# Asus P4C800E Deluxe Ramdom Reboots



## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

Asus P4C800-E Deluxe Bios 1019
Intel P4 3.2e Prescott – Coolermaster Jet 4 Heatsink
2- Corsair CMX512-3200XLPRO - 1 GB total
Sapphire X800 XT Platinum Edition 256 MB
2 – Maxtor 160 Gb HD
Plextor Plexwriter Premium 52/24/52 CDRW
Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum
Mitsumi floppy
Aspire X-Alien Case 500W PS

I am running fine most of the time. I can do Word or Internet all day.
When I try to play games system just up and reboots randomly.
I am not OC'd as I am not sure what I am doing yet. Bios is all defaulted except no sound or Raid. Vid aperature at 256. Temp is about 48 C when restarts. I have built 6 other systems for for other people no problems yet. I am puzzled on what is up this time? Voltage monitor says 3.3 and 5v are Ok. 12 volt shows average 11.68v. Am I correct in thinking powersupply is ok? 
12 volt is for drives etc. right, should have no effect for mb troubles? Am I too hot?
I have seen alot about Prescotts being HOT. but 48 doesn't seem too bad, right? I mentioned no OC, I have played around with upping 10% seems OK,
but still random restarts. So back at defaults for now

Any help would be appreciated
Thanks


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## jcline (Oct 22, 2004)

Disable auto-reboot so we can get a meaningful BSOD error message...

Go to Start -> Control Panel -> System > Advanced 
Under the Startup and Recovery section, click Settings... 
Under System Failure un-check "Automatically restart"


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

Under System Failure un-check "Automatically restart

Did that, system still restarts anyway.

I went and check system log 

I save as .txt uploaded
here is a few lines. 

Type	Date	Time	Source	Category	Event	User	Computer
Manager	None	7036	N/A	HOME-034A2J8PW3
Error	11/29/2004	5:21:44 PM	DCOM	None	10005	Chris	HOME-034A2J8PW3
Error	11/29/2004	5:21:44 PM	DCOM	None	10005	Chris	HOME-034A2J8PW3
Error	11/29/2004	5:21:44 PM	DCOM	None	10005	Chris	HOME-034A2J8PW3
Error	11/29/2004	5:21:38 PM	Service Control Manager	None	7000	N/A	HOME-034A2J8PW3
Information	11/29/2004	5:21:18 PM	eventlog	None	6005	N/A	HOME-034A2J8PW3
Information	11/29/2004	5:21:18 PM	eventlog	None	6009	N/A	HOME-034A2J8PW3
Information	11/29/2004	5:17:34 PM	eventlog	None	6006	N/A	HOME-034A2J8PW3

I have quite a few DCOM errors.


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## jcline (Oct 22, 2004)

Do you have an iPod and/or use iTunes?

What are the most recent applications/hardware you have installed?


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

No iPod or itunes

I recently installed my Sapphire X800 video card. 3 weeks ago.
Before it I was using a Rage 128FuryPro.

System was rebooting randomly with it also, I had been hoping new card would resolve reboots. No such luck.

I have updated video driver Catalyst 4.10, Soundblaster website has auto driver update did last week.

I have run Memtest86 for a day and ram test gives clean report - no errors.

The Corsair ram says its match tested on a P4C800E mb, so I asume it is ok to use for regular use.

I am thinking about getting new power supply, Ultra Xconnect, or OCZ.

Just very frustrating. Since I posted I have rebooted 6 more times.


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## jcline (Oct 22, 2004)

When is the last time you ran a windows update?

Any visible weirdness in device manager?

Any power outages/spikes lately? Check the motherboard for any swollen capacitors...



> I am thinking about getting new power supply, Ultra Xconnect, or OCZ


Replacing the PSU is always a good eliminating troubleshooting option if you have an extra one...Antec and Enermax are great brands as well.

