A lovely problem with my computer

[Bakurei]

So obviously my computer does't work. So this is the story. My computer shuts down when I try to play games, it hasn't shut down before. It started shutting down when I started playing Kotor2. At first it only went out when playing Kotor2 (I could play Doom 3, Ut2004 no problem with any other games). But now every game does this. I haven't had any problem with cooling before, but because of this I put a couple of fans in my comp, no use still shuts down. So next I thought that maybe my memory is faulty, one block was so I pulled it out, no use still shuts down. Then my comp didn't recognise CPU, I thought my BIOS battery had ran out, switched it, recognised the CPU. still shuts down. Formated the whole comp, reinstalled windows and reinstalled all the drivers, no use.

And yesterday my comp went completely mad, now it doesn't recognise my lan-card (can't think of the word, that thing where you put the rj-45 cable on the motherboard). So I can't go to the internet with that computer. I have reinstalled windows three times and reinstalled all of the drivers, no luck.

When the comp shuts down I have to turn of the power from the back, then I have to turn it on after like 10 seconds, then I can turn the comp on again.

I think my mobo is broken, no worries, since gonna buy a new comp anyway. But still I would like some help (so that I could give this comp to my brother), so help me out. Here are the specs of my comp.

Amd xp 2400+
Abit Nf7 rev.2.0
758mb 400ddr
Seagate Barracuda 7200rmp 120gb
Club3d 9800 non-pro
Coba 350w (120mm fan)

 

[lister]

do u recieve any error messages?
Also maybe it could be ur ram, try moving ur stciks to different DIMM slots, also have u thought about overheating, take the side panel off see if that helps.

 

[Asus]

Check for any leaking capacitors. link

 

[Ti133700N]

The PSU maybe.

 

[J_Tweedy]

generally when your computer's shutting down there is a power supply or heat problem.

 

[TrippyG]

this definetly sounds like a PSU problem

 

[15357]

now i always get a reboot while playing hl2...


nothing works exept turning the hardware accel off. (prevents you playing games)

 

[psyno]

The PSU maybe.

Yar, what's that PSU in that box? Other hardware specs? Try vacuuming/blasting canned air into your PSU?

Dust buildup leads to heat buildup (dust insulates), and heat buildup plus lots of load (like when you use your CPU and graphics card heavily....) leads to dips in voltages, and well, those are just bad. If you want your computer to stay on, anyway. So, cleaning isn't totally nuts.

 

[Bakurei]

Well I don't think the PSU is under powered (350w). I've had this power for almost two years and the problems just started. But I just remembered, that I haven't actually cleaned the PSU, just vacuumed inside the comp. I'll clean it and try to search for those leaking capacitors. I have to check if the waranty has ran out of my PSU, so I can open it and clean it better.

Going little off topic, but what do you think of MSI motherboards? Im thinking of buying an amd64 3200+ or 3500+ (socket 939) venice core and a MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum.

 

[3ssence]

Please dear god do not tell me you are serious about opening up your PSU and cleaning it. The capacitors inside PSU's can store massive charge, enough to kill or give a serious shock. Not only that, but tbh, those new system specs are going to want more than 350W, so i'd recommend upgrading the PSU anyway

 

[Bakurei]

Well I have opened many PSU's before, mostly because I had to change the voltage the fan used (usually to 5v). Well I guess I'll buy a new PSU when I order my new comp. Btw I got the Onboard LAN working, for some reason my BIOS had disabled it.

 

[Bakurei]

So I cleaned the PSU, checked for leaking capacitors, changed the thermal grease thing to Arctic Silver 5, added one more fan. And still crashes and now when I boot, the memory check thing takes like 5min. Any suggestions?

 

[holydeadpenguins]

Maybe a memory problem?

 

[Bakurei]

I ran memtest for few hours, no errors in memory. Even event viewer doesn't show anything.

 

[Vorac1ous]

First - I don't see what you're trying to acheive by changing the thermal paste. WTF? And stop adding fans, you don't need more then 2. Infact, I think you may have just answered your own problem.

