Intermittent PC lock up

[kony]

OK, so here's the latest, I've not bought a new PSU 450w Qutec I think
it was..
And it crashed once last night, I was Converting an Mpg to Divx, and
downloading a Demo game, and watching an Avi...20minutes into the avi
it locked again..Ahh!!!!

Not to nitpick or anything, but QTec are junk, it would be useful to try a
known-viable, decent name-brand unit. The QTec may not be worth 250-300W
of clean power.

By name brand I mean a name that makes power supplies, not a company that
pretties up a generic unit and slaps their label on it. One of the few
decent makes that relabels is Antec.

 

[half_pint]

OK, so here's the latest, I've not bought a new PSU 450w Qutec I think
it was..
And it crashed once last night, I was Converting an Mpg to Divx, and
downloading a Demo game, and watching an Avi...20minutes into the avi
it locked again..Ahh!!!!

Well it not the PSU then!!
I don't think mine is the PSU either but who knows I haven't had any probs
in a few days since making a few changes so I wil wait and see.

I think always geting this prob 20 mins into an avi points to software.

 

[Piotr Makley]

Not to nitpick or anything, but QTec are junk, it would be
useful to try a known-viable, decent name-brand unit. The
QTec may not be worth 250-300W of clean power.

By name brand I mean a name that makes power supplies, not a
company that pretties up a generic unit and slaps their label
on it. One of the few decent makes that relabels is Antec.

Are Q-Tec the same people as Q-Technology/QTechnology ?

I have seen both names as makers of computer PSUs.

http://www.quietpc.com/uk/psu.php
http://www.qtec.info/products/product.htm?artnr=13352

 

[kony]

Are Q-Tec the same people as Q-Technology/QTechnology ?

I have seen both names as makers of computer PSUs.

http://www.quietpc.com/uk/psu.php
http://www.qtec.info/products/product.htm?artnr=13352

No, Q-Tec and Q-Technology are not the same, Q-Technology makes a better,
upper mid-grade unit.

The "550W" Q-Tec may look similar to this,
http://www.bit-tech.net/images/review/123/7.jpg
which might be a just a bit lower true capacity than an Q-Technology 300W.

 

[w_tom]

Again - so many posts - so much speculation - and not once
have basic numbers been provided. Amazed that people would
spend hours debating what the 3.5 digit multimeter should have
answered in a minute. Gentlemen. I designed this stuff. If
you choose to keep speculating without even some numbers, then
you are doomed to be called a Debating Club.

Not one useful fact that says it is or it is not a PSU.
Provided was procedure to say "yes or no" - in seconds. But
you must record and report those numbers. Not from a
motherboard monitor that cannot accurately provide data. The
trivial 3.5 digit multimeter - that even high school science
students can use - is where diagnosis begins. Why so much
fear and ignorance of a tool that even school students use?
Fear and Loathing on the Computer Trail of 2004?

 

[half_pint]

Again - so many posts - so much speculation - and not once
have basic numbers been provided. Amazed that people would
spend hours debating what the 3.5 digit multimeter should have
answered in a minute.

Not everyone has a 3.5 digit multimeter., they are a pretty specialised
piece of equipment and I don't need one to tell you what it would
read on my machine right now the answer is 5V or 12V if it used 12V.
Basically it would not show a fault.
Anyway I have 3 different fixes 'in the pot' and I have had no trouble
for a few ways so I can't justify buying a meter I will probably never
use again.
(Background compacting in OE turned off)
(OE data files back my master drive)
(Hardware acceleration turned off)
Putting an extra load on the power supply would probably be an
cheaper test method anyway.

Gentlemen. I designed this stuff. If
you choose to keep speculating without even some numbers, then
you are doomed to be called a Debating Club.

Not one useful fact that says it is or it is not a PSU.
Provided was procedure to say "yes or no" - in seconds.

If you have a meter.

But
you must record and report those numbers. Not from a
motherboard monitor that cannot accurately provide data. The
trivial 3.5 digit multimeter - that even high school science
students can use - is where diagnosis begins. Why so much
fear and ignorance of a tool that even school students use?
Fear and Loathing on the Computer Trail of 2004?