Corsair is great memory and memtest86 is accurate most of the time but it wouldn't hurt to try diff memory if available or try pulling the mem one stick at a time...


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

Windows update is set to run every day. Just checked anyhow. Nothing needed. I am already running SP2 w/firewall turned on. I run Norton anti-virus and check it every day for updates too. 

No spikes/outages - Running a APC 1000 Smart UPS.

I worked in an area where dips/spikes were regular, every computer had a UPS on it plus the network hubs as well. I have always felt it was cheap insurance.

Device manager seems OK see attached PDF

I am trying it running 1 stick of ram right now for grins.

Only other ps I have is about 10 years old and only 225 watts not possible to try, I had thought about it myself when problem started.

What do you by meen "swollen caps"


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## jcline (Oct 22, 2004)

> What do you by meen "swollen caps"


The small round vertical cylinders scattered accross the board, although if you have not noticed any power outages and considering your power supply is the size that it is I doubt you would have any swelling.



> I am trying it running 1 stick of ram right now for grins.


Did this have any effect?



> When I try to play games system just up and reboots randomly


Any games in particular or doesn't matter? Does you system only reboot during game play?



> but 48 doesn't seem too bad, right?


By the way, no this is not bad...

The only other things left to try are:
- uninstalling Norton
- disabling the windows firewall
- take out/swap one piece of hardware at a time (vid card, audigy, etc...)
- temporarily disable hyper threading in the BIOS
- run a windows XP repair from the xp cd


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

No difference with 1 stick ram - still quit 3 times on me.

The game doesn't seem to matter, Sims2, Sim city 3000 Unlimited,
Unreal Tournement, Nascar 4, and it quit on me while web-surfing twice. 

I don't see any caps that look swollen. Thet all seem to be "perfect cylinders".

I'll try a Windows fix from CD and then try uninstalling Norton.

By the way thanks for the input,

Chris


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## jcline (Oct 22, 2004)

> I'll try a Windows fix from CD and then try uninstalling Norton


Try uninstalling Norton and disabling windows firewall first...



> By the way thanks for the input


:grin:


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

Removed Norton and disabled firewall - no difference.

I am running SP2 and my CD gives me an error about newer operating system already installed. So how do I procede with a repair, or should I just reformat C:\ and just do a clean install and updates?


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## jcline (Oct 22, 2004)

> or should I just reformat C:\ and just do a clean install and updates?


If you don't have massive amounts of data to restore I would do this. Otherwise, you can uninstall sp2 via Add/Remove Programs and try to run the repair again.


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

Why don't you list your bios settings, maybe something there that needs to be tweeked or set incorrectly. It is still possible that your psu is the culprit. Also of note Corsair ram tends to need a bit more voltage than they advertise, I'd set that to 2.75V (ddr ref volts) Did you disable spread spectrum in the bios...you should ! did you disable legacy usb....you should ! Post your bios settings and we can see what else is going on.
twajetmech


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

Did format HD and reinstalled XP. Ran all updates including SP2.
I notice ATI has 4.11 Catalyst loaded it too.

I had been running ram Voltage at 2.75. I found that info at Corsairs tech forum. I disabled spread spectrum and legacy usb. What is spread spectrum, what does it do?

I am typing this very quietly... shhhh. System is stable so far.
Been running about 6 hours no restarts yet.

Kids were dying to play Sims2, about 2 1/2 hours no troubles.
Had been restarting alot.

I am just very confused... All new build, all new parts. Same XP cd install, 
I can't think of any thing I did different when installing this time.

Or is spread spectrum and legacy usb that problematic?

I'll keep you posted.


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

parrotfan said:


> I had been running ram Voltage at 2.75. I found that info at Corsairs tech forum. I disabled spread spectrum and legacy usb. What is spread spectrum, what does it do?
> Or is spread spectrum and legacy usb that problematic?
> 
> I'll keep you posted.


