Two Problems (1 Minor, 1 Major)

[Archon]

Alright. A few months ago, I got rid of the God-awful TDL3 worm (I used a program called TDSS killer, which removed it quickly and without issue). The thing is, prior to finding TDSS killer, I was following a set of instructions that came from this site (or so I remember). I solved the issue midway through following the instructions. In any case, the first and foremost problem is this:

1.) When I start up my computer, for a couple seconds it displays a screen with several options on it. The one in question is 'do not select this [debugger enabled]'. I can't seem to find the program that this came from. Whatever 'enabled' the debugger seems to have been lost to the ages, and I can't -- for the life of me -- find out how to disable this.

The second, much more major problem is this:

2.) My computer will restart at random times.

• I have a large fan aimed in to my box. It seems to be an overheating issue, as if the fan is set on high and I play a game, I won't restart in five minutes. I might be able to play for a few hours (before quitting of my own accord), but it still might restart soon after playing.
  
• When I start up my computer (after it's been off for at least a few hours), something grinds rather loudly. After a few minutes, I can tap the top of my computer case and it'll stop. It won't respond if I tap it immediately after it boots up. I don't know if this had to do with the restarting. My thought is it might be a cooling fan trying to spin but getting jammed then eventually stopping entirely.
  
• When I play a game without any cooling, I might get a high pitched chirping immediately preceding a restart. Turning on the fan might stop both the chirping and the restart.
  
• When my computer restarts, usually it just cuts to black for a few moments, then goes to the boot up screen. Occasionally, though, I'll see the flash of a bluescreen for a split second. I disabled automatic restart on system failure, but it didn't accomplish anything.
  
• The more CPU a game takes up, the higher the probability of it restarting. Minecraft, for instance, while not being a system intensive game in the least, requires a lot of CPU usage. As such, even with cooling on high it won't last for more than an hour (usually lasts around twenty minutes) before it restarts on me. In contrast, Fallout 3 (on high settings) might run fine until I decide to quit it.
  

I'm using Windows XP 32 bit.

Specs:

• 2 Gigabytes RAM
  
• Nvidia GeForce GTS 450 Graphics Card
  
• AMD Athlon 3500+ Single Core 2.2ghz Processor
  
• 400 watt power supply
  

I'm thinking the restarting might be attributed to the power supply. That's my first guess. The second? Processor. Third? Motherboard. Fourth? Hard drive. In other words, I haven't narrowed it down any at all (save for the graphics card).

[CWB]

i can't tell you about the debugger .

what OS are you using ?

the restart issue(s) might just be due to several causes that you have mentioned .

the first thing i would do is clean the machine out ... get rid of the dust-n-fuzz . 1/16" of dust is a very good thermal insulator .

the second thing is to actually determine exactly where the "grinding noise" is coming from ... if it is the cooling fan in the power supply then you can kill two birds with one stone ... replace that light-in-the-poop supply .

you have not mentioned the age/make/model of the machine , the MB make/model , the manufacturer of the power supply , etc .

[Conor55]

Sorry for being offtopic, ANOTHER MINECRAFT PERSON!! on a AM forums!! ;DDD

On topic: Isn't there a way to disable debugger? I remember seeing it when people are having problems in the HiJack section..

[CWB]

on topic : which debugger it is , is the question .

one could/might assume that it is the windows debugger (due to it's place in the start-up sequence) ... but ... that is an assumption , not a fact .

that is best left to someone else here who knows more about that particular subject .

[Archon]

i can't tell you about the debugger .

what OS are you using ?

the restart issue(s) might just be due to several causes that you have mentioned .

the first thing i would do is clean the machine out ... get rid of the dust-n-fuzz . 1/16" of dust is a very good thermal insulator .

the second thing is to actually determine exactly where the "grinding noise" is coming from ... if it is the cooling fan in the power supply then you can kill two birds with one stone ... replace that light-in-the-poop supply .

you have not mentioned the age/make/model of the machine , the MB make/model , the manufacturer of the power supply , etc .

Windows XP Professional 32 bit, service pack 3.

As far as the machine's model, it's custom built overall. Information about the computer case wouldn't come in handy. Overall, the parts in total are several years old. 2005, I think. I upgraded the RAM on a couple occasions, so they're a little newer. The only brand new part is the graphics card (which I received as a gift on Christmas).

What do you mean 'MB' make and model?

And, the manufacture of the power supply is Wintech. It's a "WIN-400PS". DC output 400W.

[CWB]

the power supply ... i didn't recognize the name right out ... kind of pinged in the back of my mind .

a quick google search and the second result showed this :

http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Power-Suppl...w-Power-Supply/

read towards the bottom where it is compared with a "real" power supply .

if it is 5 years old and was not exactly good quality to start with ... weeelll ...

you might want to consider getting a new and better quality unit of higher "real watts" output ... say 500 watt capability .

i believe your supply has served it's useful life (and then some considering) .

some of the other fellows here can recommend various makes of supplies .

personally speaking (only) i would get a mid-range supply ... say a rosewill 500 watt . there are a few in their "mid line" that would work well with your machine .

MB = motherboard

given the age of your MB i would inspect it for "pregnant" electrolytic caps .

a couple of well lit sharp focus pictures would be helpful .

remember ... you can't turn the board in a picture .

[Archon]

the power supply ... i didn't recognize the name right out ... kind of pinged in the back of my mind .

a quick google search and the second result showed this :

http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Power-Suppl...w-Power-Supply/

read towards the bottom where it is compared with a "real" power supply .

if it is 5 years old and was not exactly good quality to start with ... weeelll ...

you might want to consider getting a new and better quality unit of higher "real watts" output ... say 500 watt capability .

i believe your supply has served it's useful life (and then some considering) .

some of the other fellows here can recommend various makes of supplies .

personally speaking (only) i would get a mid-range supply ... say a rosewill 500 watt . there are a few in their "mid line" that would work well with your machine .

