough time to start up SpeedFan and open a browser window. I pulled up Speedfan, and I got to watch it as the computer did the routine again.

All of the numbers seemed normal at first. CPU usage didn't do anything interesting, and neither did the temperatures until the end. At the end, all of the temperatures went to -1 degrees, and did not match the readout in the task bar.

Does anyone else recommend any tools?

[ds01]

Does anyone else recommend any tools?

You have nforce chipset, what motherboard?
Try this: NVidia nTune

Not sure which sensor is the third one for your sys, either on the mobo or rare times in your PSU. Is your motherboard BIOS updated, and is your video card BIOS too?

[edit: it could be an SMBus error, maybe try installing nForce Drivers?

[Ed]

nTune won't log as much as Speedfan but will allow you to comapre the two programs and confirm which sensor is which.

Temp 1 is going to be CPU. That 51C at idle is quite high. What does it get to under load?

Temp 2 may be PWM or system ambient. Mid fourties is acceptable for both both under load what will it reach?

Temp 3 looks like the thermistor has an offset. This is because some thermistors are incorrectly calibrated and then have an offset applied in the BIOS. Speedfan reads from the thermistor directly and hence gets the wrong temp. If you can identify what the real temperature it is that you are reading then you can set up an offset in Speedfan.

A temperature range of 100C is a lot and I would be worried about it if the temperature readings are accurate.

Geforec 4 MX's do not have temperature sensors, if they did you would have 2 temperatures from that in Speedfan. Anyway, your problem is inconsistent with graphics card overheating.

Have a look at the voltages logged before a crash. If they fall off then it is possible that your PSU simply can't put out the power.

The symptoms are also consistent with a loose molex lead somewhere, I'd check them all.

[Urmel]

First of all, enter the BIOS. Somewhere must be some temperature and fan cotrols.

There must be a setting on what temperature Your system shuts down automatically (at least most of the BIOSes privide this featuer).

I would suggest to set it on a quite high level so You can assure this value is high enough for the system not to be shut down too early.

Then go on with speedfan.

Another thing is: open Your case, clean the inside carefully with a hoover, and if You have one, blow some air into it with a fan. Watch if it still shuts down.

[kozak6]

I can't find the reciept, so I can't tell if it is still under warranty or not, and the store I bought it from makes every effort to be as unhelpful as possible.

To open the case would involve breaking a seal, which would void the warranty and service plan. I would love to open it up and clean it out, but it looks I will have to delay it until I can find the reciept or trick someone at the store into determining the vailidity of the warranty.

It's tremendously frustrating, as now the infernal contraption now shuts itself off after about an hour of operation, and the school's computers are horribly infested with all means of spyware and adware, requiring sometime betwen 20-45 minutes of work to make them useable.

And of course, I have two large essays due tomorrow. It looks like they are going to be a little bit late.

[:)]

I can't find the reciept, so I can't tell if it is still under warranty or not, and the store I bought it from makes every effort to be as unhelpful as possible.

To open the case would involve breaking a seal, which would void the warranty and service plan. I would love to open it up and clean it out, but it looks I will have to delay it until I can find the reciept or trick someone at the store into determining the vailidity of the warranty.

So you are not sure if it is under warranty, but you are afraid to void the warranty?
If you have made certain that malware is not the culprit by using up-to-date virus and spyware detection (try an online scan), you should still try running a Live CD of another OS, like Ubuntu, to determine if the problem is software-based at all.
If your computer still does not like to stay on, then hardware probably is the culprit. How long have you had the machine? Unless you purchased an extended warranty, you could have a standard warranty of 90 days.

[tChr]

I can't find the reciept, so I can't tell if it is still under warranty or not, and the store I bought it from makes every effort to be as unhelpful as possible.

To open the case would involve breaking a seal, which would void the warranty and service plan. I would love to open it up and clean it out, but it looks I will have to delay it until I can find the reciept or trick someone at the store into determining the vailidity of the warranty.

So you are not sure if it is under warranty, but you are afraid to void the warranty?
If you have made certain that malware is not the culprit by using up-to-date virus and spyware detection (try an online scan), you should still try running a Live CD of another OS, like Ubuntu, to determine if the problem is software-based at all.
If your computer still does not like to stay on, then hardware probably is the culprit. How long have you had the machine? Unless you purchased an extended warranty, you could have a standard warranty of 90 days.

Shit.. I'm glad I live in a country with socialistic history.. For private consumers standard warranty is 2 years, and your right to complain of fabricationaly disfunctions is 5 years. Both of these wich manufactureres and resellers cannot shorten with special sales-agreements..

[kern]

check the condition of the intake fan on the PSU and any grills that let air in..
if its full of dust, fluff etc, likely the inside of the PC is too.
if so, maybe get a vacuum hose with the hairy brush and just clean the vents out as a starter.
ive never heard of a pc Case being warranty sealed. would make me suspicious theyre tryna hide something. how the heck do u upgrade anything, or even check the PC has what it says it has by way of hardware?

[tChr]

ive never heard of a pc Case being warranty sealed. would make me suspicious theyre tryna hide something. how the heck do u upgrade anything, or even check the PC has what it says it has by way of hardware?

for some "brands" it pretty common to warrany seal the case. "void if broken", and its crap, but that make syou loose your warranty when you install hardware of your own...

But annother thing? what hardware can you possibly have that you cannot find thru the system without opening the case?

[kozak6]

Well, I have good news, excellent news, bad news, and worse news.

The good news is that we managed to find the receipt, and it is indeed still under warranty. We are going to take it in sometime in the next few days. The excellent news is that we are also going to have a gig of RAM installed, which means I might finally be able to get 1.5 to run well.

The bad news is that my brother got on the computer to back up some things, and that now the computer won't even go to the log-in screen. The worse news is that I didn't have time to back up or hide certain things, and there is a chance they might run across some things.

Most of the horribly disturbing items were already renamed and tucked away, so there is a chance they won't be ran across. I'm still worried about the gigs and gigs of downloaded music, and the less disturbing and more conventional ...files.