[jnsJulia]

A week or so ago I bought a new "custom-built" gaming computer from a local store for about $900. From the first day I've had it, it's been having problems. The first day I had it, I installed a couple games and two applications (steam, Norton antivirus). The first problem was, mid-way through a game I was playing, the entire system froze and I had to restart by the button on the machine. I thought this could have just been my game or maybe Norton interfering, but even when I had both the game and Norton closed it happened again. I couldn't move my mouse or type on the keyboard, ctrl alt delete wouldn't work and I hard to restart it by the button again. This happened maybe 4 times. It finally stopped for about a day, but the next morning I turned it on and noticed something wrong- when I pressed the power button, it would try to turn on, but mid-way through turning on it would stop and turn off, then back on. It did this maybe five times. After it finally turned on, the monitor wouldn't (it kept saying no signal, like it wasn't picking up the computer) so I turned it off and brought it back to the store to get it fixed. The guy who built the computer said it was an overclocking problem and I ran/installed too many things at once (which I think is insane, I ran one game at a time and installed things one at a time, and I can run multiple applications on my notebook computer without it even overheating). So anyway, after he 'fixed' it, I brought it back home, re-installed one game and it was fine for 2-3 days.

After that, this morning, it did the same thing again turning off/on when I press the button. This time the monitor turned on with it and gave me this:





I have no idea what's wrong with it, because I have not tried to overclock the system. I didn't think there was a way to overclock on accident. ALL I did was install a couple applications and run a game. I have done much more on my laptop (Intel Dual-Core 2.20ghz).

Some specs:

Windows 7 x64 bit
Pentium Dual-Core Processor 3.20ghz
6GB RAM
nVidia GeForce GT 420 video/graphics card


Should I try to get him to fix it again, fix it myself, or just try to get my money back and buy another computer from somewhere else? Is this something simple?

Edited by jnsJulia, 18 April 2012 - 09:27 AM.

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Welcome to Geeks to Go jnsJulia!

The guy who built the computer said it was an overclocking problem and I ran/installed too many things at once

That's total BS.

I can't tell you whether to return it, or let him have another try at fixing it, but that reply doesn't inspire confidence in their abilities. My best guess is a hardware failure. Probably a bad stick of RAM. However, you shouldn't have to spend time troubleshooting a brand new system.

P.S. I don't know what all was included with your system, but judging by the CPU ($70) and graphics card ($40), $900 for the system appears high priced. Add $50 for 6GB RAM, $100 for a motherboard, $100 for a case/power supply, $100 for a hard drive. You could build a similar system for under $500. A GT 420 is also a low-end video card for a "gaming" system.

Edited by admin, 18 April 2012 - 10:23 AM.
P.S.

[admin]

Welcome to Geeks to Go jnsJulia!

The guy who built the computer said it was an overclocking problem and I ran/installed too many things at once

That's total BS.

I can't tell you whether to return it, or let him have another try at fixing it, but that reply doesn't inspire confidence in their abilities. My best guess is a hardware failure. Probably a bad stick of RAM. However, you shouldn't have to spend time troubleshooting a brand new system.

P.S. I don't know what all was included with your system, but judging by the CPU ($70) and graphics card ($40), $900 for the system appears high priced. Add $50 for 6GB RAM, $100 for a motherboard, $100 for a case/power supply, $100 for a hard drive. You could build a similar system for under $500. A GT 420 is also a low-end video card for a "gaming" system.

Edited by admin, 18 April 2012 - 10:23 AM.
P.S.

[jnsJulia]

Thanks for the reply. I kind of had a feeling I got a bit ripped off on that. I'm definitely not going back to him again. If anything I'll just save up and replace a few things like you said. Again, thanks for the help!

[wannabe1]

Hello jnsJulia...

To see if you can stabilize the machine, boot into the BIOS Setup and use the arrow keys to select "Load Fail-Safe Defaults". Save and Exit the setup.

You may have to go into BIOS again to set the boot device priority and the time, but see if it behaves better without any overclock.

wannabe1

[jnsJulia]

Thank you, I'll try that out!

[phillpower2]

I concur with Admin - you should not be having this issue with a week old computer whether it cost $900 or not.
Restoring the MBs default settings as suggested by wannabe1 is often how an amateurs failed attempt at O/Cing can be corrected, as this has happened twice and both times without you changing any settings it suggests a serious hardware issue and possibly a poor quality power supply unit.

Please check out what wannabe1 has advised and dependant on the outcome if need be follow my suggestion which is to return the computer and ask for a refund before it goes bang.
A good quality brand PSU with an adequate output and minimum of an 80% efficiency rating is often one item that some system builders fall short on and the reason is purely down to cost, see video for what happens to poor quality PSUs;