Congrats ! yes, spread spectrum and legacy usb are that problamatic !
spread spectrum is suppossed to reduce some emf that can interfere with the operation of some sound cards....I'm not sure what sound cards asus was testing, but I've not come across anyone who had an issue as such and needed it turned on....it is however a well known source of instability, as is legacy usb... I hope you have not had any rebooting issues while playing sims2...if not, it sounds like your reboot issue is solved ! :smile:


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

Well I spoke too soon.
Still rebooting.
Here are my BIOS Settings (Ver 1019)

Advanced Menu

Jumper Free Configuration

AI Overclock Tuner (Manual)
CPU External Frequency	(200)
CPU Lock Free	(Auto)
DRAM Frequency	(Auto)
AGP/PCI Frequency	(Auto)
CPU VCore Voltage	(Auto)
DDR Reference Voltage	(2.75V)
AGP VDDQ Voltage	(1.50V)
Performance Mode	(Auto)

CPU Configuration

CPU Lock Free	(Auto)
PUID Max Value Limit	(Disabled)
Hyper Threading	(Enabled)

Chipset	

Configure DRAM Timing by SPD	(Enabled)
Performance Acceleration Mode	(Auto)
DRAM Idle Timer	(Auto)
DRAM Refresh Rate	(Auto)
Graphics priority	AGP/PCI
Graphics Apperature Size	256MB
Spread Spectrum	(Disabled)
ICH Delayed Transaction	(Enabled)
MPS Revision	1.4

Onboard Device Configuration

OnBoard Audio	(Disabled)
OnBoard Promise Controller	(Disabled)
OnBoard IEEE 1394 Controller	(Enabled)
OnBoard LAN	(Enabled)
OnBoard LAN Boot Rom	(Disabled)
OnBoard Game/MIDI Port (Enabled)

PCIPnP

Plug and Play O/S	(No)
PCI Latency Timer	(64)
Allocate IRQ to PCI VGA	(Yes)
Pallete Snooping	(Disabled)
PCI ICE Busmaster	(Enabled)

USB Configuration

USB Function	(8 USB Ports) 
Legacy USB Support	(Disabled)	
USB 2.0 Controller	(Enabled)

Speech Configuration

Speech Post Reporter	(Enabled)
Report IDE Error	(Disabled)
Report System Booting	(Disabled)


I have also e-mailed ASUS tech support yesterday-haven't heard back yet.

Here I thought I had bought best of everything hoping not to have problems from off brand cheap stuff.

Just friggen stumped!


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## jcline (Oct 22, 2004)

Wait and see what Asus has to say. If they want you to RMA, I would try a fresh xp install first...


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

I did a reformat and fresh install yesterday.

I am open to trying anything.


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

parrotfan said:


> Well I spoke too soon.
> Still rebooting.
> Here are my BIOS Settings (Ver 1019)
> 
> ...


I put some notes in your quote above as suggestions to what your bios should be.... give them a try, you have nothing to loose, post back and let us know how its going


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## skyjohnny1 (Oct 28, 2004)

*i had the same problem b4*

p4 3.2 prescott, x-120 heatsink
p4c800-e
winxp
maxtor

b4, everything runs well in my computer. however when i load the game , the entire system crashed. i pressed restart, but no action go on, therefor i hold down the power button and then it goes off...

this problem happen becase i didn't install the "intel chipset Driver" right...


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

I installed Intel Driver from ASUS CD as soon as XP was running.
I have also checked ASUS website to see if there was an updated on. Didn't see one. How did you not install correctly?



skyjohnny1 said:


> p4 3.2 prescott, x-120 heatsink
> p4c800-e
> winxp
> maxtor
> ...



How did you not install correctly?

As soon as WIndows XP was up and running I installed Intel driver first thing.
I also checked ASUS for updated one. Didn't see one.


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## smajere (Aug 31, 2004)

*recent video card upgrade*

fly on the wall here:

"I recently installed my Sapphire X800 video card. 3 weeks ago.
Before it I was using a Rage 128FuryPro."

