Computer Self Restarts With No Os Errors

[dr15]

I'm not 100 percent positive I have a hardware issue, but I've posted already in the Windows XP forum and have tried just about everything software related. Including the common "untick the Automatically Restart from the Start Up and Recovery settings" solution and reinstalling Windows XP. No dice. Still self restarts.

I'm running Windows XP 2600 on a low end machine. Pentium II 300mhz, 128mb of ram, 8gb hard drive.

The computer restarts without logging ANY errors in the event log. It will do so while its idle, whether there are applications running or not.

One thing I've noticed is that if I leave the computer off for a while, when I turn it on it will run for about 8-10 hours before resetting. After it resets, if I leave it on, it will start resetting every 1-2 hours or so.

Xperties suggested that it might be the power supply or temperatures on the CPU. He recommended using motherboard monitor. I've installed it, but unfortunately it doesnt seem to detect any of the temperatures. I'm guessing I have an incompatible motherboard.

I have an M6TBC Pentium II BX system board (I just dug up the manual). I just now noticed that it supports CPU bus frequencies of 66mhz and 100mhz. I'm not sure what the jumpers are set for at the moment but the next thing I will try is setting the jumpers for 66mhz. Not sure if that will buy me anything (would that potentially bring the temperatures down?).

For the power supply, I've already tried checking all the psu connectors with a voltmeter and they all tested +5 volts which is fine. I've also tried disconnecting any unnecessary devices and pci cards to reduce the power requirments (I assume), leaving only 2 hard drives and the video and network cards connected.

I've also tested both the power strip and electrical outlets. Both are fine.

Relavent computer specs (I think the relevant ones):

M6TBC Pentium II BX system board

Pentium II-MMX 300mhz Intel chip

Generic Heatsink/Cooling fan

Generic 250W power supply (actually, it has just a sticker on it that says "250W tested ok")

Generic ATX chassis

Award Modular Bios v4.51PG 3/27/1998-i440BX-SMC60X-2A69-KB0BC-00

What I'm looking for are any suggestions on what more I can do to resolve the issue. And/or, assuming I need to purchase a new PSU or heatsink/cooling fan, any recommendations on what I could purchase that would be compatible with the specifications I listed above. Hardware is most definately NOT my thing. And if I pick something out myself it will most likely not work.

Also, I'm not looking to purchase a new machine. Yes, its an old one. But it is fine for what I use it for. It is a secondary machine that just sits there running file sharing software. I rarely sit at the computer. And its worked just fine for years.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I didn't expect that it'd be this long when I started typing.

[FthrJACK]

this might sound a pain but.. unscrew your mother board... and try pick it up, are any of the holes where the screws where sticking to the case? as your board might be grounding out. i doubt its that tho but worth a check. i too would have suggested your powersupply is at fault or its a trojan horse.

what firewall are you using? and what antivirus?

im still putting money on your PSU though...

[dr15]

Ok, I give up.

I tried switching the jumpers on the motherboard so the bus would run 66mhz instead of 100mhz. Still restarts. I tried opening the chassis and pointing a large room fan directly at the motherboard and cpu. Still restarts. I'm out of ideas.

I'm using whatever firewall that came installed on my linksys router (should have nothing to do with the computer I think) and Norton Antivirus 2003, FthrJack. I've not tried removing the motherboard yet.. but I will, cuz I think i'm gonna just go ahead and trash it.

I went to newegg.com to look at power supplies and cpu fans (still assuming either of those was at fault). After about 4 hours (yikes), I've decided to go ahead and replace the motherboard and cpu also.

I read pretty much all the customer reviews for the low end stuff I was considering. This is what I came away with:

AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.1GHz 200MHz Bus Socket A PGA Processor $35

Specifications:

CPU: 1.1 GHz

Type: Thunderbird

Cache: 256K

BUS: 200MHz

Socket A (PGA)

OEM (Processor Only)

AOPEN AK75 Motherboard SiS 745 ATX RETAIL $60

Specifications:

Supported CPU:AMD Athlon / XP (Socket A)Duron

Chipset:SiS 745 AGPset

FSB:Spec: 266(EV6) Max: 400(EV6)

RAM:3x PC2700/ PC2100/ PC1600 Max. 2GB

IDE:2x Ultra DMA 33/66/100 E-IDE Mode 4

Slots:1 CNR slot + 6 PCI slots +1 AGP slot

Ports:2xCOM,1xLPT, 2xIDE, 2xUSB,1xFDD, 2xPS2

Onboard Audio: Realtek AC’97

CRUCIAL MICRON 256MB 32x64 PC 2100 DDR RAM - OEM $36

184-Pin, CL=2.5-Unbuffered 2.5V, 6-Layers CT3264Z265

Requires DDR supported Motherboard - Lifetime Warranty.

Heroichi Electronic corp. Power Supply $44

350watt, Dual Fan, HEC-350LD UL Approved.

World Famous Power Brand, AMD(Athlon)/Intel Approved

Speeze CPU Fan Model 5F263B1M3 for AMD/Intel Socket A/370 $13

Specifications:

Supported Socket type: 370/Socket A

Dimensions Heat sink :12VDC Fan : 74×74×47 mm (l × w × h)

80×80×25mm Bearing Ball bearing

Rated speed 2500 RPM +/-10%Rated power 1.56 W

Noise level 26.5 dBA Air flow 31.70 CFM at 2500 RPM

Features Aluminum fan frame CPU: Intel Pentium III ~ 1,4 GHz (FC-PGA2) Pentium III ~ 1,13 GHz (FC-PGA) Celeron ~ 1,8 GHz (PPGA) AMD : Athlon XP ~ 2200+ (Thoroughbred) Athlon XP ~ 2100+ (Palomino) Athlon ~ 1,4 GHz (T-Bird)Duron 1.3

I plan to place an order with Newegg for this stuff on Monday morning. I thought I'd post the items here to see what everyone thought. If any see any glaring mistakes, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know. The things people had to say about each item in the customer reviews were excellent. And I think all the items are compatible with each other.

One item that does concern me, but I think is ok, is the motherboard/chip. The specs read "FSB:Spec: 266(EV6) Max: 400(EV6)" for the board and "BUS: 200MHz" for the chip. I was hoping the motherboard specs would say 266/200 FSB. I think i'm ok though, because in the many customer comments several folks make mention of not forgetting to change the board jumper from its default 100mhz setting to 133mhz to take full advantage of your 266mhz FSB. Now, I'm not sure why the board jumper settings are for 100 or 133... but if 133 corresponds a 266 FSB, then I assume that the 100 default would correspond to a 200 FSB.. which corresponds to the chip I selected (did that make sense?).

I will be recycling the ATX chassis, AGP video card, PCI sound card, PCI network card, IDE hard disks, floppy and dvdrom from the current system that is giving me the problems.

I'd like to recycle the memory as well, but I'm not sure how to tell what kind of memory I currently have. It doesn't say on the chip. The manual for my current motherboard says that it takes DRAM memory. Supports 8/16/32/64 MB DIMM module socket. Synchronous DRAM (3.3V). I have 2 chips in there, for 128mb total. I'm guessing that doesn't match up with the new motherboard.

Anyway, let me know what you all think. Any comments at all will be appreciated. And thank you!

[Big Booger]

Before you buy, check your CMOS battery.. that could be the source of all your troubles, then again it might not. I would rather replace a 10 dollar CMOS battery, than all those components, especially for a secondary machine..

You might also try unplugging everything from the motherboard, except for the Hard drive, and power cables.

Remove/disconnect all PCI, CDROMS, even the floppy,

and then boot the machine...

Hope that helps