I have used far more complicate test equipment than a multimeter
in my time I can assure you!
I have used oscilloscopes that look like the flight deck of concord.

If it was my PSU I suspect I would have experiences problems
burning cd's (as opposed to say typing in a news message) but I have
not so that now seems fairly unlikely.
Also given the proliferation of bugs in MS software I think I should
fully explore that avenue before forking out any money.

Anyhow debating possible solutions to problems is quite an education
in itself!

But then his experiments with a fan may suggest otherwise!!

His 'cold starting' problems may be due to condensation?
Causing a short circuit?

 

[half_pint]

never turn out as you expect them to do they!!


Cheers for that Half Pint...I have since tried different fan speeeds,
this beasts got 3, I also tried moving the fan slowly further away
from the open tower after each crash...I also forgot to say that the
fan causes a different fault...when the pc is cold (as in, being off
all night) when booted it reboots almost instantly..and keeps
rebooting for about 10-12 times, each boot getting a little further
into windows, until a certain temp is reached, then it'll run for
ever....until the dreaded
beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep noise and the pc locks
instantly...and the beep which ever note media player was playing at
the time

I also tried to leave the side off the pc, but with no fan at all...I
had 2 windows open at the time and the was a very slight draft...and
after about 20 minutes the pc must have got too cold, and it powered
off instantly and booted up again...I then put the panel back in again
to keep the heat in a little...

It seems the pc doesnt like being below 42 degrees (CPU), and 34 for
the MBoard.

Hope that fills in some blanks.!

Just been thinking

Your 'cold starting' problems may be due to condensation?
Causing a short circuit?
This could explain why it runs better when warm?

 

[Trent©]

Forgot to mention earlier...There's no trace of anything happening in
Event Viewer or any other Managment tool...it's such an unexpected
crash...the PC is has now being on all night and all day, it's
currently playing Mp3 and downloading and it's great...But if I
attempt to watch a multimedia file I know it will suddenly lock.!!

I havent got the PSU or CPU today, cos I'm going to borrow a 300watt
and 400watt power supply from work and test them.!!

I'm jumpin' in late on this thread...but I'm startin' to agree with
Mad Hatter!! lol No one has even SUGGESTED that you may simply have
a software problem...or a memory leak problem. Maybe I'll read about
this later in the thread.

You never mentioned what multi-media program yer usin'. Old versions
of Media Player (actually, ANY version) can cause this kind of
problem. Update the media software you use...and also Direct X.

When you get this freeze, can you get into Task Manager? If so, go
there. Make a note of EVERYTHING...performance, processes running,
etc. Then HARD reboot...and look at it again. Note the differences.

Then use the media program...and make a note of things one more time.
Then note the differences.

What programs do you have running in the background?...all the time?
Weather program?...time calibration program?...checking for
mail?...any automatic updates that are constantly polling the mfg's
site...etc.

More than likely, you have a software problem.

Good luck. Now I'll go and read more. But, I think from this point
on, all that's gonna be discussed is top vs. bottom posting. lol


Have a nice week...

Trent

What do you call a smart blonde?
A golden retriever.

 

[Trent©]

I would get the PSU first (you must have some money), also its a lot
cheaper to change the cables than the expensive things on the end of them.
You might change £100's of pounds worth of stuff and find its a frayed
cable.

What would cause the power supply to act up only with multi-media
files?


Have a nice week...

Trent

What do you call a smart blonde?
A golden retriever.

 

[Trent©]

Here's a strange thing....Just in the name of science (and to rule out
heat as the problem)...I borrowed an Office fan and took the side of
my pc off and sat the fan facing it on a moderate speed....

I was then working on the Desktop when the Pc rebooted, it loaded
windows again and after 2 mins it rebooted again...then it got half
way thru loading Win2k it rebooted and never got to desktop until I
took the fan away and let the pc warm up again....it took another 8
reboots (automatic) before fully loading again....

As usual.....and ideas welcome.!