Just a guess, but could we be looking at a malfunctioning vid card pulling too much or improper power supply juice?? The problem only arises when you play vid games -- try popping the old card back in and see what happens.

I did some research on your X-Alien 500W pws, it's made by Levicom, and although I haven't been able to find Levicom's website (if it indeed exists), all of the reviews of the specs I found show relatively decent Amperage on the +5V / +12V rails -- I doubt it is the power supply itself..


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

Good thought, but I was having restart trouble with the Rage 128 card also.

I really had hoped the new X800 card would solve my problems.

I ran "MemTest-86 v3.0" for a few hours tonight, 35 passes no errors.

I know I spoke too soon yesterday, but after changing Bios to settings

suggested by "twajetmech". Things seem to be better today.

Keeping fingers crossed for now. Will keep ya posted.


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## jlcostinha (Dec 2, 2004)

parrotfan,

a couple of months ago i had a very similar problem. My computer work fine, until i started platy games. While in games, a couple of minutes later system freeze. Only while playing games. System was an asus Board, cant remember which model, and ATI radeon 9600.


here is the history, hope it helps:

1- i found out that PSU were supplying less than 3.3v, had to replace for a better one. still didnt solve all my problems.
2 -i have decreased CPU External Frequency by 1 unit. Somehow, fix it all my problems.

it was some incompatibility with ATI radeon 9600 and Asus board. good luck


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

Just installed Antec TrueControl 550 Powersupply. All rails are very steady. [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected] MBM5 shows all stable, but vcore still floats a bit. Where does vcore voltage come from, PS or MB? Could this be the trouble? 

Asus e-mailed back and said 
"Dear Friend :
Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.
My name is Bruce and I am glad to assist you today. 
At first , I'm very sorry for the late replying because ASUS CSC mail system had something wrong these days. 
My friend , basically , I think it is probably caused by power supply , memeory , CPU . If possible , would you please change them one by one in order to find the problem . 
Sorry for your any inconvenience ! If you have any questions , please tell me . I will do my best to help you !" Alot of help...NOT.

MEM86 still runs 20-30 passes of ram not 1 error.

How do you test a CPU? Can you?


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

parrotfan said:


> Asus P4C800-E Deluxe Bios 1019
> Intel P4 3.2e Prescott – Coolermaster Jet 4 Heatsink
> 2- Corsair CMX512-3200XLPRO - 1 GB total
> Sapphire X800 XT Platinum Edition 256 MB
> ...



Parrotfan-

I don't have any suggestions for your problem, but I am having a similar issue as well (with random rebooting). I also have an Asus P4C800-E Deluxe MB, along with an ATI video card (I have a ATI 9800 Pro). I am wondering if it might be a mismatch between the video card and the MB?

Here is my setup (FYI)

Asus P4C800-E Deluxe Bios 1019
Intel P4 3.06 – Retail Cooling fan w/ heat sink
2 - CRUCIAL 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-2100 - 1 GB total
ATI 9800 Pro 128 MB Video card
1 Western Digital 120 GB HD (OS)
1 Western Digital 160 GB HD
2 Western Digital 200 GB HD
Sony DRU-510A DVD Drive
Samsung 16X SD-816BEPB DVD-ROM Drive
Samsung Black 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, Model SFD321B
Antec 1080AMG Plus (430W PS)

I can also use my PC to surf the net, e-mail, etc. but when I try to use a few apps, play some MP3s via WinAmp, I get the BSOD error.

Let me know if you hear anything from Asus. (I liked their response, by the way) I don't know how you would check a CPU either...sorry.

Here is a link to the post that I have up on the WinXP section.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/showthread.php?t=28680

Good luck. I'll let you know if I get things solved on my end as well.


