[andressa]

Hello and thanks for your time!
If I dont use my pc for a while (a week, lets say) when I press the button, it will flash and restart multiple times, with the time that is on increasing until it boots and I get a message saying that overclocking failed, press F2 to load default config and it boots normally.
Now, I understand that there's a few things that could cause this. Anyone available to walk me through this?
Deeply appreciate it!

Best wishes,

Andy

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Hi andressa
As you say there are more than one possible cause of this but if you follow my canned text on cleaning out the inside of your case safely then most of the checks will be done, can I though ask when the PC does actually boot up are the time and date settings correct?

If the computer needs cleaning out, first remove the power cord from the wall and open up the case, take anti static precautions before touching anything inside, you can do this by touching a bare metal part of the case, remove the video card, blow out the slot and re-seat the card securely, do the same with the memory sticks, clean all internal fans, if you use canned compressed air do not let any fan spin freely this can damage them, use something like a clean lollipop stick to hold the fan.
Remove the CMOS battery (see .jpeg) for a few minutes, replace it if you have a spare one and upon first boot you will need to reset the time and date, save (F10) and then Y to accept the changes.

Make sure all internal connections are secure and that there are no loose components, write down the psu details (make and model) re-assemble the computer, boot up and see how it goes.

Just a cautionary note, if you do use canned compressed air do not upend the can as it is possible for fluid to be emitted.

.jpeg courtesy of rshaffer61

[phillpower2]

Hi andressa
As you say there are more than one possible cause of this but if you follow my canned text on cleaning out the inside of your case safely then most of the checks will be done, can I though ask when the PC does actually boot up are the time and date settings correct?

If the computer needs cleaning out, first remove the power cord from the wall and open up the case, take anti static precautions before touching anything inside, you can do this by touching a bare metal part of the case, remove the video card, blow out the slot and re-seat the card securely, do the same with the memory sticks, clean all internal fans, if you use canned compressed air do not let any fan spin freely this can damage them, use something like a clean lollipop stick to hold the fan.
Remove the CMOS battery (see .jpeg) for a few minutes, replace it if you have a spare one and upon first boot you will need to reset the time and date, save (F10) and then Y to accept the changes.

Make sure all internal connections are secure and that there are no loose components, write down the psu details (make and model) re-assemble the computer, boot up and see how it goes.

Just a cautionary note, if you do use canned compressed air do not upend the can as it is possible for fluid to be emitted.

.jpeg courtesy of rshaffer61

[andressa]

can I though ask when the PC does actually boot up are the time and date settings correct?

Yes, they are correct.
So let me tell you what happened. Yesterday I went to turn the pc on and it did the flashing and I waited until it loaded. Once it did, after I see my desktop, it crashes and I see a blue screen and something like "memory dumping". It did not crash on safe mode. I then proceeded to open, clean and switch battery. After all done, I turned it on again. It did the flashing/restarting until it loaded, asked my to correct date/time or load default. I did and loaded windows and when the programs are loading, it crashed again. Now, I dont know if this is related or not. Thanks for your help!

Happy holidays!!!

[phillpower2]

Did you make a note of the PSU details as asked? If so please provide them.
Couple of things for you to do, first run Speedfan (details below) and then test your Ram, use the quick Windows diagnostic tool first http://windows.micro...n-your-computer if it
passes move onto the more demanding Memtest86+ http://www.geekstogo...sing-memtest86/

Download Speedfan and install it. Once it's installed, run the program and post here the information it shows. The information I want you to post is the stuff that is circled in the example picture I have attached.
If you are running on a vista machine, please go to where you installed the program and run the program as administrator.


(this is a screenshot from a vista machine)

To capture and post a screenshot;
Click on the ALT key + PRT SCR key..its on the top row..right hand side..now click on start...all programs...accessories...paint....left click in the white area ...press CTRL + V...click on file...click on save...save it to your desktop...name it something related to the screen your capturing... BE SURE TO SAVE IT AS A .JPG ...otherwise it may be to big to upload...
then after typing in any response you have... click on browse...desktop...find the screenshot..select it and click on the upload button...then on the lower left...after it says upload successful...click on add reply like you normally would.

Screenshot instructions courtesy of happyrock

[andressa]

Did you make a note of the PSU details as asked? If so please provide them.

Here are they:
QPD 4450 P4/P5 450w ATX
AC input 115v/10A 230V/5A 50Hz - 60hZ
DC output +5V | +3.3V | +12V | -5V | -12V | +5Vsb
34.0A| 30.0A | 18.0A| 0.3A| 0.6A | 2.0A
TOTAL POWER 450w

I didnt see the results for the windows memory test because I got the blue screen with REGISTRY_ERROR after it restarted.
I still have to run the Memtest and I'll post the results as soon as I do.

