Troubleshooting A PC That Reboots Itself Continuously...

[James G]

I recently built a new PC and, having no need for two machines, gave my
old PC to a friend in another state. I packed the PC up myself and sent
it via US mail. The PC is a homebuilt AMD 1800+ with 512MB RAM and a
SOYO Dragon+ MoBo. It ran beautifully for me for three years.

The problem, though, is that it seems to have during shipment developed
an odd problem of rebooting itself. The problem is described to me like
this: At odd times, the PC's screen will go totally black, then will
reboot. The fans in the PC never go out, so there seems to be
continuous power from the PS. Upon booting up Windows after one of
these mysterious reboots, most times instead of going to the desktop,
the PC will instead go to the "improper shutdown" screen offering the
user to start in safe mode or start normally. Sometimes the PC will go
in a loop of rebooting itself without getting to this screen. I've
instructed her to try "start normally", but most times that doesn't
work unless she chooses "safe mode" first, shuts down the PC, then
restarts. Sometimes the PC will stay on successfully for an hour or
longer. Sometimes the problem happens continually over a short period
of time.

It's a real shame, because this friend of mine really needs this PC to
be stable more than anything, but she doesn't have any real PC
troubleshooting skills and I'm not savvy enough to provide much
over-the-phone tech support. But if I can't come up with a solution,
I've basically given her a 20 pound doorstop instead of a computer. If
I can't come up with some possible easy solutions, then I'm faced with
the prospect of shopping for a PC tech in her area to make a house call
and check it out. As fate would have it, she lives in a rural area,
which might make that more difficult than it would be in a big city.

So, any ideas? Does this sound like a problem any of you have had?
Thanks!

 

[John Doe]

(James G is trying to help someone over the telephone)

....

Sometimes the PC will go in a loop of rebooting itself without
getting to this screen. I've instructed her to try "start
normally", but most times that doesn't work unless she chooses
"safe mode" first, shuts down the PC, then restarts. Sometimes the
PC will stay on successfully for an hour or longer. ....
this friend of mine really needs this PC to
be stable more than anything, but she doesn't have any real PC
troubleshooting skills and I'm not savvy enough to provide much
over-the-phone tech support.

.... she lives in a rural area,

The ultimate troubleshooting tool if the user can get online is
through either Windows XP Remote Assistance or Windows 98 NetMeeting.
NetMeeting is very reliable, in my experience.

Maybe she needs a high-quality power supply, surge suppressor, line
conditioner, or backup power supply.

Buying a backup power supply isn't a waste since you can use it for
another system.

 

[aq]

When one of the RAM sticks in my PC was dying, the PC sometimes behaved
very much like this. I did not know this until it actually died -- this
stick is still kept
on my desk.


You probably may need to check every components, and make sure all are
seated well in their slots or socket. A poor PSU (power supply unit) might
also
give you similar symptom.

 

[Chris Pound]

I recently built a new PC and, having no need for two machines, gave my
old PC to a friend in another state. I packed the PC up myself and sent
it via US mail. The PC is a homebuilt AMD 1800+ with 512MB RAM and a
SOYO Dragon+ MoBo. It ran beautifully for me for three years.

The problem, though, is that it seems to have during shipment developed
an odd problem of rebooting itself. The problem is described to me like
this: At odd times, the PC's screen will go totally black, then will
reboot. The fans in the PC never go out, so there seems to be
continuous power from the PS. Upon booting up Windows after one of
these mysterious reboots, most times instead of going to the desktop,
the PC will instead go to the "improper shutdown" screen offering the
user to start in safe mode or start normally. Sometimes the PC will go
in a loop of rebooting itself without getting to this screen. I've
instructed her to try "start normally", but most times that doesn't
work unless she chooses "safe mode" first, shuts down the PC, then
restarts. Sometimes the PC will stay on successfully for an hour or
longer. Sometimes the problem happens continually over a short period
of time.