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

You say you get BSOD, I have not got one yet, it just restarts. I can be surfing the net or playing a game, and bam, it just quits and restarts. No BSOD. Restarts itself like nothings wrong. When it comes back up, no "systems has recovered from... error messages" or anything. It's like I cold started from scratch. I'd love to see a BSOD or error message, maybe it might lead me somewhere. Not that I think it is going to make a difference, but I put a 40mm fan on my Northbridge heatsink. I have screen captures of MBM5 and Asus monitor. :sigh:


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## sapness (Dec 12, 2004)

*Same problem*

I have exactly the same problem.

mobo: p4s800d
mobo idle temp: ~25 degrees celcius
cpu: p4 prescott 3.0
cpu idle temp: ~40 degrees celcius
No overclocking


When cpu temperature gets around 51-52 degrees celcius for some minutes (which only happens with some games) the computer reboots.

In the eventlog this message appears:

The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was: 0x100000d1 (0xe2455000, 0x000000ff, 0x00000000, 0x00000008). A dump was saved in: F:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini121204-03.dmp.

It does not help me.

I have tried many bios modifications, with no results. I do wonder though why cpu fan always is running at 2700 rpm?!

I will try some of the hints for bios setup given here...


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

Parrotfan-

The next time that it happens, I'll get a pic of the BSOD that I get. The last one that I got, it basically had the DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL message, along with the memory addresses, and a mention of the atapi.sys file.

I also had it dump the memory to a file, which I can post, if anyone is interested. I tried to look at the file with the memory check utility from MS, but I couldn't make too much out of it.


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

"DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL " make sure to set the os option in bios to os *not plug and play* and that your memory voltage is 2.75, since this usually is a memory related issue


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

twajetmech-

Thanks for the reply. I'll check the settings when I get home later today, and confirm that I have things set in BIOS as you specified.


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

I have mine OS as set to "no" in the BIOS, and I have set ram @2.75, [email protected] I have tried 1 stick of ram and then switched to the other. (I have 2 sticks of 512mb) Didn't make any difference.
And as I mentioned before, I have yet to see an error, or BSOD.
Just up and restarts.


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

Updating...

I checked my BIOS settings, but I am ashamed to admit that I couldn't figure out how to change the memory voltage settings. I left them alone, and confirmed that I had the Plug and Play OS set to NO.

The other day, I was working on the PC, running a few apps, (CPU load ~ 54%) when it froze up. It didn't reboot itself, or give me the BSOD, it just locked up. Frozen mouse, keyboard not responding, etc. I had to "hit the big switch" to get it to turn off. I think that I can duplicate the conditions, and if I can, I am going to try each of the two sticks of memory that I have independently to see if one of them is bad. Other than that, I am thinking about going with some different memory (Kingston 512 MB), since that seems to be a brand that people here have had good luck with.

A question about upgrading memory, the CPU that I have is rated at a FSB of 533 Mhz, if I remember correctly. Will this have an impact on the type of memory that I select?

Thanks for listening.


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

Updating (cont)

I ran a CPU burn in program that I found at

http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

to see if I could reproduce my problem. The test ran for 8 hours straight, and reported no memory / CPU problems.

Can anyone recommend a utility that will really work out the CPU / memory on my PC? I have run the memory test for almost 24 hours straight, but it reports no issues.

Thanks.


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

parrotfan-

I was wondering if you had any status on your machine.


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

(Yet another update...)

I found a great utility CD at http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

On the bootable CD, I found a burn in application called Lucifer. I ran it today, and it found 13 errors with the memory. I guess that I'll have to try pulling one of the memory modules at a time, and see if I can get the system to lock up again.


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## Mavado (Dec 18, 2004)

*Same thing for me..*

I also have this same exact problem.. It usually occurs while playing games such as World of Warcraft and Doom 3. When I reduce the graphics settings to low, it doesn't randomly reboot. But when I try to up the settings some it does.

I have the same motherboard..
I have the same memory... (corsair 2x512)
Geforce 6600gt 128mb
3.0 ghz prescott


I have been trying to solve this problem for quite some time, but I have had no avail.


