Windows crashing (again!) definitely temperature..

[Gumpster]

I have a self-built system, Asus A7V333 MB, 1Gb RAM, a Samsung and
Maxtor HDD (both brand new), Windows XP pro.

I'm from the UK and we do not generally have extremely hot weather.
However, during the past few weeks there have been two short periods of
extremely high temperatures (30 - 35c). During these periods my system
crashes several times a day. I tried everything but I have now stumbled
on a solution. I remove one side panel and direct a large fan directly
into the case blowing straight onto the disks/motherboard area. This
solves everything - no more crashes.

Can anyone hazard a guess as to what component may be failing under
these temperatures? (I understand the HDDs are designed to run at high
temperatures and mine are running at a steady 42 degrees) so I suspect
something else. Nothing in the Windows logs helps me to narrow things
down - the last crash produced this entry:

Error code 100000d1, parameter1 00000002, parameter2 00000002,
parameter3 00000001, parameter4 baf372c0.

I would appreciate your thoughts,

Gary

 

[Mistoffolees]

I have a self-built system, Asus A7V333 MB, 1Gb RAM, a Samsung and
Maxtor HDD (both brand new), Windows XP pro.

I'm from the UK and we do not generally have extremely hot weather.
However, during the past few weeks there have been two short periods of
extremely high temperatures (30 - 35c). During these periods my system
crashes several times a day. I tried everything but I have now stumbled
on a solution. I remove one side panel and direct a large fan directly
into the case blowing straight onto the disks/motherboard area. This
solves everything - no more crashes.

Can anyone hazard a guess as to what component may be failing under
these temperatures? (I understand the HDDs are designed to run at high
temperatures and mine are running at a steady 42 degrees) so I suspect
something else. Nothing in the Windows logs helps me to narrow things
down - the last crash produced this entry:

Error code 100000d1, parameter1 00000002, parameter2 00000002,
parameter3 00000001, parameter4 baf372c0.

I would appreciate your thoughts,

Gary

The best assumption is alwasy the CPU. Most modern CPU's are
designed to throttle back or throttle off when its maximum
design temperature is reached. The built-in safety circuitry
will do it. Remember that while the motherboard temperature
may be relatively low, such as 40 deg C or lower, the CPU
core can be quite hot.

 

[Gumpster]

The best assumption is alwasy the CPU. Most modern CPU's are
designed to throttle back or throttle off when its maximum
design temperature is reached. The built-in safety circuitry
will do it. Remember that while the motherboard temperature
may be relatively low, such as 40 deg C or lower, the CPU
core can be quite hot.

I have an Athlon XP2800 - would you know if these are particularly
susceptible? I guess the answer would be a more efficient heatsink/fan?

Thank you

Gary

 

[Breaker]

I have an Athlon XP2800 - would you know if these are particularly
susceptible? I guess the answer would be a more efficient heatsink/fan?

Thank you

Gary

Athlons defenitely run hot. However their heat threshold is actually
pretty high. But a too small heatsink or one that has lost part of
its contact with the CPU can cause the temp in the core to rise quite
high even though the fan looks like it is running just fine.

Have you checked what the temp of the CPU is when it is under load?

There are several free temp monitoring programs available so you can
do so.

 

[Robert Gault]

<snip>


I have an Athlon XP2800 - would you know if these are particularly
susceptible? I guess the answer would be a more efficient heatsink/fan?

Thank you

Gary

The most likely problem is that you do not have adequate air flowing
though the computer. The best heatsink and fan can't cool anything if
the hot air is not removed from the vicinity.

Make sure that you have good case fans, perhaps one to remove air and
one to add air to the case. Have the fans on opposite sides of the case
so that the air actually flows through the case rather than just a small
section. If the case does not have sufficiently large openings for air
to enter the case, make some.

Since your system is home built, you might consider a new case designed
for better air flow if necessary.

 

[Gumpster]

The most likely problem is that you do not have adequate air flowing
though the computer. The best heatsink and fan can't cool anything if
the hot air is not removed from the vicinity.

Make sure that you have good case fans, perhaps one to remove air and
one to add air to the case. Have the fans on opposite sides of the case
so that the air actually flows through the case rather than just a small
section. If the case does not have sufficiently large openings for air
to enter the case, make some.

Since your system is home built, you might consider a new case designed
for better air flow if necessary.

The last time this happened I bought two new fans, I now have two
sucking air in at the front and two drawing it out of the rear. I also
tidied up the IDE and power cabling to make sure I had a good airflow.
I didn't consider the CPU cooling thoug - might it pay to get a new
heatsink and fan?

Gary

 

[Gumpster]

The last time this happened I bought two new fans, I now have two
sucking air in at the front and two drawing it out of the rear. I also
tidied up the IDE and power cabling to make sure I had a good airflow.
I didn't consider the CPU cooling thoug - might it pay to get a new
heatsink and fan?