Do you have w2k configured so that it doesn't reboot on errors? If
not, you need to do this. It could be rebooting because of
errors...and not because of heat.

And the fan blowing on the CPU heat sink fan could be slowing down the
HSF...causing the CPU to overheat.


Have a nice week...

Trent

What do you call a smart blonde?
A golden retriever.

 

[Trent©]

Cheers for that Half Pint...I have since tried different fan speeeds,
this beasts got 3, I also tried moving the fan slowly further away
from the open tower after each crash...I also forgot to say that the
fan causes a different fault...when the pc is cold (as in, being off
all night) when booted it reboots almost instantly..and keeps
rebooting for about 10-12 times, each boot getting a little further
into windows, until a certain temp is reached,

Yer ASSUMING this. WHAT temperature?

Turn off the automatic reboot on errors.

then it'll run for
ever....until the dreaded
beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep noise and the pc locks
instantly...and the beep which ever note media player was playing at
the time

Don't run Media Player. Use Music Match Juke Box (MMJB) instead.
Media Player is a resource hog. As previously mentioned, get the
latest version of Direct X.

I also tried to leave the side off the pc, but with no fan at all...I
had 2 windows open at the time and the was a very slight draft...and
after about 20 minutes the pc must have got too cold, and it powered
off instantly and booted up again...I then put the panel back in again
to keep the heat in a little...

It seems the pc doesnt like being below 42 degrees (CPU), and 34 for
the MBoard.

Hope that fills in some blanks.!

Maybe its the light! Maybe the CPU is allergic to the light! lol


Have a nice week...

Trent

What do you call a smart blonde?
A golden retriever.

 

[Trent©]

OK, so here's the latest, I've not bought a new PSU 450w Qutec I think
it was..
And it crashed once last night, I was Converting an Mpg to Divx, and
downloading a Demo game, and watching an Avi...20minutes into the avi
it locked again..Ahh!!!!

Are you running the latest 2000 service pack? Let us know how it goes
once you turn off rebooting on errors.

Check the specs on your page file...and yer RAM usage.

My guess is that the problem is Media Player...and/or somehow related
to resource usage.

Take a peek into the BIOS...to see if you can see anything obvious.


Have a nice week...

Trent

What do you call a smart blonde?
A golden retriever.

 

[Trent©]

Not to nitpick or anything, but QTec are junk, it would be useful to try a
known-viable, decent name-brand unit. The QTec may not be worth 250-300W
of clean power.

For what he's got, he should be able to run with a 195. The power
supply is not his problem.


Have a nice week...

Trent

What do you call a smart blonde?
A golden retriever.

 

[half_pint]

Maybe its the light! Maybe the CPU is allergic to the light! lol

Light is energy, caused heat. Expands metal. Evapourates water.

 

[w_tom]

What? You have a screw driver and don't have a 3.5 digit
multimeter. Meters are even sold in Sears, Home Depot, Lowes,
and Radio
Shack. So inexpensive as to make a power supply appear to be
priced like it was gold. If you don't have a multimeter,
well, that would explain why this technical discussion is
really only a Debating Society. People with too much time on
their hands, no basic tools, and no real interest in getting
the task done.

You have a few $thousand oscilloscope but you don't even
have a $15 multimeter? I doubt it. But even with the
oscilloscope, those power supply problems could have been
identified or eliminated as reasons for failure - in seconds.
Even oscilloscope could have ended the debate immediately.
Oscilloscope was an even better tool. No one can say if
problem is or is not PSU on speculation. Without a
screwdriver to open system and without a meter (or
oscilloscope) to see what a human cannot, then any solution is
only speculation - also called shotgunning.

Whether one has a meter is irrelevant. The question now is
whether one wants to be a Debating Society. Meters are that
ubiquitous AND that inexpensive. Apparently the problem has
been identified. Human fears both technology and learning.

