Computer Problems...Help!!!

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LTG

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I have a seperate computer for recording. The computer is a pentium 200 mmx. It has 2 gigs which is hardly used. I have a SBLive sound card which seems to work fine. When i record it seems fine. Once and a while during recording, for no apparent reason, the computer reboots in the middle. Please help!
Thanks in advance
 
Lots of possible reasons for this.

First thing I'd check would be the power strip and/or wall outlet that the computer is plugged in to. It doesn't take much fluctuation in power to freak some machines. You can buy cheapo outlet testers from hardware stores that will point out obvious problems with grounding and such.

Also, make sure that it's only rebooting during recording and it's not just a coincidence. Looping playback for a while will help you test this.

If it's only during recording then you'll want to check into the input device. I know that I was getting a zap every now and then from my mixer until I replaced the some cords. Also, if you have powered speakers, check em out.

Oh, and quit bumping the reset button :)

Anyway, it's *probably* nothing serious. You might have some crappy wiring in your house...maybe a shitty power supply ...basically improper grounding somewhere.... maybe even some goofy memory. Are you in an area prone to a lot of static electricity? Make sure nothing plugged into the computer is sitting on the carpet!

BTW, it's not an HP is it? I've heard of reboot problems on a couple HP machines.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Oops duplicate message. Moderator please delete.

[This message has been edited by Slackmaster2K (edited 10-15-1999).]
 
You could also try opening up the case and making sure that all of your cards seated properly in the bus slots, The power cables to the motherboard as well.
 
Thanks for all the info. I was playing some mp3's of music on the machine and the same thing happened so it must be wiring. I had the surge protector sitting on a carpeted floor. Is that bad? It's not an HP.
 
Having the surge protector on carpet shouldn't really be a problem. Try a different protector and/or outlet and try to unplug everything that isn't necessary. Does the machine lose power when it reboots or does it just reboot? One thing you should do is to plug your recording machine into the outlet and powersupply that your main computer is plugged into and see if the problem persists.

As loudnaybor suggested, you might also check to make sure that all your cards are properly seated. Unplug the machine, take the case off and push each card firmly into its slot. Typically the machine won't POST if a card isn't seated properly...do you have ever trouble booting? Frequent card "unseating" can be caused by a warping motherboard or a junky case.

Another thing you'll want to figure out is if your problems are directly related to sound. Since you only use the machine for music, it might just be a coincidence that it reboots when you're working on music. Does the machine reboot itself when you're doing other things or when it's just sitting there? If this problem is only related to sound, then, like I said earlier, checkout everything plugged into the soundcard. You might even try the soundcard in a different slot.

This is really a tough one to figure out. There are lots of things that could fudge the power in your system. As a last resort you could try swapping power supplies between your main machine and the machine you use for music. One of the lines from the power supply to the motherboard is called "Power Good". It is basically a signal indicating "you've got good power, so run." If this signal is dropped for even the smallest amount of time your system will reboot...in fact this is how reset buttons used to work. Anyway, a power supply on its last legs might be your problem.

Blah blah. Lot's of things to try so try em all until the thing works again!

Slackmaster 2000
 
Thanks. I found an outlet tester. It said the outlet and the surge protector are fine. I then touched the case with my hand and it rebooted. I let it boot up and when it booted up I tried removing the line input plug, which is a large gold plug. The plug came out fine with no interference on the computer, but when I plugged it back in and the computer rebooted once again. I got it back up again and then while I was practicing drums it rebooted again. We tested the machine with diagnostics and it seems to be fine. The drum set is on a special carpet which has rubber and is on another carpet. Is this all caused by static? If so how can I fix it?
thanks
 
Strange one.

I think something is shorting out in your system. I guess you checked that the cards are all seated ok as Loudnaybor suggested? Try shaking the case when it's on and see if it will reboot. Could be the motherboard grounding out or again, one of the cards seated half-way. Or it could be none of the above... maybe it's bad memory??, :)

Emeric
 
Oh yeah..