MB = motherboard

given the age of your MB i would inspect it for "pregnant" electrolytic caps .

a couple of well lit sharp focus pictures would be helpful .

remember ... you can't turn the board in a picture .

I'm aware my power supply is low quality. I'm simply not entirely convinced that it's the problem. This all started rather recently; I'm worried it might be the CPU. As mentioned, the more CPU usage, the higher the chance of crashing.

Motherboard? I'm unsure. Computer doesn't make finding things too easy. I'll have a look and reply when I find it (hopefully with some pictures of my setup).

P.S: My audio jacks are failing, too. One's been out of commission for quite some time, but now the other one is going out, too. I've confirmed it isn't my headphones. Any way to replace them?

[Archon]

Alright. Had to move some stuff around, but my motherboard is an Acer HT2000. That help at all?

No pictures, sorry.

[CWB]

the problem with a questionable supply is just that .

without clean and reliable power a comp will do all kinds of strange things .

when repairing a comp that shows some of the symptoms that you are experiencing i sub in a good supply .

i was really hoping for a picture or two of the MB ...

there are some other problems that can be determined with an "experienced eyeball" :

bad electrolytic caps .

the two items i have mentioned are essential in making sure that one does not wind up on a wild goose chase .

repair is not magic ... it is a process of elimination and fact finding .

certain items have to be in place first .

one can test a power supply but unless you have a good oscilloscope , current shunts , a dvm and dummy loads it is expeditious to swap out a questionable supply .

the other side of this is knowing what you are looking at on the 'scope and interpretation of the readings .

the audio jack failure :

this can be due to "bad connections" and/or driver/hardware/software failure ...

are these front connections or rear connections ?

in the case of the rear mounted connectors , a visual inspection of the bottom side of the MB will determine if the failure is due to cracked out solder joints .

with front connectors , the prime suspects are the interconnecting cable and the jacks themselves (cracked out solder joints at the MB connector pins and the front connector sub assembly board) .

[Firefox]

It may well be a bad motherboard....

Do you have any signs of blown capacitors, or leaking one? You can read some articles and see some pictures of what to look for below:

• http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=195
  
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague
  

If any of your capacitors look like any of the ones in those pages, then its the motherboard. (Also power supplies have capacitors inside them as well that may look like this).

[Archon]

When I turned on my computer today, I gave a listen to the grinding. It's definitely coming from the power supply area (motherboard, too), but it stopped when I tapped my processor. As far as the jacks, both the front and rear jacks are screwy (the front more than the back). I'll give it a look in a while and report back my findings.

Tomorrow, I'll probably be getting either a 450 watt or a 500 watt power supply depending on finances.

[CWB]

you mentioned tapping the heat sink /cooling fan (the cpu is actually buried under under that stuff) .

you might want to order up a cpu fan at the same time .

but ... before you make out an order ...

an inspection of the MB is darn near essential . those sites mentioned are a help but some bad caps do not exhibit gross failures ... the swelling can be subtle as is the electrolyte oozing out the bottom ... "trained eyeballs" .

replacing these caps is not "entry level" big chunk swapping repair .

if there are bad electrolytic caps on the MB these will either have to be replaced , the MB swapped out , or you will have to seriously consider building a new machine and salvaging what parts you can .

finding a suitable replacement MB may not be too difficult right now . the "older style" MBs are becoming more scarce .

trying to find a new MB with the processor type you are using is not exactly easy .

there may be some "new old stock" or rebuilt boards available but from what i have seen they can be a bit on the high dollar side .

/me looks at a stack of four MBs with bad caps that are waiting for the cap order to show up .

[Archon]

The restarting has been fixed. The power supply was the problem. I got a 550 watt one. Thanks.

[Firefox]

That is great news indeed, no how about that grinding noise is it gone too, is it possible the grinding was coming from the PS fan too? If not you need to change out that fan/heat sink on the Processor before you cook it....

Just a thought....

[Archon]

That is great news indeed, no how about that grinding noise is it gone too, is it possible the grinding was coming from the PS fan too? If not you need to change out that fan/heat sink on the Processor before you cook it....

Just a thought....

Oddly enough? The grinding sound is not gone. It's probably the CPU, but it doesn't seem to be affecting anything. I'll take a look at it.

[Firefox]

It may not be affecting anything right now, but it is cheaper to replace a cooling fan now (less than $20) than replace a Processor later....

[Archon]

It may not be affecting anything right now, but it is cheaper to replace a cooling fan now (less than $20) than replace a Processor later....

The fans all work perfectly. It isn't the fan. It's the CPU itself, I believe.

[Firefox]

Ummm there is no way the cpu can be making a grinding noise as it has no moving parts.... there is a fan that blows on the heat sink where the CPU is located, if that fan is grinding, then it needs replacing.....

[CWB]

tapping on the top of the case is like beating on the top of your car to try to figure out where a funny noise is coming from .

i have seen the HDs in comps vibrate and cause something that sounded like a bad fan bearing . in one case (no pun intended) it was actually one of the power connectors beating/rubbing against the case .

as ff mentioned there are no moving parts in a power supply except for a/the cooling fan .

the cpu fan should be easy enough to check as it normally sits out in the open . lightly touching the hub while it is in the "grinding" mode will produce a change in the sound (the same idea will work on any cooling fan) .

ones ear is usually a good guide to where the sound is actually coming from .

i can't find a picture of the insides of your machine ...

i can't tell if you have a single or dual case fan(s) .

moving air is cheap as opposed to the failure of equipment due to high temperatures .