I'm having a huge problem with my brand new computer that I bought
from ibuypower.com

Before I bought my new computer, I had another home built one that
work beautifully until about year ago when I started experiencing
mysterious reboots and the blue screen of death. The video card was
old (the computer was at least 4 or 5 years old) so everything inside
of it was pretty much obsolete. Instead of replacing the parts, I
decided to invest in a new computer.

Now the NEW computer is having the same mysterious reboots WITHOUT any
blue screen, windows or other errors. I've already unchecked the
option to automaticall restart when there is an error but that doesn't
prevent the computer from restarting. It will simply restart as if I
had pushed the button myself. So far it has restarted while I was
doing the following:

1. Downloading torrents using Bitcomet while simoultaneously
websurfing using Mozilla Firefox
2. Playing a game (Call of Duty 2, The Sims 2 - they both run great otherwise)
3. Watching an HD Trailer on Apple Trailers

To elaborate, when I first installed Call of Duty 2 I was able to play
for about an hour without any problems. Only until recently I noticed
that I can't get by 5 minutes without a random restart.

I deseperately need a solution to this problem. Since it's a new
computer, I went directly to the websites to download the latest
drivers to my hardware. I checked the CPU temperature in BIOS to see
if anything was amiss (about 49C is the average). I've even removed
the side paneling to promote cooler air. I've switched power cables
and power surges (I'm still using the same outlet in the wall). I've
reached the end of my rope here.

New software I recently downloaded included simple things like
quicktime, messengers and other plugins. I already uninstalled
quicktime thinking something was conflicting with it. It still hasn't
change anything. HELP!

My computer specs:
Case (  Tuniq Symmetry Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Black )
Case Lighting ( Neon Light Blue )
Power Supply ( Standard Case Power Supply )
Processor ( Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6300 (2x 1.86GHz/2MB L2 Cache/1066FSB) )
Processor Cooling ( Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink + 2 Extra Color
Lighting Case Fans )
Motherboard ( Asus P5N-SLI w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0 Dual PCI-E MB )
Memory ( 1024MB [512MB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value
or Major Brand )
Video Card ( Nvidia Geforce 7600GT 256MB w/DVI + TV Out Video )
Physics Processing Unit ( None )
Hard Drive ( 160 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 8M Cache] )
2nd Hard Drive ( None )
Raid Configuration ( None )
CD/DVD Drive ( NEC ND-3550 Dual Format/Double Layer 16X DVD±R/±RW +
CD-R/RW Drive Black )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
USB 2.0 Accessories ( Build-in USB 2.0 Ports )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black )
Operation System ( None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only )
Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner ( None )
Case Round Cable ( Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower )

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 16 Sep 2006 12:11 PDT

pinkbishie...

It seems very likely to me that, since this situation has occurred
with both your old and new computer, and since you're describing a
reboot without error messages, a brief power surge (low voltage) is
the problem.

The typical 5-outlet surge supressor doesn't really do much in the
way of truly regulating voltage. I recently bought an APC BackUPS
ES 750, which is an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and was
surprised to see how many instances of transient voltage changes
were occurring.


I can strongly recommend APC for producing reliable UPS models.
Here's mine:
http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BE750BB

Here's where you can shop for one that's best for you:
http://www.apc.com/products/category.cfm?id=13

Once you find the model you like, Froogle is a good resource:
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=APC+BackUPS+ES+750+-battert&hl=en&btnG=Search


I can't imagine anything else that would account for both 
computers rebooting randomly.

Let me know where this takes you...

sublime1-ga

---

Clarification of Question by pinkbishie-ga on 16 Sep 2006 21:41 PDT

I just bought the APC Surge Arrest for Home/Office:
http://www.amazon.com/APC-SurgeArrest-Protector-Battery-Backup/dp/B0001ANA92

Immediately plugged it into the wall then plugged the computer into
it. Instructions refer to a 16 hours battery charging period? Does
this interfere with it's functionality because I still experienced
reboots while playing Call of Duty 2 and the Sims 2. Reboots happen
less frequently when doing mild websurfing, photoshopping etc. However
it still happens when trying to view HD trailers.

No errors to speak of, nothing wrong with the rest of the comp. Works
well and is fast save for these strange reboots.

---

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 17 Sep 2006 05:20 PDT

Sounds to me like you might have an overheating problem, especially
since you're crashing during pretty demanding activities.

You mentioned checking the CPU temperature.  Have you tried a
continuous temperature monitor to keep tabs on things.  Something like
SensorView:

http://www.stvsoft.com/index.php?page=22


provides constant info, and allows you to set an alarm when the
temperatures hit a certain point.  It's shareware, but you can try it
for free.

This won't solve your problem of course, but will at least let you
identify if overheating is the issue.

Good luck.

pafalafa-ga

---

Clarification of Question by pinkbishie-ga on 17 Sep 2006 06:17 PDT

pafalafa,

Did as suggested, downloaded the program and I'm currently running the
Sims 2 (The computer restarts when I try to create a family or enter a
home). Stats are as follows:

CPU 44C/112F
SYS 49C/121F
AUX 44C/112F
HD1 39C/103F
HD2 46C/115F

CPU Usage jumps from 0% to 1%. When I start Call of Duty 2 it jumped to 51%

Memory Usage jumped up to 90% when running call of duty 2. Now (I'm
running the Sims 2 as I typed this) It's at 29%.

