new build having odd problems

xlnc · 27 Feb 2012 at 22:48

would really appreciate any help or input that any of you can offer so here goes

i recently purchased a pre-overclocked bundle and a few odds and ends
i5 @ 4.5gz
8gig ram
mobo
120gb corsair force 3 ssd

anyway so i install windows and all my software without any issues, loading up the overclock profiles on one of the many restarts when installing software, PC was left up and running overnight when the next day i noticed that the system was firing up for about 4 secs then going off for a few secs then repeating...

I removed everything from case and sat the mobo on a box to try rule out it shorting or whatever and was had a slightly different issue with pc refusing to post whatsoever and just getting a slight jolt of power when starting then going dead...i figured it was a PSU issue as I was using a cheap psu so ordered a new PSU (corsair ZS 650w)
again when sitting the mobo on its box i got issues namely fans spinning but nothing from internal speaker and nothing showing on monitor, I decided to clear cmos (really didnt wanna do this as didnt wanna lose O/C) but it seemed to work and posted immediately, I then reassembled everything in case but for some reason windows7 install was;nt booting and so i attempted a repair but on reboot machine either doesnt post or i get a repeat of the previous problem when system powers up and down constantly.

again if i clear cmos i can fix the issue to the extent that i can get the machine to post but these problems keep recoccuring

anyone have any ideas??? im now completely lost as to what the problem may be

thanks

xlnc · 28 Feb 2012 at 13:22

Think I've tried everything i can think of atm

olivier renault · 28 Feb 2012 at 13:41

Looks like it's got its knickers in a twist.

Look into the bios, check the boot order, and the drives showing up. SSD should be first. If you still have a problem, disconnect the hard drive and optical from the motherboard and boot with SSD only.

If you had an OS previously on the HDD, these can interfere quite severely with fresh new OS.

If it boots with no overclock, then you need to do a step by step overclock, starting with setting up the memory using the XMP profile. Then try using the overclocking profiles stored in the bios.

xlnc · 28 Feb 2012 at 21:36

Ok update, and ty for the input oliver

Someone suggested bios settings may be incorrect and i changed ach from ide and niq pc boots ok

But pc is still randomly shutting down it did it twice whilst browsing online, (both within 3 mins of pc being booted) then once when idle, and interestingly i played bf3 for 2 hours without any probs

So now im further confused

olivier renault · 28 Feb 2012 at 22:24

Lots of things really.

Can check in the device manager for yellow exclamation marks, pointing to a missing or invalid driver.

Can look at the event viewer, see if anything pops up.

Can force windows to blue screen instead of restarting.

Right click My Computer, Properties, Advanced, Startup and Recovery Settings.

In the System failure section:

Put a check mark in the "Write an event to the system log" box
Put a check mark in the "Send an administrative alert" box
Uncheck the "Automatically restart" box

In the Write debugging information section, choose:

Small memory dump (64 KB)

Set the Small dump directory to:

%SystemRoot%\Minidump

Click OK, OK.

But to me it sounds like either a bad bios setup, or a botched Win 7 install.

If it was me, I'd sort out the BIOS to default settings, remove the overclock, use XMP memory profile, set memory voltage to 1.55V, turn AHCI on, and re-install windows. It's a pain, but 'it's the only way to be sure'. Sort of.

When re-installing, put the optical as primary boot drive, disconnect hard drives that are not necessary and only leave the optical drive (for the DVD rom), and the drive where you want to install windows. And wipe it clean!

xlnc · 28 Feb 2012 at 22:37

Thanks again, i should have mentioned that i had already reset bios to default settings and the only setting i have changed is to turn on ahci

Ill try the other steps but ive just tried again to boot the machine and ita now also restarting or simply switching off before post or even whilst im still in bios

Ill consider reinstalling win7 but id like to see why im getting these random restarts wether im in Windows or not