Help badly needed - system constantly trying to reboot

G@rethf

G@rethf

G@rethf

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Joined
20 Dec 2006
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105
Location
West Sussex
Hi,

I could really do with some help with this problem as am rapidly running out of ideas.

I have a Compaq desktop PC (not the 1 in my sig) which was running perfectly a week ago which is now turning itself on and off constantly. It doesnt get as far as posting before it cuts out, then tries to restart and cuts out again and that cycle continues til I remove the power lead. I have scanned the machine for viruses, spyware/malware, updated the bios, updated drivers, but still have the problem. It literally powers up for a couple of seconds then cuts out!!

Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this??

Thanks,
G
 
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When that happened to me it was power supply related. The amount of time it stayed up though was variable, anything from 10 seconds to 5 minutes before each power off and subsequent reboot.

The PSU was jut replaced, first with my spare PSU and later with another updated model of the one that was failing. Been solid since.
 
Thanks for the quick response.

Funnily enough that was my next port of call, gonna try another PSU in it tonight. Have never seen a machine do this before! The strange thing is that sometimes the PC does actually start and runs normally, then it goes back into its on/off mode!
 
Really do still need some help with this problem. I swapped out the PSU last night but the machine is still continuously powering up/down. I'm really not sure what is causing this, I was convinced it must be the PSU. Does anyone have any other suggestions???
 
Could be a problem with your ram. Have you tried with one stick? Could also try memtest86.
Have you added any hardware proir to this happenning?
 
The only hardware added was funnily enough a couple of 1gig sticks of ram but I kinda discounted that as they were installed about a month ago, & the machine has only been powering up/down for the last week, prior to that it was running fine.
 
Really could do with some more help with this problem as am really out of ideas now & need to find a solution. I've now swapped the ram around & no matter how many sticks are installed & which slots they are in the machine is still constantly powering up/down. I've also checked all connections on the mobo & problem remains. I've never seen a problem like this before.:mad:
 
how about overheating?
Are fans working/is CPU going OTT on temps?

That would explain the random time, depending on what your doing and pushing the CPU would depend on its lifespan before shutting down?
 
Thanks for the replies.

Kralz - No, machine not overheating, I have started the machine uo after its been off over night and it still powers on/off constantly so it cant be heat related. Fans are working and Bios reporting CPU temp around 50 when the machine does actually run normally.

Idleman - Machine is a stock bog standard offf the shelf Compaq desktop, no oc, really basic Bios so no ram timing options

Any other suggestions???
 
could be psu on its way out,could be because youve added more ram,it might be unstable? to test and rule it out just try with one stick of ram,if it still reboots then its something else
 
its hard to say but i have had computers do silly things before and repair guys told me it could the motherboard... ram... psu... you name it!

the only thing it seems you can do is to test out each component :/ not ideal at all but its all trial and error it seems
 
I've got the same motherboard (well, mine's a P35-DS3R) and similar ram. Your OCZ ram is probably rated at 2.1 or 2.2v, the motherboard by default only gives out 1.8v

This causes instability.

Go into the BIOS and set the ram to +0.4 in the voltage screen. Should sort it out ;)
 
Yeah, tell me about it, all the usual suspects basically! I've tried them all so far other than replacing the mobo which is obviously a last resort!

Gonna try booting it with ram & all drives completely removed & see if that kicks it back into life, but am starting to suspect its gonna be the mobo.
 
Bledd - Thanks for the reply but its not the machine in my sig that I've got a problem with, its a bog standard Compaq desktop ;)
 
G@rethf said:
Bledd - Thanks for the reply but its not the machine in my sig that I've got a problem with, its a bog standard Compaq desktop ;)
Click to expand...

Sorry, didn't read that bit.

Check the Compaq site for a BIOS update.

-Cross every bone in your body if you're doing a BIOS update on a non-stable machine mind :D

Run memtest first too
 
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