Gary

As a follow up to this I have had my system on idle all day with the
dek fan pumping air in the side - I felt the two hard disks and they
are cool but the processor is untouchable - perhaps this is it?
(Clearly with the side on and the fan not pumping air the heatsink and
fan can't cope....My system is fine at the moment which suggests the
processor itself is ok.....)

 

[NoStop]

The last time this happened I bought two new fans, I now have two
sucking air in at the front and two drawing it out of the rear. I also
tidied up the IDE and power cabling to make sure I had a good airflow.
I didn't consider the CPU cooling thoug - might it pay to get a new
heatsink and fan?

Gary

If you are using the stock AMD heatsink packaged with the 2800+, it just
isn't adequate with the high ambient temperatures you're experiencing. A
better third-party heatsink would be an improvement and would in the long
run extend the life of your cpu. But no matter how you cut it, if the
ambient temperature within your case gets too high, it's going to be
difficult keeping the cpu temp running within specs. I don't know how long
you'll be caught up in that heatwave, but what's wrong with running with
the case opened until things cool down a bit?

--
WGA is the best thing that has happened for Linux in a while.

The ULTIMATE Windoze Fanboy:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2370205018226686613

Is this a modern day equivalent of a Nazi youth rally?:

http://www.ntk.net/media/developers.mpg

A 3D Linux Desktop (video) ...

View Some Common Linux Desktops ...
http://shots.osdir.com/

 

[Gumpster]

If you are using the stock AMD heatsink packaged with the 2800+, it just
isn't adequate with the high ambient temperatures you're experiencing. A
better third-party heatsink would be an improvement and would in the long
run extend the life of your cpu. But no matter how you cut it, if the
ambient temperature within your case gets too high, it's going to be
difficult keeping the cpu temp running within specs. I don't know how long
you'll be caught up in that heatwave, but what's wrong with running with
the case opened until things cool down a bit?

--
WGA is the best thing that has happened for Linux in a while.

The ULTIMATE Windoze Fanboy:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2370205018226686613

Is this a modern day equivalent of a Nazi youth rally?:

http://www.ntk.net/media/developers.mpg

A 3D Linux Desktop (video) ...

View Some Common Linux Desktops ...
http://shots.osdir.com/

Many thanks. I have downloaded 'Motherboard Monitor' which reports the
following temperatures (on idle), (my room temperature is 28c).
Case - 29c
CPU Diode - 50c
CPU Socket - 49c

Are those figures acceptable? (The tray icon is displaying teh Diode
temperature in red)

Gary

 

[NoStop]

Many thanks. I have downloaded 'Motherboard Monitor' which reports the
following temperatures (on idle), (my room temperature is 28c).
Case - 29c
CPU Diode - 50c
CPU Socket - 49c

Are those figures acceptable? (The tray icon is displaying teh Diode
temperature in red)

Gary

On one of my systems the case temp is presently 35C and the CPU is 51C. I
expect this because it is a stock heatsink and the case temp is up there on
this hot day. In your case with a case temp of 29C I'd expect your CPU to
lower than it is. That's an indication that you could improve on your
heatsink. But at these temps you aren't anywhere near any danger threshold.
The AMD's are designed to shutdown if they hit 80C. I certainly don't
recommend going to 60C as that will stress the CPU and shorten its
lifespan. From your original post I expected higher temps than what you're
reporting in this post.

--
WGA is the best thing that has happened for Linux in a while.

The ULTIMATE Windoze Fanboy:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2370205018226686613

Is this a modern day equivalent of a Nazi youth rally?:

http://www.ntk.net/media/developers.mpg

A 3D Linux Desktop (video) ...

View Some Common Linux Desktops ...
http://shots.osdir.com/

 

[Gumpster]

On one of my systems the case temp is presently 35C and the CPU is 51C. I
expect this because it is a stock heatsink and the case temp is up there on
this hot day. In your case with a case temp of 29C I'd expect your CPU to
lower than it is. That's an indication that you could improve on your
heatsink. But at these temps you aren't anywhere near any danger threshold.
The AMD's are designed to shutdown if they hit 80C. I certainly don't
recommend going to 60C as that will stress the CPU and shorten its
lifespan. From your original post I expected higher temps than what you're
reporting in this post.

--
WGA is the best thing that has happened for Linux in a while.

The ULTIMATE Windoze Fanboy:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2370205018226686613

Is this a modern day equivalent of a Nazi youth rally?:

http://www.ntk.net/media/developers.mpg

A 3D Linux Desktop (video) ...

View Some Common Linux Desktops ...
http://shots.osdir.com/

I forgot to mention that those temperatures are with a dirty great fan
blasting into the side - without that everything increases quite
quickly....