My pc keeps restarting

[f575gtc]

Ok I just got a new 420watt power supply case from Raidmax, it has 1 light fan on the side and 2 non light in the back, I have a sound card, video card, dvd-rom, cd-RW, 2 HDDs, and a mobo with a Celeron 2.2GHz cpu, the problem is when I got to load windows it open a program my case starts making a noise, like a static sound, almost like electcity, then restarts, some times it restarts 2 times in a row in less then 5 secs, Now when it restarts my video or picture on my monitor doesnt go away it just freezes there, Now there are 2 thing I could think of that could be causing this problem

Not enough power going to the power supply or shot powersupply.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Zanatose]

Suggest remove, return and replace PS before serious damage.

[RC_Razor]

have you spaced the mother board from the case, and is everything plugged in that needs to be.. and yes i could be your Power Supply.. its hard telling what it could be with out hearing it..and or see it...

[TKS]

I wouldn't throw out the power supply yet. Make sure that your motherboard is not grounded out onto your case. You can do this by investing in a few of those paper washers that come with motherboards behind the board itself so no parts of it are hitting the chassis of the case. If this solves your problem...good. You know not to do that in the future. If it doesn't...read on.

First things first...it really sounds like you should invest in a power supply tester....I'm assuming that you are using an ATX power supply which means you will be able to use the long main power connector. You'll plug in your power supply tester to it and it will tell you if it is good or bad. I use this one http://www.directron.com/tester1.html from Antec. Make sure your power supply is a green light on the tester and then you'll know that it isn't the problem and that the real problem may lie in your motherboard or one of its components. Got my tester from COMPUSA super store. They suck but they're good for a few things.

Make sure all of your cards/memory/cpu are plugged in all the way and the correct way. Make sure that you are getting the correct voltages in each four pin molex connector...I use a Digital Multimeter for mine and make sure I have 12V where 12V is supposed to go (pin1). Rule of thumb is that the molex connectors (the connectors you plug into your CDROM and HDD) should have 12V and the voltage should be steady in the range around 11.6-12.4 V at all times. You will be able to measure this by going from ground (ground as in put one test lead on your case and the other in the pin1) to pin 1. Pin 4 will be 5VDC. Test every molex 4 pin you have and then you'll know that they are all good. If you still have a problem, then you'll know it lies on your motherboard.

From there it's a matter of disconnecting all hardware and then slowly connecting more hardware with each test. Try powering up with just your CPU/RAM and nothing else....If BIOS comes on...you can generally assume that your CPU/RAM are in decent shape. Then power down and connect your hard disk. If it spins up and attempts to boot an OS...your HDD is probably good. Just keep this up with each piece of hardware. If you had to stop at CPU/RAM then you've isolated it to one or the other (perhaps both) of those. Each step gets you closer to finding out the problem.

But, from the beginning of what you are saying...it sure sounds like you got a bad powersupply. Getting that tester would work like a top...you'd be set. If you don't want to wait for that...here's what voltages you should have in your connectors:

Long 20 Pin Main power:
PIN1: 3.3VDC+
PIN2: 3.3VDC+
PIN3: COM
PIN4: 5VDC+
PIN5: COM
PIN6: 5VDC+
PIN7: COM
PIN8: PWR_OK
PIN9: 5VSB+
PIN10: 12VDC+
PIN11: 3.3VDC+
PIN12: -12VDC
PIN13: COM
PIN14: PS_ON
PIN15: COM
PIN16: COM
PIN17: COM
PIN18: -5VDC
PIN19: 5VDC+
PIN20: 5VDC+

Your COM, PS_ON, and PWR_ON are status signals and won't be measured by a DMM. Test out the voltages with a digital multimeter and if you check out, you should know if your power supply is the culprit. Hope this helps...and hope it wasn't confusing. If you need explanations on anything I've talked about, drop a post and I'll help out! :cheesy:

[RC_Razor]

:cheesy: i was going to say that too...:rolleyes:

[f575gtc]

Ok where my screws that hold in the motherboard go there are metal rings, on the opposite side there are the same rings, then with my new case I got some brass and some metal spacers like things that screw on to my case with a hole on the other side for the screw, so it goes , screw, motherboard,spacer. and thats it I dont have any washers or anything else, Now Im using 2 brass spacers and the rest silver metal ones can that be it?

And when I swap everything into my old case that only has a 250watt PS it works fine, thats why Im guessing its my PS.

So should I get a new 420watt PS or go for a weaker one at 350 or 400?

[Phaelax]

For a celeron chip, 350w will do you just fine. 400+ is often used by ppl who have dual cpu setups.

[Kn10]

There is a good writeup at ComputerRepairTalk.com to help you diagnose your rebooting problem (at least so you can see what the Blue screen of death error is):

http://www.computerrepairtalk.com/computer-keeps-restarting-without-warning

Hope it helps.

[Niloofar]

my pc keeps restarting when I turn it on please help

[r3y]

just check maybe your heat sink are loose...oar your processor are loose...

[lacompsr]

There might be multiple problems.
First get a utility like ASUS PC probe and monitor vital system information like
CPU Temp
MB Temp
CPU FAN Speed
CPU Voltages
Then Open the case and observe
Is the case too hot?
Is the cpu fan spinning alright ?
Is heatsink properly clamped?
Thermal grease properly applied

If there is a heating problem check this
http://www.hipatic.co.cc/2008/10/cpu-too-hot-cpu-temperature-above-60.html

Or there might be problem with your RAM or HDD

[Marni]

This has happened to me twice in the last 3 years. Both times I replaced my power cord and problem fixed!

[Bob_180_Bob]

Hi Marni and welcome to Daniweb,
You have replied to an old thread (Oct 13th, 2008)

[mynameisbond]

Click HERE to read an article for troubleshooting computer restarts

[Anand12345]

after Installation of sql server 2005, My system get Frequent Restart why?

[benmar]

try to repair your windows system with the windows cd installer.. hope it works....