If you have not opened the machine up.. do so.. check to make sure everything is tight.. ribbon cables, cards, memory, processor etc... Just touch the case before you start pulling cards. I wouldn't worry about the carpet/static. As long as your grounds are good as in, the wiring into the house outlet. Even if the grounds were bad you would have to have a hell of a charge to cause a reboot through the chassis.

Emeric
 
I took the cover off and shook it around and it was fine. Then Istarted recording again. It recorded fine and then when i did playback it rebooted. It changes every time. What else can I do?
Thanks
 
You have checked all the ribbon cables and cards.. pop out all the cards, put them back in again?

Does it only reboot during recording or other times?

Start pulling cards, pull out everything except your sound card and video card. If it still reboots, check your memory. If your using DIMMS, and you have more than one, pull one out and run your machine. If it reboots, pull the remaining DIMM out and put the other one in and see what happens.

Process of elimination. Eventually you will narrow it down.

Emeric
 
I have seen lucent chipset based modems cause random reboots. Pull the cards, narrow it down.

Emeric
 
I'd rather not say exactly how many years I've been troubleshooting computers, as half of you wouldn't believe it anyway, but in my experience most random reboots can be solved by the following, in order of likelihood. Try each, button it back up, and proceed to the next if it didn't work:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI> take out all cards, replace. Same for RAM boards
<LI> remove all power connectors, check power supply voltages, replace
<LI> take out all cards and RAM again, clean edge contacts carefully with contact cleaner, replace. Do this one at a time.
<LI> take out all cards and RAM and put them back in different slots. You will have to read the manual to make sure this is doable for the RAM and for PCI cards.
</UL>

So, you've been getting good advice...most of this is real easy but if you're worried about hurting something (i.e. RAM, or shorting something out while checking voltages), better to leave it alone than hurt something.


[This message has been edited by Dragon (edited 10-16-1999).]
 
i've been networking computers for about 13 years now and i've seen some pretty strange things. this is one them. and when i tell some of the newbies on staff to do this they think i'm bananas because it's something they haven't seen in a book. i've found that sometimes machines, due to constant tinkering on the inside, tend to re-boot due to a short between the cover and the frame. i've seen this on many clones that use metal clasps to hold the face-plate to the cage. one of them gets bent the wrong way and makes some kind of circuit that shuts the machine down. i've seen machines re-boot when you accidentally hit them with your knee. this can be proved or disproved by running the machine with no cover OR face-plate (if it's a tower) and see if it re-boots. i've also seen this happen in desktops with a bent cover and sometimes i've had to bend the cover back into shape to keep it from shorting. when you bump into the unit the unit responds by shutting down but because the contact between the cover and frame is brief, instead of completely shutting down it re-boots. i know this sounds crazy and it may not be your problem (i agree with dragon about the memory and you should run an msd to see if there are any bad blocks) but i've also seen an entire company receive mysterious ip addresses with no dchp server connected.

stax
 
One of the worst gremlins I have ever chased was the one that live inside my worn out reset button. Try unplugging it from the motherboard.
 
LTG:

Welcome to grounding 101! :)

If you touched the case and it rebooted then most likely you have a grounding problem. Grounding, to put it very simply, is a means of expelling unwanted electrical charge.

Everything in your machine should be grounded via the case/power supply.

Think of it this way...if you rub your feet on the carpet and touch your case, you're going to send a nice little zap into your computer. That little zap needs a place to go and should be routed to the ground... otherwise, you have problems.

1) Make sure your motherboard isn't just clipped in with plastic mounts. Yes there are grounds on the power connection, but use metal screws anyway. You'll see some screw holes in your motherboard that are round and coated with metal...stick your screws in em.

2) Make sure that you have proper grounding via your power connection. If you live in an older place, chances are that you're converting from 3 prong (grounded) plugs to standard 2 prong plugs. Make sure that you have a good adapter...which would be your power strip in this case. You didn't cut that third prong off did you?