CPU Fan 1758-1835RPM

Voltages: (I have the brand new APC battery surge plugged in)
VCoreA: 1.36
VCoreB: 3.30
+3.3V: 0
+5V: 5.00
+12V: 11.80
+5VSB: 5.05
+VBAT: 3.04

More updates, there are two game accounts on CoD2 one that kept
restarting up to a certain point the other kept playing normally. I
didn't experience any restarts for about 15 or 20 minutes. I deleted
the other game account and started a new one. It went past the point
that kept restarting and play normally. I played for another 15
minutes. However, When I popped in The Sims 2, the game always
restarts when I try to begin a family or enter a home. It will not let
me do anything else.

Now is this hinting at hardware? Should I consider a reformat?

---

Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 17 Sep 2006 14:16 PDT

pinkbishie...

As for the APC Surge Arrest, I don't own that model, but I would
suspect thatm yes, the 16-hour charging period is necessary before
the unit is able to act as an adequate backup. Read the instructions
or the documentation that came with it.

When you listed your voltages, this stands out as a problem:

VCoreA: 1.36
VCoreB: 3.30

If I'm reading your specs right (2x 1.86GHz/2MB L2 Cache/1066FSB),
you have two Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 processors? If that's the
case, the VCoreB voltage is way too high, as the core voltage
should be 0.850V-1.3525V:
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SL9SA

This could reflect a problem with the power supply output or
the B processor itself, or it could indicate a poor interface
between the B CPU and the motherboard, though I doubt you'd
be able to boot up at all, if that were the case.

Let me know where this takes you...

sublime1-ga

i would invest in a battery backup like mentioned before. your problem
is a lack of power so you are needing more power than your wall outlet
is providing at the time it reboots.
i used to have a power supply that was bad and when it would get warm
it would reboot my computer like you are mentioning but since you have
had the same problem with 2 computers and they are both hooked up to
the same outlet i would go with the lack of power at one point in time
from the outlet.

Could it be a virus?

Just bought a new Surge/Battery supply, will update on any progress...

I had a similar problem, that was caused by the firewall that Nvidia
has  (which made the computer crash when I used BitComet). If you have
that installed, try to disable that and see if you still have the
problem.

tadjik,

No it doesn't look like I have that installed. When I choose
add/remove it only lists three nVidia drivers to choose from and none
of them are firewalls

Do not buy from ibuypower.com!! There are hundreds of reviews online
that people are strongly dissatisfied with their "investments" that
costs so much!

They are not so reputable, and you <never> know where they got the
parts to "custom" built the machine.. i.e china

http://www.duxcw.com/faq/win/xp/restarting.htm

YOU MAY HAVE A VIRUS WHICH ALL NEW XP SOFTWARE GETS WHEN IT GOES ON
THE NET FOR THE FIRST TIME, TRY THIS.
http://www.sarc.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.removal.tool.html

THIS IS MORE THAN LIKELY THE PROBLEM AS THE NEW BIT GAVE IT AWAY,
REMEMBER TO HAVE THE PC VIRUS PROTECTED WHEN CONNECTING FOR THE FIRST
TIME.

First, a couple questions/thoughts:
  - What operating system is this PC running? (I figure XP since you
are gaming on it, but is it XP Home, Pro or Media Center)
  - Did the problems with the new PC appear immediately?

My experience has been that when a PC reboots immediately without a
proper shutdown it can be a myriad of issues, but generally you have
success evaluating these main categories: Power, Heat, RAM and CPU. I
know there are many other things that can cause this, but these are
the most popular culprits in my experience and somewhat easy to test.

Since you seemed to have addressed Power/Heat, I would suggest you
look at RAM. If a RAM chip is faulty, the PC can run perfectly fine
until some program or the OS tries to address the bad space. Since you
didn't indicate if this started immediately with the new computer, I'm
going to assume that the fact your old PC and the new one demonstrate
similar problems, it may just be a coincidence and not related to a
common element like power.

For testing RAM, I suggest a DOS/Linux testing program. I do not trust
the results from a Windows based test program. Just my experience.

The easiest way to get yourself some testing utilities that are simple
to use and run from a self-contained bootable CD is to go here,
download the CD image, burn it and boot from it:

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html

I don't know your skill level with regards to burning the CD and
booting from it and understanding the options/output, so please let me
know if you get confused.

When you boot from the CD, there will be options for mainboard/RAM
tests. I would try them all. It's been my experience that some of the
programs lock right at the start whether or not you have good RAM. Try
the ones that start properly and start the testing without issue. You
need to wait out a complete cycle of any test to see if it hits a bad
area.

Since you have two sticks of RAM in this PC (512MBx2), you can try
running with just one to see if the problem disappears. If not, try
running with just the other one. If testing shows an error, remove one
stick and test individually to try to determine which is bad.

If you have any questions, let me know. If this isn't it, we'll keep trying...

Thanks
briandoc

Whit my experience i think that your problem is the memory. Remove
modules and start computer with only one module. interchange this.
Excuse my bad english

bye

My computer did the same thing a couple of months ago.  At first it
would restart when playing any power demanding games, and got worse
and worse.  Eventually I couldn't even start my computer.  I bought a
new power supply and everything is fine.

Excessive overclocking and bad or marginal memory are the most likely
culprits in my experience.  All the comments about power supplies are
based on the assumption that the cause of failures on your old and new
computers are related, but that assumption isn't warranted (although a
UPS is always a good idea).

Presumably you are familiar with ibuypower's warranty and service
policies and have taken maximum advantage of them.