I'll try to explain this as detailed as i can

Ever since this afternoon, my 'puter has been experiencing some reset loop. When the 'puter is off for awhile (5 hrs or more), the reset doesnt come in till im on the comp for more than 2 hrs or so. When the first reset comes in, i just had enough time to boot in, logged on and check my voltages (through PC Probe) and the 5V rail checks in at exactly 5V.

After that it went on a loop again for the next 2-3 minutes. So i had to shut it off and wait for 10 mins or so. This happened for at least 6 or 7 more times till i had a chance to write this question.

When everything is cooled down, logged on and check the voltages. Everything seems to be normal.

12V - 12.096
5V - 4.869
3.3V - 3.248
VCore - 1.698

So at this point, ive ran adaware and spybot no spyware - nada. So im stumped. My guess would be my PS is failing slowly...?

Does this occur a lot when a PS fail or about to fail?

BTW, here are my spec

• Win XP Pro SP 2
  AMD XP 2600+ OC @ 2.3 Ghz
  Asus A78NX-X Rev 1.09
  32 MB GMatrix Video Card (My AIW 9700 Pro is RMA'd to ATI)
  WD 120GB HD
  Audigy 2
  Pioneer AO5 DVD+/-RW
  Lite-On CDRW

Does it do a soft reboot or hard reboot?.. Basically, does it *click* off and then on, or simply reboot as if you pressed the reset button?

It definately sounds like a hardware issue, could be the PS, an intermitten problem would ofcourse not show up on your voltage tests.

If it were your ram,cpu,motherboard,sound/video card, your computer would more than likely simply "freeze" so it definately sounds like a power issue.

Sounds like a heat-related issue from what you've described. Is this a no-name computer, or one made by a major computer company?

Yup, sounds like a fan died and you're overheating.

Well, it resets as if i just pressed the reset button. I was just looking at my voltages and i find the 5V rail a bit too low. Is that a normal range for a 5V?

It's a no name brand. I left my side door open and the CPU fan is running as it should. Mind you, i left it open and running since 6:00 AM and its still running without any resets (crossing my fingers).

Well it did it again. Just when my 5V rail was on exactly 5V after a few mins, it went to a reset.

You're not overclocking this system are you?

If the answer to that is no, then you're definitely looking at swapping some parts out. Find a power supply somewhere, swap it in and see if it fixes the problem. It more than likely will. If not, motherboard would probably be the next thing to test.

Yes i am. The comp runs @ 2.0 Ghz when not OC. Right now, its on @ 2.3 Ghz. Would that be a culprit? I've been running this since last summer and i had no problems with this setup.

How do you test the MB?

a 300mhz overclock is SEVERE. What bus speed are your running, AGPs and PCI cards dont like to be run past its 66/33 setting. Try backing it down. Check to see if all the fans are working as it should (ie check RPMs). Clean you fan for dust build-up if you haven't aready.

Also back down your memory timings and see if that helps.

Having the setup run last summer doesn't mean it has to work now. CPUs do deteriorate over time and become more susceptible to heat.

Asking why the computer resets itself is like asking why a DSM knocks so bad when u run 20psi with no fuel mods.

Jeremy hit it on the head. Turn that OC'ing down, or even completely off and see if you still have the problem. If the case is open, try running a large house fan a few feet away from it to keep it cool even, I'm guessing you're going to notice a difference.

P.S. - Love the analogy Jeremy!

Your 5v and 3.3v are very low. When you overclock you do really need a quality Power Supply (Antec TruBlue, OcZ Modstream etc.).
I use an Ultra X-Connect on my 2.8e overclocked to 3.4Ghz and it hasn't given me problems. A, the modular cables really clean up the computer case and B, their 500w PSU's really do stand strong in their voltages.
Bad side about the Ultra X-Connects is that for the first few weeks the PSU stinks up the room. It went away after a while though.

They go for pretty cheap on tigerdirect.ca so check it out man.

I seriously wont put too much faith in TigerDirect stuff.

I would just bite the bullet and get a good Enermax.

Still sounds like a heat problem.

I've given up on overclocking a long time ago. Not worth the hassle. I'd just buy a faster processor and better components. After all, if you are playing games and need to extract maximum performance, you should be overclocking your video card instead.

If you are going to spend a fortune to get that special case, exotic water cooling, bunch of fans louder than a 747 taking off, then you can afford the next processor up.

Still need more speed, then just double up. Dual CPU (or Dual Core) and SLI..hehehe. Just buying time till the new s939 and the Athlon 64 Dual cores come out.

PS. I still hate Intel's. Slow, overheating, overmarketed, Prescott core.

Okay, well i sure put some more detail about this.
Let me revise the list.