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

Mavado-

What type of CPU cooler are you running? What is your MB temp? What is your CPU temp? I have a feeling that it might be temperature related, but I am not sure. I am planning on getting some new RAM to try, but I need to get PC2700 to better match my CPU. (3.0 GHz P4, 533 MHz)

Keep me posted, and I'll update as well. I am also planning on upgrading my stock Intel CPU cooler.


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## Mavado (Dec 18, 2004)

Just the stock heatsink/fan that came with it.

Temp is around 50 at full load during games.

GFX temp is between 60 on low settings, and 65 on high settings.


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## parrotfan (Nov 27, 2004)

Can anybody say F$&*ing MORONS.

This is the latest reply from ASUCKS tech support.

"Dear Friend :
Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.
My name is Leon and I would be assisting you today.


For your problem ,please try the following doings :
#1 Clear the cmos
#2 Reflash your bios to the latest version
#3 Change another memory to have a test
#4 Change your VGA card
#5 Change another power supply
#6 Reinstall your OS
#7 Scan for virus at last.
If All of the above have done and still the problem ,then please contact our local service for the motherboard testing.

If having any problems, please don't hesitate to let me know. Let's discuss this issue together.
Thank you for using ASUS products and services!"

Can you say Frigin DUH. I have told them I had another vid card in, changed the PS, I have swapped to one stick mem swapped the 2 sticks between slots. Reinstalled OS twice. :cussing: :3angry2: 

My 12 year olds can give better support than that.

I'm about to scrap this Piece-O-Crap. I have been scoping the DFI Lanparty 875, and the Gigabyte I7C-Max3. They both are 875 chipsets and both sya they will run on my ram. Any advice?

Happy Holidays to all. And may it be a safe one also. :biggrinsa


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

parrotfan-

Nice reply from ASUS....I especially like their "broken english"

Is there any chance that you can return the MB? Have you run any system burn in apps to see what happens? I am at a loss...

A few posts up, is a link to the Ultimate boot CD utility that I ran. I ran an app called Lucifer that is supposed to "burn in" and test your system. I passed all of the tests, with the exception of the FPU (math coprocessor). I don't know if it is possible, but perhaps this chip is bad? I am not looking forward to sending my board back, and being without my PC for a while....but it looks like that might be the road to travel.

I don't know anything about the other two MBs that you mentioned. I have always had good luck with Asus products, so this is a bit of a let down.

Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Mavado-

My temps are about the same (CPU w/ stock fan & sink 96 F, MB 80 F), so it may not be a thermal problem. I wonder if it could be a problem with the FPU as well?


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## sapness (Dec 12, 2004)

*I am giving up*

Greetings.

I still have the same problem.

My memory is twinmos 265mb PC3200 dual channel ddr400 ram. Certified for use with my P4S800D motherboard.

I have done memorytest and all seems ok.

I have tried to change voltages, cas, refresh and so on - to no avail.

Right now I am using twinmos recommended 2,6v 400mhz, cas 2.5 - 3 - 3 - 8

CPU is also OK according to test.

Temperatures look good. IDLE: CPU 41-42 degrees celcius, MB 25-26 degrees celcius.

I can run DOOM 3 no problem. Temperatures: CPU: 52-54 degrees celcius. MB 27-28 degrees celcius.

But when I run Flightsimulator 4, computer boots with no warning within a couple of minutes. CPU temperature is only 52 degrees celcius.

I am running windows XP SP2

All other windows programs OK...

This does not look like a thermal problem. I use standard cpu cooler.

I have also tried with 2 other graphic cards, another/no sound card, and 2 different PSU. Same result.

When I get the chance I will hand in the computer to the shop, where I bought the components. I wonder if they can get it to work?!

Are ASUS MBs junk? Is it a CPU problem? Memory? Or a combination?

I am grateful for all suggestions, old and new.


