[ReallyConfused]

Hi,

I recently put together a Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit system and lately it has been randomly, out of no where, will restart the system. It will not restart if I log in an leave the system to do nothing for a day. But if I am watching a downloaded video/movie, it has a chance to restart. Sometimes the restart happens after 10 minutes, sometimes after 45 minutes, and sometimes not at all. I don't notice a pattern to when it shuts off, except for when we are watching something.

The second part is that once the system does restart, it shows the system startup screen with a small "B4" for minutes, then "B2" for a minute, then maybe "A3" for a split second. I know these much be error codes or something, what do they mean?

I am not sure about either problem but I feel they could be related. Any ideas?

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Sounds to me like over heating. I would check the heat sink to CPU bonding, even remove existing thermal paste and reapply. Also make sure all fans are running.

Ditto if the GPU is onboard and has a discreet heat sink.

[Ztruker]

Sounds to me like over heating. I would check the heat sink to CPU bonding, even remove existing thermal paste and reapply. Also make sure all fans are running.

Ditto if the GPU is onboard and has a discreet heat sink.

[ReallyConfused]

Is there any program that will record the temperature of various things (i.e. CPU, GPU, RAM, etc) so that I can see if anything is maxing out? I would really like to make sure before I take apart the computer to get at the CPU thermal paste.

[Ztruker]

Download SpeedFan - Access temperature sensor in your computer.

SpeedFan works under Windows 9x, ME, NT, 2000, 2003, XP, Vista and Windows 7

SpeedFan is the one I see recommended most.

[ReallyConfused]

I ran Speedfan and the CPU was running at 124C. I have attached the readout if that helps.


I also had an external DVD drive that I disconnected and the system no longer hangs when it restarts. But now it shows "A3", could this have anything to do with USB ports?

Attached Thumbnails

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[Ztruker]

Your running way, way, way to hot!

Are all fans turning? There should be at minimum a fan on the Heat Sink attached to the CPU, a rear or front mounted case fan and one or two fans in the power supply. There may also be one on the GPU (video card). All need to be running freely.

You really do need to remove the heat sink from the CPU and clean the old thermal compound with alcohol. Once that's dry, apply a new thin layer of Artic Silver (Radio Shack has it as well as other electronics stores).

Make sure all dirt is removed from all the fans and cooling fins of the heat sink. A can of compressed air does a good job.