Originally posted by eyelolledthis is clearly a guess because I probably know nothing about computers compared to the plethora of hardware guru's that frequent this site, but I would take a moment to look at the capacitors on the motherboard an take note of how many of them have swollen tops. I'm not familiar with the board, but I would look for them around the PCI-E port, and around the CPU heatsink or along the central edge of the motherboard.
Excellent guess and yes there are about 7 or so caps bulging slightly, prob the mobo and cpu replacement would do the trick just hate to drop down the cash and still get the same weird shutdown feature... will remove the battery next as i have not done that yet.
Are you sure your ram is not defective? I had run into a problem like this recently and it was the ram module causing shutdowns. I did memtest and everything on the stick but just replacing it with a new solved all the problems.
The only other time where i have seen windows fail like that is when the cpu/fsb/timings Are "wrong" because of overclocking.
I really don't think its your motherboard. Motherboards usually restart at random intervals if defective not a specific states like windows loading. I mean you managed to install windows fine apart from when it actually has to load right?
Removing the battery only resets the bios like you should have done already...
no offense intended, but I would highly recommend improving on some of your core electronic knowledge before you start telling people to disregard identified problems on their system to follow your gut instinct.
All of my posts are either intelligent, thought provoking, funny, satirical, sarcastic or intentionally disrespectful. Take your pick.
I get banned in the forums for games I love, so lets see if I do better in the forums for games I hate.
I enjoy the serenity of not caring what your opinion is.
Originally posted by Wrender ok can someone suggest a decent motherboard and cpu combo for this dead horse? Preferably under 200 dollars? My case is retarded one that is riveted together(no removable back panel) it's a one piece only front side panel is removable...
Here is a CPU, Mobo, Case and RAM for $212 before $20 mail in rebates.
Not the best but will work and beat the shit out of what you had for less than $200 after rebates. I dont know what other hardware you have so this is just a suggestion and should be taken as that.
You can probably reuse your Gateway case.
If you could come up with another 100$ you could get a Kaveri CPU. It would be a pretty big upgrade from the 760K
Different ram would also be beneficial. DDR3-1866. Kaveri actually performs the same with single or dual channel ram.
If you live near a Microcenter you can get an A10-7850K with motherboard for 160$+tax. Add the 1866 Ram from newegg and you would have a much more powerfull system than Wrenders(No offense) for just over 200$. 40$ more gets the A88x motherboard that allows iGPU overclocking.
Definately check out Microcenter and see if they are in your area.
Originally posted by Wrender ok can someone suggest a decent motherboard and cpu combo for this dead horse? Preferably under 200 dollars? My case is retarded one that is riveted together(no removable back panel) it's a one piece only front side panel is removable...
Here is a CPU, Mobo, Case and RAM for $212 before $20 mail in rebates.
Not the best but will work and beat the shit out of what you had for less than $200 after rebates. I dont know what other hardware you have so this is just a suggestion and should be taken as that.
You can probably reuse your Gateway case.
If you could come up with another 100$ you could get a Kaveri CPU. It would be a pretty big upgrade from the 760K
Different ram would also be beneficial. DDR3-1866. Kaveri actually performs the same with single or dual channel ram.
If you live near a Microcenter you can get an A10-7850K with motherboard for 160$+tax. Add the 1866 Ram from newegg and you would have a much more powerfull system than Wrenders(No offense) for just over 200$. 40$ more gets the A88x motherboard that allows iGPU overclocking.
Definately check out Microcenter and see if they are in your area.
For more money he could get a better system. But as he stated funds are tight and I was trying to stay at or below $200.
There are many things he CAN get, just all comes down to what he can afford.
Personally I would not reuse an 8+ year old gateway case, the thing probably has the airflow of a vacuum sealed room.
Originally posted by grndzro It's a low power APU...he could cool it inside an ice chest. As long as the PC has 1 fan it will work for 100 watts.
100W is fairly substantial if the cooling isn't adeqaute. That is, after all, the entire principle behind the EZ-Bake Oven.
Now, to stop being so contrarian...
The existing CPU has a TDP of 65W. The case obviously handled that ok combined with the discrete GPU. It's not optimal, but I think if all your putting in there is an APU it would work ok.
I've put together many computers in the cardboard box the motherboard came in. It isn't pretty, safe, or optimal, but when you have a tight budget, you do what you have to do.
Admittedly, I skimmed through this thread really fast but my 1st question is (I looked fast but didn't see) What is your hardware?
What were you upgrading from. Last year, I was surprised to find out my aging Duo would not support Windows 8.
The 1st thing I'd try to find out is if my hardware is older, can the set up support Windows 7 or 8 64Bit?
