Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 20

Thread: Possible hardware problem?

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Posts
    226

    Possible hardware problem?

    While i was running surfing web. Suddenly my pc restarts and display a message "CPU has been changed or overclock fail" Shortly after, the pc shutdown and gives out long continous beep sound.

    My system:
    AMD Athlon XP 2600+ (barton core)
    2 x 256mb ddr 333 ram
    Soltek frn-l mainboard

    What could be the problem in this case....

  2. #2
    Did u change any BIOS settings ? Try defaulting the BIOS and see if it happens again. Do a virus scan....
    O.G at A.O

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Posts
    226
    Originally posted here by ©opy®ight
    Did u change any BIOS settings ? Try defaulting the BIOS and see if it happens again. Do a virus scan....
    i did change the cas timing for my ram quite a long time ago. Recently, did not make any changes to the bios. now i have set the bios to optimized default. Should i do stress test on the cpu and ram?

  4. #4
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    United Kingdom: Bridlington
    Posts
    17,188
    Was your machine overclocked?

    It sounds like it might be an overheating problem with the CPU or RAM.

    I do not think that stress testing will tell you very much, I would be inclined to run a RAM diagnostic program as a first move.

    Also give it a clean out and check that all your fans are working and that the CPU heatsink is firmly attached and not leaking thermal compound all over the place.

    You did not mention...............what is your operating system?


  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Posts
    226
    Did memtest no errors found, i ran a few minutes of prime to test the cpu no problems found. i guess might be overheat. I did not switch off the pc for the past few days. My box on winxp.

  6. #6
    The Doctor Und3ertak3r's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Posts
    2,744
    So the BIOS settings Looked OK.. nothing out of the ordinary?
    You may not have changesd a setting in the BIOS.. but has something else changed setting?
    What is the state of the CMOS BAttery (> 3V)?
    What is the state of the CPU temperatures..?
    Could there be a problem with the Video Card (had these suckers change Bios settings)..
    being winXP..I suspect probable Script on a website MAY have done some thing.. you didnt say what sort of sites you were visiting?

    get a temp monitoring prog in there and watch what is happening.. temps should peak in the first hour.. so if it runs 2 hours or 3 days it is only the Ambient temp and CPU work load that will vary the temp.. running Seti/Predictor (BOINC) 24/7 is great way of working with cooling solutions.. and stress testing systems (Prime95 is a great mem/cpu stress test)
    "Consumer technology now exceeds the average persons ability to comprehend how to use it..give up hope of them being able to understand how it works." - Me http://www.cybercrypt.co.nr

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Posts
    226
    Originally posted here by Und3ertak3r
    So the BIOS settings Looked OK.. nothing out of the ordinary?
    You may not have changesd a setting in the BIOS.. but has something else changed setting?
    What is the state of the CMOS BAttery (> 3V)?
    What is the state of the CPU temperatures..?
    Could there be a problem with the Video Card (had these suckers change Bios settings)..
    being winXP..I suspect probable Script on a website MAY have done some thing.. you didnt say what sort of sites you were visiting?

    get a temp monitoring prog in there and watch what is happening.. temps should peak in the first hour.. so if it runs 2 hours or 3 days it is only the Ambient temp and CPU work load that will vary the temp.. running Seti/Predictor (BOINC) 24/7 is great way of working with cooling solutions.. and stress testing systems (Prime95 is a great mem/cpu stress test)
    I am a hardware newbie, well. I don't guess there some virus attack from the site.. lol i was surfing AO while it happen. Well, how do i check the CMOS battery > 3. I have ABS feature in the BIOS to shutdown the pc when the temp cross certain limits

    What do you mean by using "running Seti/Predictor (BOINC) 24/7 is great way of working with cooling solutions"

  8. #8
    Senior Member MadBeaver's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Bath, Maine
    Posts
    252
    There are some basic things you can do if you think it is an overheating problem.
    1. Is the PC in a confined space where you have little to no air flow.
    2. Is there a heat source near the computer i.e. (Baseboard heater, Heat vent, other electronics...)
    If it is then find a better spot for it.
    3. Is the inside of the PC dusty.
    If it is dusty, unplug it open up the case and{JK} through it in the dish washer. I guarantee you won't have any overheating problems after that,{/JK} of course it won't do anything after that. You would be better of to take it outside and blow it out with some canned air.
    Mad Beaver

  9. #9
    The Doctor Und3ertak3r's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Posts
    2,744
    Confirm it is a Heat problem.. or you'll be chassing your Tail!!

    Everest or MBM.. (I prefer Everest) Find out what the temps are.. you get a profile of the machine.. CPU, Mobo, HDD's..

    What are your Temp Alarm levels?.. be interesting..
    What do you mean by using "running Seti/Predictor (BOINC) 24/7 is great way of working with cooling solutions"
    Seti/Boinc or predictor/Boinc are distributed computing projects.. you can set the cpu usage levels.. mine run 95% you can set to 100%.. or less if you prefer.. find out a bout BOINC : http://boinc.berkeley.edu/
    SETI/BOINC: http://setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/
    Why are these good to use for thermal solutions studies?
    With thermal monitors in place you run the PC at 100% CPU and watch the changes in the temeratures as you change aspects of the cooling solution..or room conditions..
    Mad beaver makes a couple of good points about thermal problems.. but lets see if is fire before we throw water over it..

    YEs AO may have been the site where the problem poped up.. but IF it was a script you could have picked it up at a site you visited before coming to AO.. 5 mins 30mins or even longer a day a week or more..

    Heck the cause of your problem could have been as simple as a loose card in a socket..
    Or as serious as a Dodgy Motherboard

    Well, how do i check the CMOS battery > 3.
    The CMOS battery is a little Lithium battery (usually a CR2032) on the mother board.. its VOLTAGE should be greater than 3 VOLTS.. You will need a simple DIGITAL VOLT meter to measure its potential.. (this can be done with the PC turned off.. One lProbe of the Meter is connected to the metal of the case or to one of the BLACK leads on the power Molex plugs ..a spare.. the otherlead of the meter to the metal case of the BATTERY.. the DVM should be set to DC Volts and the display should show a number greater than 3.000V dc if it reads less than 2.995V dc.. it is definatly suspect
    "Consumer technology now exceeds the average persons ability to comprehend how to use it..give up hope of them being able to understand how it works." - Me http://www.cybercrypt.co.nr

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Posts
    349
    hi
    tried to find the model of motherboard couldnt find any under that type pls provide the proper soltek motherboard model.have alook www.soltek.com.tw and download manual for motherboard and setup cmos accordingly.
    Whic bios you have??
    depend of it you can find out what is wrong if it makes certain beeps.pls provide the model.
    Does systems boots or just starts beeping straightaway?
    i would expext pc to shut down not to restart if you set up that in bios.
    please post above information we can pintpoint problem with beeping sounds(and then start from there)
    pc can restart for a milion reasons(maybe more lol)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •