building a pc, keeps turning off!

[kyuss]

hi,
im currently building a pc, i have built a few before, i havent got the exact spec with me as im at work. basically, it keeps shutting down after 5-25 seconds, i dont know why! has anyone got any ideas? encountered this kind of thing before?
i know the fsb speed is set correctly, im going to try swapping bits out from my pc tonight.
thanks

 

[cliffro]

hi,
im currently building a pc, i have built a few before, i havent got the exact spec with me as im at work. basically, it keeps shutting down after 5-25 seconds, i dont know why! has anyone got any ideas? encountered this kind of thing before?
i know the fsb speed is set correctly, im going to try swapping bits out from my pc tonight.
thanks

ok first off is it an AMD or Intel Processor,
b/c the newer AMD's have thermal protection and if the cooling is not set up properly for the processor the amd will continuosly reboot until the cooling problem is fixed,better than frying a CPU.
and it only takes like 3 seconds to fry an AMD without a fan so they get hot FAST.
Second there is also the possibilty it may be a RAM issue while building mine the memory was a mismatch and the damn thing wouldn't even boot but theoretically if the memory is good but it has a flaw it might do that.
so check your cooling, then try swapping out memory with memory you know works, and if all else fails try clearing your CMOS the simplest way to do that remove the battery from your motherboard to be safe for 5 min. then replace it, hope this helps

 

[kyuss]

thanks i will try it tonight - as i say, my personal pc works fine so i will swap bits in and out.
it is an AMD athlon XP 2200+, so the cooling thing may well be the issue.
i only turned it on a few times last night so i havent quite nailed exatly when it shuts down, but after it has turned off it seems to shut down quicker the next time if i turn it back on soon after.

 

[cliffro]

yeah that sounds like a cooling thing then i'd say buy a tube of thermal grease if you don't already have some i've been told by the local techies it works better than the little pad provided by amd coolers, which *sigh* i actually use. but i am o/c my cpu and it runs well within limits but not as cool as others right now it is 48C(cpu) and 37C(mobo) and i have 4 case fans installed and running but back to you.......i did have the misfortune of having my computer do the reboot thing with my old case with 2 fans before i got the 2 case fans it is scary but it shuts down a good ways before it reaches critical temps so that is good as no chance of frying it so, don't worry too much about repeated attempts to see if it is fixed or not, the reason it does it quicker after rebooting soon after is the processor is still hot therefore it doesn't takes as long as one that is just starting up

 

[kyuss]

ok, im back home doing some tests,
i can keep it stable in the bios, and i might be seeming paranoid, but its when the pc is lying on its side!
here is the spec:-
XFX Mach4 KT400ALH SoA Mobo
40G IBM VC HDD
2200 1.8G AMD Athlon XP
samsung DVDCDRW
512Mb DDR PC2700 (pc333) Major
1.44MB Floppy drive Samsung
64Mb ATI Radeon 7500 DDR
Coolermaster HSF HCC002 upto 3.4G


the bios has a pc status screen its showing the cpu temp at 81 C
is that normal?
thank you!

 

[Shakie]

Double check all your wires and make sure that none of them are falling where they shouldn't be. Make sure that any spare power connectors are not just hanging loose. Remove the case and VERY CAREFULLY move the computer from it's standing position to on it's side and see what changes. You may have to do this a few times to catch it.

MAKE SURE THE POWER IS OFF AND THE CABLE IS UNPLUGGED WHEN TESTING.

Sorry for the caps, not everyone knows to power down first.

 

[cliffro]

oh hell no it is not normal i believe don't quote me but i think the max temp is like 90C before thermal failure well i just checked tom's it is 85C so the heat is the problem but with the case being on it's side check how well the heatsink is on there heck it may be something simple and like randy said check all your wires i use the little zip-ties to secure loose wires inside my case it also helps improve airflow
but 80 is friggin high!

 

[kyuss]

think i have got the wrong heatsink, just went back to the website where i got my parts scan.co.uk - the desription of the heatsink clearly says "Coolermaster HSF HCC002 upto 3.4G"
but when you look closly it says amd up to 1.5G.
i think being on the side must have pressed the heatsink closer to the chip and kept it cool.
i guess i will put this one down to experience,
thanks for your help!

 

[kyuss]

also just checked it says "Rated speed 6800 RPM"
its currently doing 7670 RPM
and all this while sitting in the bios - the cpu isnt even doing any work!
got to be the fan.....
oh well i will find out tomorrow!!

 

[Martin]

oh hell no it is not normal i believe don't quote me but i think the max temp is like 90C before thermal failure well i just checked tom's it is 85C so the heat is the problem but with the case being on it's side check how well the heatsink is on there heck it may be something simple and like randy said check all your wires i use the little zip-ties to secure loose wires inside my case it also helps improve airflow
but 80 is friggin high!

It's 90 for the first-generation processors based on the 0.18µm 'Palomino' core, and 85 for processors based on the 0.13µm 'Thoroughbred' core, and in this case, the 2200+ is based on Thoroughbred revision A.

At 80C there, the CPU's nearly toast - I would suggest getting a heatsink with a copper base... highly recommended; try using a Thermalright AX-7 or Thermaltake Volcano 9, if supported.