Someone had mentioned Linux. It's not a bad idea. You can download a live CD and see if that boots or not. Somehting like Crunchbang is small fits on a single CD (it used to) The key is not so much what you know about Linux, but to see if it works or not.
Just being able to boot into the OS from a live CD should help determine if your issue is hardware or software related. If a Linux CD won't boot,
I can't read all the posts to find out if you have the answer yet,i do see some mention of power supplies,i doubt that si the problem ,when a power supply fails it really fails and can fry other parts.
To me it just sounds like a loose power cable somewhere or even in the switch you press to start the pc with.I have had the same problem many times over several PC's and it always was a loose connection.I have also had 2 power supplies go and you won't even be able to attempt to start your PC when they go.
I have also had overheating before,you can actually smell it when that happens.
If your GPU goes it usually shows signs well before it goes,like distorted graphics,lines all over the place,discoloring ect ect.
Oh yes and the obvious do a virus check while in safety mode,i recommend Trend MIcro House call,it has always found stuff where other programs have not,i think it is because they keep updated more than others.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Originally posted by Wizardry I can't read all the posts to find out if you have the answer yet,i do see some mention of power supplies,i doubt that si the problem ,when a power supply fails it really fails and can fry other parts.
That is totally not my experience with power supply failures.
Some, sure, fail catastrophically - fail to turn on entirely, go up in smoke, throw sparks, or some such.
But more often, and more probable, is that the power supply has failed, but continues to turn on and the computer "appears" fine, except that your video card blows up every 2-3 weeks, or you have to keep RMA'ing your new motherboard because they mysteriously all fail every couple days, or some such. It still will turn on, but the power coming out of it is so bad (poor regulation, poor voltage, etc) that is actually blows up other components... only you can't really tell because all you can really see is if the system powers up or not.
It's very common when you see people have repeated multiple failures, that it all come back to a common denominator of bad power supply.
Admittedly, I skimmed through this thread really fast but my 1st question is (I looked fast but didn't see) What is your hardware?
What were you upgrading from. Last year, I was surprised to find out my aging Duo would not support Windows 8.
The 1st thing I'd try to find out is if my hardware is older, can the set up support Windows 7 or 8 64Bit?
Someone had mentioned Linux. It's not a bad idea. You can download a live CD and see if that boots or not. Somehting like Crunchbang is small fits on a single CD (it used to) The key is not so much what you know about Linux, but to see if it works or not.
Just being able to boot into the OS from a live CD should help determine if your issue is hardware or software related. If a Linux CD won't boot,
You can trim both Win7 and Win8 services to play quite nicely even on old dual cores with 2GB of ram. Just use a lightweight AV and "Windows firewall control"(Program)
The motherboard is 10 years old with probably older electrolytic capacitors. Even if the Mobo is still good it wont be for long. It isn't worth it to hunt down another CPU or Motherboard for his PC. It is too outdated.
After shuttting numerous times it finally booted went to desktop and shutdown while trying to set resolution ... I do not overclock just for the record!
Gonna try to get it to the desktop again and just let it sit there and see what happens. prob gonna have to hit the power button a million times again before I get lucky again from what im seeing right now.... 26 times and still counting........
To me it sound like an electrical problem, if the PSU either is too small to deliver the wattage or not working correctly you get that exact issue.
The second possibility is a motherbord that isn't working but it is not that likely since you can boot at times but it closes down.
Usually when the motherboard is the issue you can't get windows to start at all. I never seen your exact issue myself due to motherboard failure and I fixed a lot of broken computers.
There is of course the chance that it is to do with the harddrive instead, if the harddrive or the Sata (or IDE) cable is not working windows could freeze up during loading or when you get the desktop picture open but still loading drivers and programs. Cables often break and I seen similar issue at a few times.
It is not the graphicscard, it never malfunction that way. Neither is it the CPU (unless it is the cashmemory on it).
The last possibility is that it is the memory that is severely broken. It is however the easiest thing to test since you only need a empty CD-rom record and to burn Me,test 86 or similar on a bootable disc. If you get an error you have at least one (but I would guess a lot more) broken byte. It could be on your RAM memory, the GFX card or even the CPU cash (I seen the last in one case, took me a long time to figure it out). In that case windows fills the memory but freezes when some parts of it gets put in the broken sectors.
Comments
no offense intended, but I would highly recommend improving on some of your core electronic knowledge before you start telling people to disregard identified problems on their system to follow your gut instinct.
All of my posts are either intelligent, thought provoking, funny, satirical, sarcastic or intentionally disrespectful. Take your pick.
I get banned in the forums for games I love, so lets see if I do better in the forums for games I hate.
I enjoy the serenity of not caring what your opinion is.
