DescentBB

I have recently installed a batch of 10 identical, self-assembled computers in an office.

It turns out that these computers will reboot randomly (straight from WinXP to BIOS POST without BS or any other error) from time to time (once or twice a week). Most computers seem to have that problem.

I was wondering if poor power supply could be the reason of this behaviour. Maybe a small drop in voltage (due to a fridge or another power consumer turning on), causing a computer to reboot just like that?

The machines are P4 3.2GHz with Asus motherboards, Kingston memory and minimal setup (onboard VGA, LAN, Sound, etc..)

It's driving me crazy since I can't isolate the problem. The only thing I can think of are poor quality PSU or else their wall outlets are louzy and flukes are causing this problem.

Thoughts?

What PSU did you use (manufacturer, amperes on 12V and 5V, combined power please)?

Is there an entry in the event log ?

Did you turn off "automatic restart"?

Move the machines to another circuit that can handle the amps.

You might also consider moving to more conservative memory settings to see if that makes a difference (i.e. speed, latency, etc.). For example, if the motherboard permits operating the memory at a different speed from the FSB, you might drop memory speed down a notch. This can do wonders for stability if the memory is marginal with respect to specifications, and even the best manufacturers sometimes have bad or marginal product runs that make it through quality control.

MD-2389 wrote:Did you turn off "automatic restart"?

hey MD, whats the "XP Pro 160gig" and the "No Execute=OptIn" coding for?

Check to see if the heatsinks are mounted properly. P4's do some strange things when the heatsinks aren't on just right.

Ace, "XP Pro 160gig" is just the name he have that option in the NTLDR screen. /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN turns on NX (DEP) protection, which means the memory manager marks the no-execute bit on data that isn't part of a program. This makes 99.9% of buffer overflows impossible.

DCrazy wrote:Ace, "XP Pro 160gig" is just the name he have that option in the NTLDR screen. /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN turns on NX (DEP) protection, which means the memory manager marks the no-execute bit on data that isn't part of a program. This makes 99.9% of buffer overflows impossible.

assuming you got hardware that supports it(IE any chip since the introduction of the Athlon64).

Do all the comps reboot at the same time or individually at different times?

ahhh okay. no i dont have a DEP CPU.

Also check your house power to make sure you don't have an open ground or a hot/neutral reverse.