Crash (hardware or software?)

[mimseridge]

HI
I am having some trouble with my pc crashing. First of all specs:

Windows XP Professional SP2
ABit KN8 Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64+ Processor 3200
512 RAM
ATI Radeon X300 PCI-X

The crashes occur independently of what I am doing ie with no software in particular. They occur quickly (20mins) if I am doing cpu intensive work downloads, games, videos etc and occur every 2-3hours if I am only doing basic web browsing with no streams or downloads. The screen freezes (no BSOD) but sound continues for approx 15secs then the BIOS (Phoenix-Award) makes a single short beep and the computer restarts. Once it has crashed they occur very rapidly there after (every 5mins) unless I allow my pc to rest for 30mins.
My pc is very secure, I have AVG antivirus, Zone Alarm, Abexo Registry Fixer, Lavasoft AdAware, SpyBot. I have performed all the usual tasks and scans and my pc is clean as a whistle. I have also removed all files and software downloaded since the problem started. I have all currents updates from Microsoft and all current drivers for hardware. I opened up my pc to check the fans but they are working optimally and all connections on the main board appear to be ok. Also System Restore does not work it gets to 75% roughly then reboots with an error saying the System could not be restored (happens with all check points).
I have no idea what is causing the crashes but I believe it is probably hardware. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[DynamicTech]

Are all of the system fans operating correctly? This sounds like one of two things:
a.) overheating
b.) a bad power supply.

[Ob1]

download and install speedfan to check for your cpu overheating

also make sure there is no dust on the heatsink of the processor as that can lead to overheating. a can of compressed air will take care of that.

what brand and model is your psu? if you open the case it should say on a sticker the brand, model and wattage.

[DynamicTech]

Place your hand behind the box and check the PSU (power supply) fan.

[mimseridge]

Ok I installed speedfan but not really sure how to use it. I did a system check and it reported:
Fan 1 1962RPM
Fan 2 4688RPM
Fan 3 0RPM
I have 3 fans one from PSU one on the board and one on top of the Porcessor. All 3 were working when I opened up the case. I don't understand why Fan 3 is 0RPM? Temp ranges were from 22-37degree celsius.
My PSU is made by Akasa and is 400W. I will dust inside when I get a can of compressed air.
Any furhter ideas? Thanks

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by mimseridge Ok I installed speedfan but not really sure how to use it. I did a system check and it reported: Fan 1 1962RPM Fan 2 4688RPM Fan 3 0RPM I have 3 fans one from PSU one on the board and one on top of the Porcessor. All 3 were working when I opened up the case. I don't understand why Fan 3 is 0RPM?

Are all three fans connected to the motherboard or is one connected directly to the power supply?

Originally Posted by mimseridge I will dust inside when I get a can of compressed air. Any furhter ideas?

Make sure you clean out the video card heatsink...sounds like the video card is overheating to me.

Cricket

[mimseridge]

One fan is within the PSU enclosure there only appears to be 2 other fans in the unit one directly on top of the CPU and one adjacent to the graphics card. I also thought it may be the graphics card overheating but this problem has only occured recently. The GPU, CPU, PSU and Motherboard are all 2months old. Everything else is 2yrs.

[mimseridge]

Ok a final point. Speedfan said my fans were working at 41%. I increased this to 100% and sure enough my pc started wirring more noisily.Whether this rectifies the situation or not remains to be seen. I have never tampered with the speed of my fans in BIOS of anywhere else. Fan 3 is still at 0RPM and I don't know why. I am not even sure if there is a Fan 3 if the PSU fan is considered seperately.

[Cricket]

SpeedFan is reading only the fans that are connected to the motherboard. Unless the one in the power supply has a RPM sensing line connected to the motherboard, it isn't being read.

Cricket