It's a real shame, because this friend of mine really needs this PC to
be stable more than anything, but she doesn't have any real PC
troubleshooting skills and I'm not savvy enough to provide much
over-the-phone tech support. But if I can't come up with a solution,
I've basically given her a 20 pound doorstop instead of a computer. If
I can't come up with some possible easy solutions, then I'm faced with
the prospect of shopping for a PC tech in her area to make a house call
and check it out. As fate would have it, she lives in a rural area,
which might make that more difficult than it would be in a big city.

So, any ideas? Does this sound like a problem any of you have had?
Thanks!

My first guess is the PSU.

 

[Michael Thomas]

I recently built a new PC and, having no need for two machines, gave my
old PC to a friend in another state. I packed the PC up myself and sent
it via US mail. The PC is a homebuilt AMD 1800+ with 512MB RAM and a
SOYO Dragon+ MoBo. It ran beautifully for me for three years.

<snip>

Constant reboots with windows 2000/XP can be caused by driver issues,
software services, or hardware. There is an option under Control
Panel ==> System ==> Advanced ==> Startup and Recovery ==> System
Failure ==> checkbox for automatically restart. Turning that off will
yield a BSOD (blue screen of death) the next time something causes the
system to halt, and hopefully call out memory or a device driver you
can trace to a program or hardware device. If you don't get a BSOD
after changing this option, and the system keeps rebooting, then I
would look at the power supply.

Since it ran for 3 years flawlessly, I'd think it could be that
something came loose during shipping and needs to be reseated. Memory
and video card are the first things I'd check. I would remove and
reseat both of them.

BTW, shipping PC's with athlon heatsinks is always a risk, as they
attach to the zif socket with one clip on each side. If the trip is a
rough one, a clip can break off the socket, removing itself from the
CPU, and if not caught before powering it up, fry it.

It's a good idea for someone to open it up and inspect it, IMHO.

MT

 

[Al]

The PC is a homebuilt AMD 1800+ with 512MB RAM and a
SOYO Dragon+ MoBo. It ran beautifully for me for three years.

It could very well be one of the victims of the bad Taiwanese capacitors
fiasco. The time frame and the symptoms are just right. The forum at
badcaps.net does have some reports of Soyo Dragon+s with bad caps.

Just have her open it and look for bulging/leaking caps. Example photos are on
the referenced website. It's also the easiest diagnosis to perform

 

[David Maynard]

I recently built a new PC and, having no need for two machines, gave my
old PC to a friend in another state. I packed the PC up myself and sent
it via US mail. The PC is a homebuilt AMD 1800+ with 512MB RAM and a
SOYO Dragon+ MoBo. It ran beautifully for me for three years.

The problem, though, is that it seems to have during shipment developed
an odd problem of rebooting itself. The problem is described to me like
this: At odd times, the PC's screen will go totally black, then will
reboot. The fans in the PC never go out, so there seems to be
continuous power from the PS. Upon booting up Windows after one of
these mysterious reboots, most times instead of going to the desktop,
the PC will instead go to the "improper shutdown" screen offering the
user to start in safe mode or start normally. Sometimes the PC will go
in a loop of rebooting itself without getting to this screen. I've
instructed her to try "start normally", but most times that doesn't
work unless she chooses "safe mode" first, shuts down the PC, then
restarts. Sometimes the PC will stay on successfully for an hour or
longer. Sometimes the problem happens continually over a short period
of time.

It's a real shame, because this friend of mine really needs this PC to
be stable more than anything, but she doesn't have any real PC
troubleshooting skills and I'm not savvy enough to provide much
over-the-phone tech support. But if I can't come up with a solution,
I've basically given her a 20 pound doorstop instead of a computer. If
I can't come up with some possible easy solutions, then I'm faced with
the prospect of shopping for a PC tech in her area to make a house call
and check it out. As fate would have it, she lives in a rural area,
which might make that more difficult than it would be in a big city.

So, any ideas? Does this sound like a problem any of you have had?
Thanks!

Well, the biggest problem is no one with computer skills at the location.

Since the problem began after shipping the most logical guess is that the
jostling around disturbed one or more component(s) so I'd reseat
everything. I'd be most suspicious of memory sticks and the video card, but
it could be anything.