Second - Your Power supply IS the culprit. Just buy a new one, simple as that.

 

[Bakurei]

But I have had this power supply for two years, no shut downs. So the there is enough power, before this I had a 300w, and even it was enough (but it was noisy). But, it could be broken... Well I'll go borrow a PSU from a friend.

 

[Dario D.]

Uh, it sounds like the problems are very widespread.

I dont want to jump to any hasty conclusions, but the last time something like that happened to me it was because the mainboard died (randomly I might add).

When I opened the case, I found an old spider web in it, with not 1, but TWO dead flies in it. Don't ask, I don't know, but that spider was a genius.

Anyway, afterward I found the dead spider right next to the back of the Mobo, in the crevice between it and the case.

The spider could have walked on the board and fried it.

Basically what I'm saying is, I suspect the Motherboard more than anything at this point. I don't KNOW, but I suspect. There's a wide range of things that could "potentially" happen to your mobo to cause it to randomly stop working properly.

 

[holydeadpenguins]

First - I don't see what you're trying to acheive by changing the thermal paste. WTF? And stop adding fans, you don't need more then 2. Infact, I think you may have just answered your own problem.

Second - Your Power supply IS the culprit. Just buy a new one, simple as that.

Hey i changed thermal paste and my temp dropped from 55 to 29

 

[holydeadpenguins]

But that's cuz i screwed up the first time (before i got A+ certified muahahahaha youngest person to get it in this whole city).

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

Hey i changed thermal paste and my temp dropped from 55 to 29

Yeah general when you use aftermarket thermal paste the temps will be lower than the factory thermal paste. Well thats how its worked for me.

 

[DSDchemE]

Hey holydeadpenguins, what did you do wrong the first time? I'm building my first comp next week and would like to know what to avoid.

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

Hey holydeadpenguins, what did you do wrong the first time? I'm building my first comp next week and would like to know what to avoid.

Its pretty much idiot proof building a pc, just make sure you are ground, very good(I've already lost a mobo b/c not grounded enough I guess...) read the instructions about installing the cpu, where all the wires go, etc. I would say if you built one before you probably know where everything goes, but you said it is your first time, so just make sure you read the manuals on how to install things, unless you KNOW, you know how to do it. Have fun.

 

[Vigilante]

Going little off topic, but what do you think of MSI motherboards? Im thinking of buying an amd64 3200+ or 3500+ (socket 939) venice core and a MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum.

I hate mine. Period. Has been nothing but trouble since the first one I had, which broke, then I got this one and the screen slowly dims out (even at it's dimmest it's barely noticable that it has dimmed) over 2 hours, then flicks back to normal (which is the noticable part).

 

[Dario D.]

Hmm... Vigilante, somehow that doesn't sound like the average MSI Mainboard experience. Something must be specifically wrong or something.

MSI is "normally" a decent manufacturer.

 

[Bakurei]

Well going to get the PSU tomorrow, I hope it's the PSU. Since I'm not going to buy a socket-a mobo anymore. Ou and by the way when I changed the thermal paste to Arctic Silver 5 my CPU temps went down like 15c and my GPU's temps went even more, not bad!

 

[gweedodogg69]

I'd purchase a 400W, test it to see if ur system shuts off, if it doesnt take the PSU back and u can rule that one out.

 

[Bakurei]

Just got a 300w PSU from my friend, played for like an hour and it didn't crash! But I still have to play longer, just to be sure. Maybe I'll buy a Be Quiet! this time.

 

[Vorac1ous]

Told you so =)

I'm just kidding.

 

[holydeadpenguins]

Hey holydeadpenguins, what did you do wrong the first time? I'm building my first comp next week and would like to know what to avoid.

I used too muchh and when i put on my heatsink it wiped some off.

 

[xLostx]

sounds like the flux capacitor

 

[DSDchemE]

OK...thanks, holydeadpenguins. That's really my only concern, putting on too much (or too little) thermal cement and shorting (or frying) my CPU.
[Sorry for getting off topic, but]
Any advice as to how much to use (Arctic Silver 5 on an Athlon 64)?