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

Hey sapness-

I was wondering if you could possilby try something for me. In post #36 in this thread, I provided a link to the Ultimate Boot CD. I was wondering if you could download it, and run the burn in program Lucifer with the following parameters:

lucifer.exe --nocpu --nomem --nostorage

This is supposed to test the FPU, and I would be curious to know if you get any errors when you run it. I ran it on my machine, and I stopped it after running for a half an hour, with 13 errors. (BTW, my machine just froze up a while ago. I was listening to MP3s using Winamp, surfing the net, Outlook mail was open, and I was using Dreamweaver MX. CPU load was ~ 50%, temps okay, memory load ~50%)

I am wondering if the FPU might be the cluprit...who knows...aren't computers fun?

Good luck, and let us know how things turn out.


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## SpeedAndy (Dec 19, 2004)

*P4P800 Problems*

Have any of those experiencing problems tried turning off Hyperthreading?

I'm having similar problems (random reboot/lockup), and turning off HT fixed it, but I'm still trying to find a real answer.


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

SpeedAndy-

Thanks for the tip. I'll try to turn off hyperthreading, and see what happens.


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## sapness (Dec 12, 2004)

Hey Propman

I haven't tried lucifer on fpu. But will do. Then I will let you know the results.

I will also try turning off hyperthreading.

Maybe if I turn off the CPU all my trouble will be gone? :wink:

Unfortunately, hyperthreading on or off makes no difference. Computer still reboots with no warning.

Just theorizing: Maybe it works when the problem is thermal? Hyperthreading off might just make the cpu turn out a little bit less heat...


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## sapness (Dec 12, 2004)

propman07-

I have run lucifer.exe (--nocpu --nomem --nostorage) and I also get errors. 12 errors after 2 hours or so.

I wonder if anybody else with at working PC could try the same, and see if they get any errors? If they don't then it would seem we have faulty CPUs.

BTW, thx for the link to the Ultimate Boot CD - it is a handy tool.


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

sapness-

Glad to hear that Ultimate Boot CD worked for you. I was also glad (sorry) to hear that you also encountered errors when running Lucifer with the parameters that I posted. It would be nice to see if anyone else could run it, and see if they get errors as well.

According to the readme file with Lucifer, if you run it with the parameters 

lucifer.exe --nocpu --nomem --nostorage

it is supposed to test the FPU only. Since both of ours ran with errors, this would tell me that the MB might be defective, or that the application (lucifer) is not correctly testing the things it says it does.

What are the specs on your CPU and memory? (clock speed, etc.)

Thanks for running the test. Hopefully others will as well, and post the results. It would be nice for someone who has a working system to run the test so that we could compare "broken" systems with working ones....


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## sapness (Dec 12, 2004)

propman07-

Well thank you. We might have something here, if lucifer is working. Hopefully somebody will give us a hand and try out lucifer as well.

My system:

Intel P4 3.0e Prescott, stock cooler
P4S800D motherboard
512 MB memory: 2 Twinmos 256mb PC3200 dual channel ddr400 ram. Certified for use with the motherboard
No overclocking.


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## rharasym (Oct 18, 2004)

*regarding random reboots and freezing*

I have also been having this problem since i upgraded from a 2.8c to a 3.4c. my original system had the following:
asus p4c800e rev 2.0 
2.8c
kingston hyperx 1024mb dual channel kit pc3200 KHX3200AK2/1G
2-maxtor 160gb sata drives was promis raid, now is not.
audigy 2 zs platinum
pioneer dvd 120s
pioneer dvr-107d
plextor premium
ati aiw 9700 pro
350watt ps

