Hardware problem? (PC)

This is not so much my problem but a friend's;

Sometimes (ie- not every time) when he boots his computer, before the windows "bootscreen" and windows "welcome/logon screen" the computer crashes and he is presented with a black screen and white writing.

^ More or less a BSOD. My friend is very vague, and he couldnt tell me what the BSOD said, but I told him to write it down next time it happens.

Also, sometimes, when he has lots of programs running the computer will randomly shut off. It doesnt shutdown, it just turns off (like a blackout, except the room lights stay on ).

He tried to re-create the problem by opening lots of programs and burning cds (as this often caused the crashes) but nothing would crash it when I was there.

When he boots into xp (80% of the time he is successful) he is presented with an "add hardware wizard" which tries to install the drivers for a firewire card that was previously running fine.

I said I'd re-install windows for him because his computer is running slow and needs a little freshness...

But I KNOW this is a hardware problem and that the above wont fix it.

The annoying thing is that it doesnt happen every time, only some times and its hard to recreate the problem.

is it likely a faulty power supply?

a dodgy firewire card? - I think I will pull this out, seeing as its not working anyway.

As I get more BSOD information I will post it. but any suggestions would be appreciated.

#467770

Faulty power sounds like a proper diagnoises. I doubt its software although my brothers computer was having the same random (powerlike) crashes, and after a reformate everything was fine,

#467771

I dunno, my PC seems to do some funny things when I try to boot with my webcam plugged in, it just won't finish loading the OS, and I'm stuck with something similar that never goes away. Try unplugging all your unnecessary peripherals before you boot up, then plug them back in once Windows is completely finished loading.

#467774

Is it something like the specs for his computer? For instance: 512 ram running Vista, less than 10% free space on his HD, way way fragmented,... Did he try to re-seat that firewire card? Might look at his hardware profile for question marks. Did he try safemode and get the same results? Is there any clue in the bootlog?

It definitely sounds like a hardware issue to me but it would be hard to pinpoint without testing.

Advise: scrap it for a new iMac in October (kinda bias what say)

#467778

P4 3.6 ghz

1 gb of ram

250gb sata split into two partitions. Both with plenty of space, system disk has 50gb (35+ gb free), other disk has 200 gb approx (80gb+ free).

As for safe mode- theres no need, 90% of the time his PC works fine... only sometimes does it randomly crash (turn off) or boot to a bsod.

he's not a computer guru so I doubt he would have touched the firewire card. I was the one that originally installed it (and its been working fine for a year approx. problem surfaced within the last month with no obvious cause).

Yeah I'd like to say "get a new computer" but if i fix it I get $50.... and he doesnt really like macs. I DO though

my PC seems to do some funny things when I try to boot with my webcam plugged in, it just won't finish loading the OS.Try unplugging all your unnecessary peripherals before you boot up, then plug them back in once Windows is completely finished loading.

thats usually coz it tries to detect external drives and fails when it reaches the webcam. I do the same with my ipod, and my XP machine wont boot at all.

But the strange thing about this problem is that it happens randomly and isnt linked to any external device (other than mouse, keyboard, monitor). Mostly it boots fine with these peripherals but sometimes it doesnt.

so im thinking theres something up maybe with the motherboard.

either that or maybe a faulty driver??? but if that was the case wouldnt it crash at the windows boot screen? and not before it?

- I remember once i installed a dodgy nvidia graphics card driver and it wouldnt get to the bootscreen, but he doesnt have a gpu card.

#467779

I'm going to chime in with coldwerturkey. I think the power supply is starting to flake out. It just might be a matter of time before it goes completely or the problem becomes more frequent.

#467780

Just try to replace the power supply and see what happens

#467825

ok now he got the problem again, turns out its an overheating issue- According to the BSOD error message.

which makes sense. more apps= more cpu work= more heat.

it wasnt crashing when i was there because he only just turned his pc on, and it didnt have enough time to build up heat.

