pc resets at random?

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icewizard2k4

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hi every1, i'm having some trouble with my pc resetting itself at random. as you can imagine its terribly annoying and happens more frequently while im playing games.

im using the lastest drivers for my video and audio, i've tested my ram for errors and i'm getting power from a thermaltake 480w psu.

i've got no ideas...

here's my components:
AthlonXP 3200+
Radeon9600xt 512mb
512mb ddr400
msi kt6 delta motherboard
 
Sounds like a heating problem... What kind of reset are we talking. A quick one, or is there a BSOD involved?
 
alritey, first of all no bsod just straight into monitor standby then bootup.

my case is well ventilated, if you can make it out in the picture there you can see its also quite large. its an antec case with 120mm fans at both the front and rear of the case. the cpu is using the stock heatsink and fan, the gpu is using the stock fan also.
my psu as i said is a thermaltake 480w silent purepower running 2 fans which are always set at the highest speed. case temperature averages around 25 degrees celcius and core center is currently reporting cpu temp at 49 degrees celcius.

i did lower my cpu critical temp in the bios a few months ago i think its set at about 80 degrees do you think perhaps its reaching that?

strangely the most common app that causes a reset is counter strike 1.6 but thats pretty low demand on the hardware wouldnt u think? so that tends to direct my thoughts away from heating.

thanks for the quick response every1.
 
OK icewizard2k4, seems like you got enough power, though I'm not too sure, it looks good. Cooling is another issue, but...

Mobo. Bios. Do you have the latest updates? My laptop would randomly hang, so I googled its model number and, sure enough, people were having problems. So I got the bios update, and now it works like a charm. So I'd hit MSI's web site, look up your mobo, and see what they have for updates.

That, or it's a problem with Windows (or some other software component). Have you tried reformatting? If you know how, and if you have enough experience doing so that it's not a big deal, reformatting can solve a lot of problems.

Going back to hardware, a simple and often overlooked solution is to turn the machine off and let it sit for a few minutes. If it's hot, let it cool off. Then turn it back on. I had a CDROM drive totally acting up, and a power off/on solved it.
 
something else would be to consider a brownout type problem. where the machine it loosing power from the actual wall, due to too much demand on the circuit.
You don't have a lot of stuff running on the same plugin do you?

Also, check the event log in Windows and see if it is giving you an error right before this is happening. It's possible something in the system is doing it.
Do you have a Soundblaster Sound card? if so what version?
 
im using the on board c-media sound with the kt6delta.

i've swapped wallplugs around. things seem to be running smoothly today SO FAR.

reformatting is something i'm constantly doing becuase of some ridiculous problem or another.

i'm always using msi live update for the drivers, video card is always up to date as well.

the machine is only about 2 months old...

looks like the check list is completed... i was considering sp2 as a LAST RESORT but everything is ok TODAY... rather unusaul.
 
Nah, don't jump to SP2 just yet. Well, you might try it, but it's more [an attempt at] a security fix, not a big hardware advancement. Sometimes, you don't even want the XP CD drivers, you want those from your manufacturer. Take Doom 3 for instance. It won't play without the latest drivers from nVidia (not sure about ATI systems). It won't take the nVidia drivers that come with Windows, though they're fine for every other game.
 
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