was all ok until i switched to a 3.4c, immediatly crashed, rebooted, had vpu hardware conflict, switching to software rendering, sent the mainboard and ram back to the store where i purchased it, was told was the video card, purchased a new aiw 9800pro and a antec 480watt truepower ps. did a clean install of windows with sp2 and proper drivers in the right order, seemed to work ok for a while until tried to play ut 2004, crashed immediatly and rebooted, everything ilse seemed to work, then tried to use media encoder, got through the video part, then crashed when doing the second pass for audio, noticed that the cpu usage was between 94 to 100 percent. also crashes using pinacle 9.3 and nero 6.6 while doing video editing, am extremely frustrated with this board, I have tried all the latest bios updates, and am at 1019.004. seems like when being worked the board cannot handle the 3.4c would appreciate any comments or suggestions, I have replaced everything except for the board itself, looks like that may be next, just past 1 year and is now off warranty.

Richard


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## propman07 (Dec 1, 2004)

sapness-

I did some more research, and it looks like the FPU test (which is supposed to be testing the math coprocessor, or Floating Point Unit) may not be working correctly. Current CPUs have the FPU built in, so there would be no way to check the FPU independent of the CPU. (For more info, see the following:

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=130978&seqNum=20

)

I am going to run some more tests with Lucifer, but I have a feeling that I may have a bad motherboad. The CPU, memory, and video card are all fine, as they were removed from an older Asus board that I had previously. (Asus P4PE series) 

To try to make a long story short, I picked up my Asus P4C800-E Deluxe in November of 2004. This was due to a faulty AGP connector on the Asus P4PE that I have been running since December of 2003. On that board, I had no trouble until the fan quit on the ATI 9600 video card that I had. That's when I found the defective AGP connector. (Actually, I found out about the connector when the brand new ATI 9800 Pro didn't work when I plugged it in. I thought that my problem was with the video card, so I replaced it.)

In summary, I was running an Asus P4PE with 2 512MB Crucial memory modules, an Intel P IV 3.06 GHz 533 MHz CPU, and an ATI 9800 Pro video card until the AGP connector failed. I bought the Asus P4C800-E Deluxe as a replacement, and have had trouble ever since. It looks like I will be looking into sending the P4C800-E Deluxe back to Newegg for a replacement. Only problem is in the meantime, I will be without the use of my PC, since I have to send the board back. (I missed the direct replacement window by a week)

I don't know if we can rely on the accuracy of the results from Lucifer regarding the FPU tests. I ran the Passmark tests on my rig, and I scored a 448.2 with no errors.


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## sapness (Dec 12, 2004)

propman07-

Maybe we can't trust lucifer. It would be nice though if somebody with a functioning pc could try running lucifer. 

I have tried to underclock (and here I had intentions of playing around with overclocking - just for the fun of it - HAH!) the cpu. Now the temp never comes over 49 degrees celcius, but the problem persists...

It could very well be a motherboard failure as your tale indicates...

Thursday the PC goes to the shop, where I bought the components. Hopefully they can find out, what's wrong. If nothing else by switching mb, memory and cpu. They can keep over the weekend. I am going to be off enjoying xmas 

A few related issues still evades me. How come my cpu fan always runs at the same speed? Is that because the stock cooler fan is constant speed or because my CPU never really gets hot?

I have read about thermal paste being very important. And that there are better alternatives than the paste delivered with the stock cooler. But considering my low temperatures - that should be a non-issue. Can I trust the temperature reading. Is the temperature sensor inside the CPU?

I wish you good luck propman07. Hopefully it will not take you too long to get a new or repaired mb. Thanks once more for sharing - it sure feels nice not being alone with this bothersome problem considering its existence in the first place. 

I will keep you updated once I have some news.


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## 111 (Jul 4, 2004)

Try setting up a fan to blow directly on the memory cards, as close as possible to get airflow over them. Unhook a case fan from its mount and rig that up if you don't have a spare fan. If overheating memory is the problem, this should solve it.

The memory testers will detect bad memory, but don't seem to catch overheating memory too well. Maybe games are hitting the same location/page over and over frequently and heat it up, where the memory tests are cycling through the complete core, giving things a chance to cool.


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