I'm guessing the cpu fan has stopped, and the safety 'switch off' feature is kicking into place to stop him cooking his computer.

so i will pull it apart, check the fan's power connection, leave the box open, make sure it spins.... then leave it on for a while with lots of apps going... see what happens.

what do u reckon?

#467940

It turns out that he has no CPU fan? *joking*

I've had this problem before.

In my case, the auto-poweroff thingy was caused by severe memory or hardware address sharing violation. At first I tried re-installing Windows but the problem persisted.

Now my brother came up with an idea.

He basically unplugged every third-party cards from the motherboard and relocated them. Sound card, fax modem, video capturing and TV tuner cards in their new slots.

Guess what... those annoying things were gone.

This trick may or may not work with your pal's puter but it saved my life once.

#467965

It turns out that he has no CPU fan? *joking*

I've had this problem before.

In my case, the auto-poweroff thingy was caused by severe memory or hardware address sharing violation. At first I tried re-installing Windows but the problem persisted.

Now my brother came up with an idea.

He basically unplugged every third-party cards from the motherboard and relocated them. Sound card, fax modem, video capturing and TV tuner cards in their new slots.

Guess what... those annoying things were gone.

This trick may or may not work with your pal's puter but it saved my life once.

good tip!

and quite plausible. coz the firewire card isnt working properly (its a dodgy generic brand one) and is probably causing problems with the motherboard (short curcuiting? or somethin)

#468074

UPDATE BUMP-

On pulling the computer apart, and undoing the heatsink clamp around the cpu, the heatsink fell off.

It was covered in a think layer of dust which I cleaned off.

But underneath (between cpu and heatsink) there is a flaky dried glue thats no longer doing its job (keeping cpu and heastsink close together to best pull away the heat).

What glues are available for the heatsink?

#468089

There are two things that will fit in the use. Look at the trace, if it's some kind of gel, it's silicone gel; if the trace looks like a rectangular shape, it's silicone gel sheet. Either one will do.

It's a bit more difficult to find that sheet in stores because it's more like a factory-made stuff. The gel thing is easier to find.

Go to your computer parts shop and ask for silicone paste. The package is like a miniature toothpaste. I'm not sure about the price though.

but err... you ripped everything apart?!?!?!

#468092

There are two things that will fit in the use. Look at the trace, if it's some kind of gel, it's silicone gel; if the trace looks like a rectangular shape, it's silicone gel sheet. Either one will do.

It's a bit more difficult to find that sheet in stores because it's more like a factory-made stuff. The gel thing is easier to find.

Go to your computer parts shop and ask for silicone paste. The package is like a miniature toothpaste. I'm not sure about the price though.

but err... you ripped everything apart?!?!?!

no it actually fell off.... as soon as i'd undone the clamps it fell off to reveal the glue which was all dried up and coming apart sort of thing.

dad suggested (pipe) thread sealant which i think contains silicone and teflon (among other things)... it can withstand temps up to 204*c... but im not sure if it will be able to transfer the heat well enough from the cpu?

#468151

I'm not sure how well (or better) that thing will do but I suggest what is exclusively produced to do its job.

#468276

I'm not sure how well (or better) that thing will do but I suggest what is exclusively produced to do its job.

yeah... i ended up buying some special thermal compound today anyway.

so now that i've more or less put it back together, whats the best way to get the heat up and check the temperatures?

whats normal for a pentium 4 3ghz in terms of temperature (in *c)

- 1 gb ram (2x 512

- ethernet card

- 250gb sata

- cd drive

- firewire card (im leaving it in for now till it crashes).

#468283

no it actually fell off.... as soon as i'd undone the clamps it fell off to reveal the glue which was all dried up and coming apart sort of thing.

dad suggested (pipe) thread sealant which i think contains silicone and teflon (among other things)... it can withstand temps up to 204*c... but im not sure if it will be able to transfer the heat well enough from the cpu?

thats not glue.. it's thermal paste.

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/125310

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835100013

#468287