The other area of concern is the heatsink, since they're often heavy items
and prone to being jostled.

If it's actually a *detected* fault, with XP doing a reboot recovery, there
might be an entry in the event logs.

 

[JAD]

BTW, shipping PC's with athlon heatsinks is always a risk, as they

attach to the zif socket with one clip on each side. If the trip is a
rough one, a clip can break off the socket, removing itself from the
CPU, and if not caught before powering it up, fry it.

took the words............ that and....Damn Murphy!

 

[James G]

Thanks for everybody's help. David, when you stated the biggest problem
is no one with pc skills at the location, you nailed it.

The heatsink I had on this particular Athlon is definitely huge and
heavy. I will have her look at it.

At the same location as my friend's PC is another that seems to run
just fine on the same circuit. That (in my mind) tends to rule out
external problems, such as the house's own electricity supply. But the
PC's PS is definitely an area of concern. I'm really hoping that isn't
it, as it would almost certainly entail a tech diagnosing/fixing the
problem.

Not to whine, I'm just bummed because I thought I was doing something
nice for someone yet I gave them more of a headache. But I'll
definitely walk her through checking out the seating of components and
other stuff. Hopefully we'll figure this one out.

Thanks again to all!

 

[PHYSICIAN]

IF ITS FIXED O.K., YET SOMETIMES PARCEL TRUCKS SIT OUTDOORS FOR DAYS,
IN EXTREME HEAT OR COLD OR MOISTURE. Check bios & reset to "default"
setting or perhaps bios battery has worn out. Also if using windows xp,
use service pack 2, it will stop buffer overrun situations which are
similar.Basicly, -=SLOW=- down computer till it stays operational. Also
check for disconnected wires. Perhaps your friends accessory equipment
is not compatible or software issues. aLSO, NEVER UNDERESTIMATE ISP
MEANNESS.
SIGNEDHYSICIAN THOMAS STEWART VON DRASHEK M.D.

 

[David Maynard]

Thanks for everybody's help. David, when you stated the biggest problem
is no one with pc skills at the location, you nailed it.

The heatsink I had on this particular Athlon is definitely huge and
heavy. I will have her look at it.

At the same location as my friend's PC is another that seems to run
just fine on the same circuit. That (in my mind) tends to rule out
external problems, such as the house's own electricity supply.

That was a good thing to check since the 'location' is also 'new'.

But the
PC's PS is definitely an area of concern. I'm really hoping that isn't
it, as it would almost certainly entail a tech diagnosing/fixing the
problem.

Since it started after being shipped that's the most likely culprit, and
not 'bad PSU', 'bad caps', etc. Of course, it could just be coincidental
that the caps went bad at the same moment it was shipped but that's not the
best bet.

Not to whine, I'm just bummed because I thought I was doing something
nice for someone yet I gave them more of a headache. But I'll
definitely walk her through checking out the seating of components and
other stuff. Hopefully we'll figure this one out.

If I had to just blindly throw a dart in the dark I'd aim at the AGP slot
as they're notorious for jiggling loose. Second shot at the memory sticks.

I sure hope it isn't the huge heavy heatsink because that could mean it
snapped off a socket retaining pin.

 

[Al]

Since it started after being shipped that's the most likely culprit, and
not 'bad PSU', 'bad caps', etc. Of course, it could just be coincidental
that the caps went bad at the same moment it was shipped but that's not the
best bet.

good point, a la Lloyd Morgan

I sure hope it isn't the huge heavy heatsink because that could mean it
snapped off a socket retaining pin.

since all computers get shipped sometime, why haven't manufacturers addressed
that in the socket design?

what protective steps could be taken before shipping any computer?

 

[David Maynard]

good point, a la Lloyd Morgan




since all computers get shipped sometime, why haven't manufacturers addressed
that in the socket design?

Well, they have. That's why, well one reason, there is a maximum weight
spec for the heatsink.

And then there are the newer types with separate mounting rather than the
socket clips.

what protective steps could be taken before shipping any computer?

It's probably ok if using the stock heatsink but if you have an over weight
one the safe thing is to remove it and reinstall at the destination.