3) Your power supply itself might be the culprit. You might try swapping supplies as I mentioned earlier. Also, I've seen many older models where there was a ground wire coming out of the power supply that you would attach to the case. If your PS has one, connect it to a metal portion of the case.

You can try pulling cards and memory and whatnot, but I really don't think that's your problem anymore after considering your last post. If you touched the case and it rebooted, the difference in potential between you and the computer caused the reboot. You zapped it in other words. With proper grounding this wouldn't have happened except in extreme cases of static electricity. Also when you plugged something into your line-in....same deal. There are going to be electrical differences between each little thing-a-majig (to use a technical term) plugged into your machine. Grounding is a means of compensating for this.

An easy way to test all this you say? Hmmm. I would break out a mulitmeter. You'll probably have a friend who has a friend who will let you borrow one. If not you can pick one up for about $30 from Radio Shack. I wouldn't recommend buying one though since it'll pretty much be a one-time cost and might not reveal anything.

Your multimeter will have a continuity check. What you do, for example, is touch one probe to one end of a wire and the other probe to the other end of a wire. If the wire is continuous (no breaks) the the multimeter will beep at you (or whatever). In your case there would be a lot of things to check.

First, leaving the power cord plugged into the back of your machine but unplugging it from the power strip, touch one probe to the big third prong of the power cord and the other probe to your case. If you get a beep, then so far you're good. If not, check the power supply and/or power cord.

Next, leave the probe on the power cord and use the other probe to "back-probe" the gronds on power connector on your motherboard. Stick the little probe right into the connector from the rear (the only way in this case). There are four ground wires on the connector, they will all be black and should be in the center.

This is probably all mumbo-jumbo to you so I'll finish before continuing furthur. You would also be well-advised to look into the other suggestions that have been made. Don't worry about damaging your machine or components...just BE CAREFUL. Always unplug the machine and make sure to always be touching the case when working inside the computer. Don't leave the computer plugged in either. Some people will tell you to leave it plugged in so that its grounded, but it's only important that there's no difference in potential between you and the computer, not you and the ground! Leaving it plugged in will make you feel funny if you touch the wrong thing in the wrong place :)

I'm making this up as I go so if anyone wants to make a correction, feel free.

Slackmaster 2000

[This message has been edited by Slackmaster2K (edited 10-18-1999).]
 
Oh, I just had a thought. Try this.

Get a hunk of medium gauge shielded copper wire and attach one end to your computer case and the other end to the plumbing or heating system of your house. That is, a radiator, heating duct, or the pipe under your sink. Make sure you actually tap into the whole thing, don't just attach it to a cover. This will ensure case grounding. If your problems disappear, let me know.

Slackmaster 2000
 
I thought it shorts when it touches the case? I'm confused. Should it or should it not touch the case? Thanks for all the responses!
 
By "it" I'm assuming you mean the motherboard? Yeah, if you lay the motherboard flat on a hunk of metal, it's going to short! That's not what we're talking about though. It is my guess that you have improper grounding somewhere in your system. Everything in your system is grounded "together", including the case. Using metallic screws between the motherboard and the case help ensure proper grounding.

Think of it like this. You're walking around on the carpet for a while and you touch a metal doorknob. What happens? Zap. Now, rip the doorknob off the door and walk around on the carpet. Does the doorknob ever zap you? Of course not. Why? Because you and the doorknob are now acting as a single system. Ew, sick.

Unless it was total coincidence that your computer rebooted when you touched the case, I'd guess that either the wiring in your home does not include a ground or your surge protector/power strip SUCKS. There are ways around this but you have to determine the exact nature of the problem. Try what I recommended and what others have recommended and post back with the results.

Slackmaster 2000
 
I finally had the time to test everything. The last thing I checked were the memory chips. One of them felt a little loose, so I took it out and made sure it snapped back in place. It now works as it's supposed without rebooting. Thanks for all the help everybody!
 
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