Constant Rebooting

[co1722]

On December 4th, we were having a youth service. I got there early to get the songs ready to project, but after a few minutes, the computer started to reboot over and over. Sometimes it would let me login, other times it would reboot before the login screen appeared. I brought it home with me, and it worked fine. I took it back, and it started rebooting again. I brought it home a second time, it stayed on for over 10 hours with no trouble. I have tested the RAM with memtest, I've scanned for viruses, and switched out the keyboard and mouse. Now, at home, I use it with an older 15" CRT monitor, at church, it is hooked up to a 19" widescreen LCD and an LCD projector. I have tried it with just the LCD monitor, and it still reboots. It won't even load a linux LiveCD without rebooting.

On December 18th, and 19th, it stayed on for 2 and 3 hours respectively. But it rebooted again after that time on the 19th.

The only recent additions are: I changed the DVD burner to a different one than was in it about a month before it started messing up, and I hooked the USB cable from our ZED24 mixer about 2 weeks before it starting messing up. I have tried leaving the USB cable unhooked, but that didn't help.

Now for the specs:
custom built PC
PC Chips P23G v3 motherboard
3.46 GHz Celeron
2 GB RAM
320 GB Maxtor HD
XP Pro 2002 SP3
Sapphire 1003RD Radeon 9550 256MB VGA/DVI video card

With the exception of the DVD drive, the computer has been operating for a little over 2 years with no major problems. I have tried everything I can think of, but I am open to any comments. My main suspect is the video card, but I know more about running computers than the internal parts.

[cmchamp]

Have you checked the AC outlet it is plugged in to at church? We have some experience with dirty power, or under voltage, even on a APC at school where we've lost a few VPC routers.

[[Admin] osborn4]

Seems like a hardware problem.

I'd pull the dvd drive. I'd also check all the internal cables and reseat all the cards.

If you think the video card is part of the problem, you could check to see if the video drivers are up to date. And if they are, try going backwards.

But, since it's not the memory, it may be the motherboard.

[churchtech007]

I got to go with Cory on this one. We rented some movers for our Christmas show last weekend. They were resetting about every 5 minutes. Turned out to be dirty power. With no hardware changes and no errors power is where I'd start.

[[Admin] osborn4]

Another thing to check is to make sure it isn't over heating.

But I like the power theory as well.

[co1722]

According to the BIOS Hardware Monitor, the internal temperature never got above the mid-80s.

I thought about the power outlet, and I moved it to another outlet that is on a different circuit; it still rebooted. I can check the outlets tomorrow, but no other equipment has any problems, just the tower.

[daver2]

Don't forget there are multiple fans in a PC that can fail/clog/run slow. Depending upon your PC; the BIOS may only be indicating the temperature at one location on the motherboard. Check the fans in the power supply, case and processor are all working properly.

Did you use the same power cable with the PC when it was at Church and when it was at home? When the PC is plugged in at Church do you use an extansion cable? The reason I am asking is that I have known power issues where the plugtops and extension blocks are not moulded on but have screws holding the cables - and the screws come undone over a period of time resulting in glitching mains which causes problems.

Dave

[co1722]

All of the fans are working correctly, and it is pretty clean inside the case.

I have used a known good cord at church (it came off another computer that is not causing trouble), and I have plugged it straight into the wall.

[shortcircuitcg]

I've had this happen 3 times. Two times the power supply was bad or not big enough wattage wise. and the third time the power to the motherboard had slightly come out and needed to be pushed back in

[sempei13]

I currently do tech support for a living (until February). Here's what I'd ask:

If it works fine at home, I'd look for a site related issue. Have you tried another outlet at church? Have you tried a minimal setup (no networking, no additional accessories, only a keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc)?

Look for what's different between the two locations. Look for anything you didn't take home. Look for software that's running at church and not at home.

It could be 1) Power 2) A peripheral 3) Software 4)The audio feed from the soundboard 5) The external projector feed.

Paul

[co1722]

I replaced the power supply on Friday. It stayed on for the hour I was there, and stayed on for 2 and a half hours yesterday with no rebooting at all. It looks like that was the problem. Thank you all for your help.

[rkresge]

Originally Posted by co1722

I replaced the power supply on Friday. It stayed on for the hour I was there, and stayed on for 2 and a half hours yesterday with no rebooting at all. It looks like that was the problem. Thank you all for your help.

Paul's suggestions were right on target, and replacing the power supply was probably the correct solution. But keep in mind that you may still have an undiscovered power-related issue. The fact that it did not do the reboot thing when you took it home is a big hint. What's connected to the computer that didn't go home with you? It could have been overloading the power supply. But you really need to check the power outlet(s) involved. I've seen more than a few outlets with some strange problems - one in our church office a few years back had 70v AC between neutral and ground. Think that would cause problems? Get an electrician to check, if you're not reasonably expert with AC power.

Blessings!

Roger