Computer restarting unexpectedly
The power supply on my PC recently broke down. Luckily I had another computer which had a power supply with similar specs, so I replaced the broken one with the one from the other computer. After plugging in all the bits and bobs inside the computer exactly as they were before, (apart from the new power supply, obv ...
The power supply on my PC recently broke down. Luckily I had another computer which had a power supply with similar specs, so I replaced the broken one with the one from the other computer.
After plugging in all the bits and bobs inside the computer exactly as they were before, (apart from the new power supply, obviously ) the computer started up properly. It then took a while to reinstall the drivers for the USB devices (because I had taken them out), and then the computer restarted for no reason.
When Windows (XP Professional, if that matters) restarted I got the "The system has recovered from a serious error" message. When I reported the error to Microsoft I got the following message:
"The error was likely caused by a hardware failure reported by your Central Processing Unit (CPU). This behavior occurs because your computer processor detected an unrecoverable hardware error and reported it to Windows. For more information, contact the manufacturer of your computer."
Could this be because the computer is rejecting the new power supply? Or could it just be that the power lead was faulty? (Seeing as I've changed the power lead and it hasn't happened since).
ninjapirate
After plugging in all the bits and bobs inside the computer exactly as they were before, (apart from the new power supply, obviously ) the computer started up properly. It then took a while to reinstall the drivers for the USB devices (because I had taken them out), and then the computer restarted for no reason.
When Windows (XP Professional, if that matters) restarted I got the "The system has recovered from a serious error" message. When I reported the error to Microsoft I got the following message:
"The error was likely caused by a hardware failure reported by your Central Processing Unit (CPU). This behavior occurs because your computer processor detected an unrecoverable hardware error and reported it to Windows. For more information, contact the manufacturer of your computer."
Could this be because the computer is rejecting the new power supply? Or could it just be that the power lead was faulty? (Seeing as I've changed the power lead and it hasn't happened since).
ninjapirate
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Yeah, it's working fine now. I know for a fact that the old power supply was dead, but I'm starting to think that it was just the power lead that was faulty, as I replaced it and everything's working fine now. I'll keep you posted if anything else happens though.
Thanks,
ninjapirate
Thanks,
ninjapirate
Grr. It seems to restart whenever I do a lot of different things. Considering it only has a 300MHz processor I can't do much without it lagging. So maybe it's because I'm overloading it? It wasn't restarting with the other power supply. What could it be?
If it's happening when you try to do a lot of things, it could be that the processor is overheating - the heatsink may have become dislodged when you were moving things around.
Try removing then reseating the heatsink - while it's off, make sure there's enough gunk on the bottom making contact with the processor core.
Rgds
AndyF
Try removing then reseating the heatsink - while it's off, make sure there's enough gunk on the bottom making contact with the processor core.
Rgds
AndyF
Ok I'll give that a try. Before I do anything could you tell me what the heatsink looks like? I don't have a great knowledge of inside computers!
Thanks,
ninjapirate
Thanks,
ninjapirate
The heatsink will be the large, probably aluminium, thing with fins and a fan on top. But be careful, because it's quite easy to break your processor if you put too much pressure on the heatsink.
Do you have a technically-minded friend who would be able to help? Or a local PC repair shop?
Just don't want you to completely break your PC because of something I said
Rgds
AndyF
Do you have a technically-minded friend who would be able to help? Or a local PC repair shop?
Just don't want you to completely break your PC because of something I said
Rgds
AndyF