Right now, im running

• 1 Gig Kingston 333 DDR Ram
  Win XP Pro SP 2
  AMD XP 2600+ OC @ 2.3 Ghz
  Asus A78NX-X Rev 1.09
  32 MB GMatrix Video Card (My AIW 9700 Pro is RMA'd to ATI)
  WD 120GB HD
  Audigy 2
  Pioneer AO5 DVD+/-RW
  Lite-On CDRW

As Dean mentioned above, my 5V and 3V is a bit low. So i broke down and bought a OCZ 450 Watt PS. Im on the way to pick it up as we speak.

Here's my setup as per BIOS

• CPU Ext. Freq. = 200 MHz
  CPU Freq Multi. = 11.5 (now its on 10.5 as per everyone)
  System Pref. = User Defined
  Memory Freq. = Auto
  Memory Timings = Optimal
  FSB Spread Sprectrum = Disabled
  AGP " " = Disabled
  CPU VCore Settings = Menu
  CPU VCore = 1.675V
  Graphic Aperture Size = 32 MB (32 MB is the min)
  AGP Freq. = Auto
  AGP 8X = Disabled
  AGP Fast Write = "
  DDR Ref. = 2.6V
  AGP VDDQ = 1.5V
  Video RAM Cacheable = Disabled
  System Bios " = Disabled
  
  Memory Freq. = 166 MHZ
  Memory Latency = Auto

Now, tell me if anything i should change.

And yes jeremy, your right. Hence im trying to put as much info to you guys as i can.

PS.

My PS came with my Antec Case 1040 (server case). PS is SL400 400 Watts.

Have you an extra power/supply/ram or other parts to test with?

Just for shi*s and giggles though, check the capacitors on the motherboard. When they start to leak, the machine will start to give random restarts and whatnot. I see this in the service dept at a computer store where I work often enough.

I'd also check your cpu/mobo temperatures, and maybe get yourself a copy of powermax(maxtor's hard drive testing utility)... and test it with that. I've seen failing hard drives give all sorts of weird problems as they're failing.

Also try running the machine without cd-roms IDE/power cables connected... and with just a floppy/hard drive. It might lessen the strain on the power supply and allow you to run without resets...

Good luck.

Don't bother with overclocking. I've seen so many computer gamer 17 year old kids come into the computer shop I work in and cook processors because they overclocked. Then they try to get their money back.. hmmm nope sorry.

Like Jeremy said it's just not worth it. It could have worked well for awhile but I think the heat gets to them. Also RAM seems very tempermental and come become unstable if its ever been overheated.

This is what I would

1: downclock it back to the proper settings and see how it runs.

2: If it still reboots it could be bad ram, take out one of the sticks if you have more than one and see how it runs. To benchmark it use 3Dmark from madonion.com this puts the system under load and it will reboot almost right away if you still have problems.

3: You could try another power supply, but I have seen gaming systems run properly with lower voltage than that. I find its the amperage ratings that really matter. Like Jeremy said get an enermax IMO they are the best.

4: If none of the above fixes your problem its most likely the motherboard. Replace it. Maybe try a bios update but that doesn't usually fix that kind of issue.

My RAM is good. I just checked them with the Memtest and both stick is a-okay.

Well as per everyone said, i turn the frequency down to 2.1 GHz and let the computer running SiSandra while i was away buying the power supply. A few hours later (and beers) it hasnt reset itself (yet). So im gonna let this comp run again till the next morning see if gives me a poo poo. (And i actually went all the way to North York to buy the OCZ 450Watt PS, very awesome piece i might add )

BTW, i didnt OC the processor with the stock cooling. I OC'd it with Zalman CNPS 7700.

Ill keep everyone up-to-date, thanks for the help.

Raise your Vcore value to 1.75v(1 increment at a time) and raise your Vdimm value(asus calls it DDR ref)to 2.7V.
Just watch for excessive heat.

Naturally, when you increase the FSB or multiplier values of any processor, you have to increase the voltage values to compensate for the increase in speed and since athlons really like the Dimms to run at the same bus speed as the cpu, you have to raise the Vdimm value as well.

I second the overclock as the culprit.

I also wonder if its ok for your ram to be at 166 and your processor is at 200? Just a question, but shouldn't they be at the same freq?

speaking solely on my experience, ive found that all processors run the best when the RAM and CPU bus speeds(freq) are the same, the reason why ddr200 is useless with any athlon other than athlonxp3200+(talking about 32-bit athlons only), if you used ddr200 with a CPU that uses a 166FSB, at least with AMD's, the motherboard would de-clock your ram to match the CPU speed.

altho i have friends who swear on their mothers grave that with a VIA chipset(not Nvidia)that rule doesnt apply(altho i still practice it).

i can't actually test this theory with a pentium, becuase i only have ddr200 for my p4 laptop.

Well anyhow, it wasnt the OC or the MOBO that was the culprit. It was my power supply. When i took the mofo out, the pins that connects to the mobo, 2-3 pins were fused together. So, i went back and have my PS replaced. I've got a new PS and i havent experienced any stupid resetting.