So I upgrade my Graphics Card to run Left 4 Dead better to a GEForce 9600x. The day I get and install it, my computer starts hard rebooting itself, and eventually won't power up at all. I run out to my parent's house and grab a new power supply. Once I put that in, everything runs great. ... for about a month...
Last night, my computer started hard rebooting again, and eventually, again, stopped powering up. I left it overnight and in the morning it started again, BUT almost as soon as windows loaded, it hard rebooted AGAIN.
Now... I've opened the case and unplugged the Graphics card from the power supply. The card is still running off the motherboard, but without being plugged into the power supply, won't send information to the monitors, but I can use remote access to use the computer a bit. During today, it has rebooted twice, but for the most part stays on.
WTF is going on? Is my new card overheating my chip and the warming weather is exacerbating the problem (explains why it didn't happen over the last week.) If so, what do I do about that? Is there any chance my power supply is overstressed with my new card? I don't see how that could be.
Thanks for any suggestions on what to try.
Have you tried reinstalling the old graphics card?
Will probably try that tonight and go a few days with that...
sounds like driver incompatibility since its booting into windows - that or your psu cant handle it - how many watts?
you running intel chip?
Check your system logs for error messages... there could be a clue in there.
test the compatibility by taking the card out - if you have no problems start looking at the event viewer
(http://www.germes-online.com/direct/dbimage/50247444/Stone_Hammer_With_Fiberglass_Handle__British_Type_.jpg)
Quote from: leetninja on March 18, 2009, 12:03 PM NHFT
sounds like driver incompatibility since its booting into windows - that or your psu cant handle it - how many watts?
Why would it work for a month and now start messing up? If it was drivers. I'm pretty sure it's hardware based on what it's doing by hard rebooting and sometimes shutting itself down completely..
450 watt power supply
Run a temperature monitoring app.
I know that my motherboard powers itself down when the sensors read too high. They claim it's not a defect but a "feature". Perhaps that's what's happening to you.
Quote from: Kevin Dean on March 18, 2009, 02:14 PM NHFT
Run a temperature monitoring app.
Are they free? Do you have a link? Yes, I could google it, and will if you don't respond, but I'm at work now and don't have time for research :)
Thanks for the suggestion. I think that it's either a heat issue or a power supply issue.
For Windows XP, Vista
SpeedFan -> http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
For Mac OS X
Temp. Monitoring Dashboard Widget -> http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/temperaturemonitorwidgetedition.html
For Linux
Google it for your distro/desktop environment, but lm-sensors is a good place to start.
Quick question.
Do sparks coming from the power supply fan give anyone a hint what the problem is?
Other issue that isn't matching up though, is the fan on the graphics card will start off strong as the computer boots, then slow down to a point where if I stop it with my finger, it sometimes has trouble getting started again, so it makes me think I have a faulty graphics card fan causing overheating there. Unless that is just a feature of the 9600 GT
I feel like Dr. House. Brain or heart? Brain or heart?
I may have a video of this up soon . If I get my computer working again to post it.
It sounds like the barring or motor on your fan is starting to fail... if it's a month otd call your video card manufacture and send it in for replacement
Quote from: thinkliberty on March 18, 2009, 06:15 PM NHFT
It sounds like the barring or motor on your fan is starting to fail... if it's a month otd call your video card manufacture and send it in for replacement
I don't think so... but only because I explained it wrong.
When the computer first starts or reboots, the fan starts strong and loud. As windows begins to load, it switches to a quieter, weaker, spin. It's not like it slowly weakens. But if my card is overheating, and blowing out my power supply at the same time, that's one big issue.
If it slows after windows loads a driver could be reading the temp on the card and turning down fan. It could also be cat hair/dust bunny blocking the fan from working
How many watts is your PSU rated for? If you have the make and model that would be better to know
(don't stop the fan with your finger, it does not take long for the GPU to burn out.)
Quote from: thinkliberty on March 18, 2009, 06:57 PM NHFT
How many watts is your PSU rated for? If you have the make and model that would be better to know
ChiefMax 450W
Kinda like this I guess http://www.amazon.com/Chiefmax-450W-Power-Supply-Connector/dp/B00083V39Q
I've changed out the now 100% dead (it looks like) 450W PSU for a 550W. No problems thus far.
Does processor type have anything to do with the proper PSU to use? I will be getting a new one, as this can only be a temporary fix because it doesn't have SATA power that I need for my DVD burner.
the regular size motherboards are almost always use the same type of connector. (unless it's a dell motherboard or a dell power supply.)
Some graphics cards have problems with some motherboards (you can check on the manufactures website against your motherboard...)
A lot of powerful graphics cards need atleast 700 watts minimum. You can burn out the video card and/or the powersupply using less than what is reccomended... What does the manufactures website for your graphics card need? (you may need more than this depending on the power requirements of other things attached to the power supply)
you are running at 450 watts @ 28 amps
It's the smoke.
All electronics run on magic smoke. If the smoke ever leaks out, they're done.
Protect the smoke!
My guess is that you overloaded the power supply by adding the new video card. That would explain why it started acting funny when windows loaded. Before windows loads your video card operates requiring minimum power. One Windows loads all the high tech graphics kick in and then requires more power. If it didn't have enough power then that would also explain the fans not running at full speed.
if you stop a fan with your finger it will kind of ... shiver/shake ... and then start up again
all fans usually fire up at high rpm (ever fire up a server? sounds like a damn jet engine!) and then comes down to a decent "silent" rpm. that is normal
check what the requirements are power wise on your card. some have power molex that need sto be plugged in - occasionally they need the extra 4prong connected to the motherboard - or you may be overheating
speedfan is great
if you want to not wait for things to happen and you want to just outright test things download and install Orthos - fire up a blend test - youll see/hear fans spinning up and your system will heat up rather quickly because of the test - if you monitor temp and combine that with orthos you might be able to figure out if it is an overheating issue
could be a million and three different things ...