I don't hate much, but I hate Apple© with a passion. If Steve Jobs was alive, I would punch him in the face.
You can probably reuse your Gateway case.
If you could come up with another 100$ you could get a Kaveri CPU. It would be a pretty big upgrade from the 760K
Different ram would also be beneficial. DDR3-1866. Kaveri actually performs the same with single or dual channel ram.
If you live near a Microcenter you can get an A10-7850K with motherboard for 160$+tax. Add the 1866 Ram from newegg and you would have a much more powerfull system than Wrenders(No offense) for just over 200$. 40$ more gets the A88x motherboard that allows iGPU overclocking.
Definately check out Microcenter and see if they are in your area.
For more money he could get a better system. But as he stated funds are tight and I was trying to stay at or below $200.
There are many things he CAN get, just all comes down to what he can afford.
Personally I would not reuse an 8+ year old gateway case, the thing probably has the airflow of a vacuum sealed room.
100W is fairly substantial if the cooling isn't adeqaute. That is, after all, the entire principle behind the EZ-Bake Oven.
Now, to stop being so contrarian...
The existing CPU has a TDP of 65W. The case obviously handled that ok combined with the discrete GPU. It's not optimal, but I think if all your putting in there is an APU it would work ok.
I've put together many computers in the cardboard box the motherboard came in. It isn't pretty, safe, or optimal, but when you have a tight budget, you do what you have to do.
Admittedly, I skimmed through this thread really fast but my 1st question is (I looked fast but didn't see) What is your hardware?
What were you upgrading from. Last year, I was surprised to find out my aging Duo would not support Windows 8.
The 1st thing I'd try to find out is if my hardware is older, can the set up support Windows 7 or 8 64Bit?
Someone had mentioned Linux. It's not a bad idea. You can download a live CD and see if that boots or not. Somehting like Crunchbang is small fits on a single CD (it used to) The key is not so much what you know about Linux, but to see if it works or not.
Just being able to boot into the OS from a live CD should help determine if your issue is hardware or software related. If a Linux CD won't boot,
I can't read all the posts to find out if you have the answer yet,i do see some mention of power supplies,i doubt that si the problem ,when a power supply fails it really fails and can fry other parts.
To me it just sounds like a loose power cable somewhere or even in the switch you press to start the pc with.I have had the same problem many times over several PC's and it always was a loose connection.I have also had 2 power supplies go and you won't even be able to attempt to start your PC when they go.
I have also had overheating before,you can actually smell it when that happens.
If your GPU goes it usually shows signs well before it goes,like distorted graphics,lines all over the place,discoloring ect ect.
Oh yes and the obvious do a virus check while in safety mode,i recommend Trend MIcro House call,it has always found stuff where other programs have not,i think it is because they keep updated more than others.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
That is totally not my experience with power supply failures.
Some, sure, fail catastrophically - fail to turn on entirely, go up in smoke, throw sparks, or some such.
But more often, and more probable, is that the power supply has failed, but continues to turn on and the computer "appears" fine, except that your video card blows up every 2-3 weeks, or you have to keep RMA'ing your new motherboard because they mysteriously all fail every couple days, or some such. It still will turn on, but the power coming out of it is so bad (poor regulation, poor voltage, etc) that is actually blows up other components... only you can't really tell because all you can really see is if the system powers up or not.
It's very common when you see people have repeated multiple failures, that it all come back to a common denominator of bad power supply.
You can trim both Win7 and Win8 services to play quite nicely even on old dual cores with 2GB of ram. Just use a lightweight AV and "Windows firewall control"(Program)
To me it sound like an electrical problem, if the PSU either is too small to deliver the wattage or not working correctly you get that exact issue.
The second possibility is a motherbord that isn't working but it is not that likely since you can boot at times but it closes down.
Usually when the motherboard is the issue you can't get windows to start at all. I never seen your exact issue myself due to motherboard failure and I fixed a lot of broken computers.
There is of course the chance that it is to do with the harddrive instead, if the harddrive or the Sata (or IDE) cable is not working windows could freeze up during loading or when you get the desktop picture open but still loading drivers and programs. Cables often break and I seen similar issue at a few times.
It is not the graphicscard, it never malfunction that way. Neither is it the CPU (unless it is the cashmemory on it).
The last possibility is that it is the memory that is severely broken. It is however the easiest thing to test since you only need a empty CD-rom record and to burn Me,test 86 or similar on a bootable disc. If you get an error you have at least one (but I would guess a lot more) broken byte. It could be on your RAM memory, the GFX card or even the CPU cash (I seen the last in one case, took me a long time to figure it out). In that case windows fills the memory but freezes when some parts of it gets put in the broken sectors.
Hope this is helpful, good luck.