Fear of the meter also suggests you probably don't even know
how to use the oscilloscope. Even oscilloscope could have
made this debate immediately redundant. All this PSU
discussion without a single numerical reading is both time and
newsgroup bandwidth wasted. No numbers is akin to making a
conclusion using classic junk science reasoning. Anyone who
wants to solve a computer problem (and other electrical
problems as well), without debating, has a 3.5 digit
multimeter - to do in minutes what has not even been resolved
for days.

 

[half_pint]

What? You have a screw driver and don't have a 3.5 digit
multimeter. Meters are even sold in Sears, Home Depot, Lowes,
and Radio
Shack. So inexpensive as to make a power supply appear to be
priced like it was gold. If you don't have a multimeter,
well, that would explain why this technical discussion is
really only a Debating Society. People with too much time on
their hands, no basic tools, and no real interest in getting
the task done.

You have a few $thousand oscilloscope but you don't even
have a $15 multimeter?

I don't have one I have used one at university amngst other places.
If I did have one I would not need a multimeter anyway.

I doubt it. But even with the
oscilloscope, those power supply problems could have been
identified or eliminated as reasons for failure - in seconds.
Even oscilloscope could have ended the debate immediately.
Oscilloscope was an even better tool. No one can say if
problem is or is not PSU on speculation. Without a
screwdriver to open system and without a meter (or
oscilloscope) to see what a human cannot, then any solution is
only speculation - also called shotgunning.

Whether one has a meter is irrelevant. The question now is
whether one wants to be a Debating Society. Meters are that
ubiquitous AND that inexpensive. Apparently the problem has
been identified. Human fears both technology and learning.

Fear of the meter also suggests you probably don't even know
how to use the oscilloscope.

I most certaintly do.

Even oscilloscope could have
made this debate immediately redundant. All this PSU
discussion without a single numerical reading is both time and
newsgroup bandwidth wasted.

Not necessialarly.
In my case (literally) a 90W PSU is a reasonably suspect given

I have expanded beyond the available spare slots.

No numbers is akin to making a
conclusion using classic junk science reasoning. Anyone who
wants to solve a computer problem (and other electrical
problems as well), without debating, has a 3.5 digit
multimeter - to do in minutes what has not even been resolved
for days.

Looks like my problem may well be solved with 4 days
of error free running, I will declare it fixed after a week.

My problem then will be to determine which of the three
possible solutions cured it.

1) Disableing background compacting in OE as advised in
an OE newsgroup. (although I though
I tried this unsuccesfully before).

2) Reducing hardware accekeration in performance/graphics.

3) Putting OE's message cache back on my master drive.


I am thinking it maybe best to try in the listed order ny
reenabling each in order.

I think I will try no 1 now to save time.

 

[half_pint]

I don't have one I have used one at university amngst other places.
If I did have one I would not need a multimeter anyway.



I most certaintly do.

Not necessialarly.
In my case (literally) a 90W PSU is a reasonably suspect given

I have expanded beyond the available spare slots.



Looks like my problem may well be solved with 4 days
of error free running, I will declare it fixed after a week.

My problem then will be to determine which of the three
possible solutions cured it.

1) Disableing background compacting in OE as advised in
an OE newsgroup. (although I though
I tried this unsuccesfully before).

2) Reducing hardware accekeration in performance/graphics.

3) Putting OE's message cache back on my master drive.


I am thinking it maybe best to try in the listed order ny
reenabling each in order.

I think I will try no 1 now to save time.

Well I have has a) on for a day now with no problems.
I also have increased b) a step (of four settings)
(been increased for a few days actually)
I may well be 3) but its far to early to say, as I though I had a freeze
but it turns out it wasn't.

 

[Putim]

Well I have has a) on for a day now with no problems.

I also have increased b) a step (of four settings)
(been increased for a few days actually)
I may well be 3) but its far to early to say, as I though I had a freeze
but it turns out it wasn't.

OK, here it is.!!!

We have a FIX!!!!!!!!!!

I have now bought another Motherboard and a stick of DDR Ram to go
with it and the pc has now been on for 3 days, encoding video and
playing Avi files without 1 crash!!!

Thank you for all your help guys.!!! It's finally
sorted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YEEEPPEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!