Speedfan results follow:



So, this registry error and "collecting data for memory dump" are connected with the blinking lights/restarting until it finally loads? It runs fine (no blue screen crash) on safe mode. Thanks again and merry xmas!

[phillpower2]

Thank you for providing the PSU details they are helpful and may explain the issues you are having, the PSU is the heart/engine of the PC and if it cannot provide enough clean and stable power you will get issues, yours amongst them, some info on PSUs to trust and PSUs to avoid http://www.10stripe....d/psu/brand.php if a PSU is not even listed there give it an even wider bearth, what can happen with a poor quality PSU




The voltage readings I need from Speedfan are absent so please download and run HWMonitor and again provide us with a screenshot http://www.cpuid.com.../hwmonitor.html
When the computer is started in Safe Mode it is under the minimum amount of stress and so the PSU is not truly tested, however the issue may also caused by bad drivers so if you can provide the HWMonitor screenshot I have a further test I would like you to run.
Some further reading regarding PSUs http://www.tomshardw...upply,2862.html

[andressa]

Again, thank you for your fast reply!
I am at work as of right now but as soon as I get home I will run the test you've mentioned. So for this test you mentioned, it is okay to run on safe mode, correct? PC will crash within the first minutes after loading windows.
Again, thank you very much!

[phillpower2]

Yes try Safe Mode, any readings are better than none if we can get them.
I will be here for a good few hours yet so no rush - reply when you can.

[andressa]

So, just fyi, since I'm turning the pc on everyday, it is not blinking anymore before starting. It loads normally and crashes shortly after loading the desktops items, giving the blue screen with registry error.



Funny thing: I have many restoring points on my computer, so I just decided to give that a try and it says no restore points were saved. This is a rather old pc (more than 5 years) and I've always made a restore point before any major changes. Ideas??
This is getting weird..
Again, thanks for your help.

[andressa]

Should I still do the memtest86+? Please advise! Thanks

[andressa]

Update!
Okay, so here's what happened. Since I didnt know if that registry error was related to the first issue I had I decided to try and fix it. I disabled almost everything else on device manager and voila! Computer is not crashing anymore! Now I have to enable one by one to narrow the root of the problem. Now, I dont know if it was luck or coincidence, but it's working so far!
So, what do you think? Related or not? I didnt have this issue before, but I thought the restarting/blinking so many times could have caused it.
Again, thanks for your time!

[phillpower2]

Should I still do the memtest86+? Please advise! Thanks

Yes please run Memtest, explanation why below.

Update!
Okay, so here's what happened. Since I didnt know if that registry error was related to the first issue I had I decided to try and fix it. I disabled almost everything else on device manager and voila! Computer is not crashing anymore! Now I have to enable one by one to narrow the root of the problem. Now, I dont know if it was luck or coincidence, but it's working so far!
So, what do you think? Related or not? I didnt have this issue before, but I thought the restarting/blinking so many times could have caused it.
Again, thanks for your time!

A very similar approach to what may have been suggested next, disabling start up programs, this is a safer option than the Device Manager route as you cannot disable any hardware that is required for booting up.
The reason why Memtest should be run is that your Ram may be failing under load ie multiple programs running at once, one other concern is the fact that we cannot get any power readings so your PSU may still be the cause of this for the same reason - fails when demands are placed on it but lets see what the Memtest results are first + we can also check for driver conflicts.

Good trouble shooting on your behalf BTW but please remember disabling some start up programs is safer

[andressa]

Hey, sorry for the delay! My sister had a baby on Dec 31st and I got caught up with that.
Okay, first, happy new year! Second, with all this time I didnt turn my pc on and so far no problems on starting up now and no crashing. Computer is back to "normal".
Now that pc is booting on normal I can give you the readings:
SpeedFan


HWmonitor


And I will do the memstest and post results today! Let me know and thanks again for the help and patience.

[phillpower2]

No worries, happy new year and congratulations on the new addition to the family
Can you provide a full screenshot of the Speedfan readings please.
I suggest that you run the Memtest overnight as you need to do a minimum of 5 to 6 passes and it is tedious and time consuming.

[andressa]

No worries, happy new year and congratulations on the new addition to the family
Can you provide a full screenshot of the Speedfan readings please.
I suggest that you run the Memtest overnight as you need to do a minimum of 5 to 6 passes and it is tedious and time consuming.

Thank you!

You mean like this?


Oh, thanks for the tip! I will post it tomorrow then