Computer keeps rebooting

[djgandy]

On saturday i bought a gig of ram and 2 uv light thingys from novatech. Also added a wireless keyboard mouse + webcam.

This morning i woke up and my computer was just sat on the login screen (had put it on a sleep timer) and i was kinda confused why.
Twice today it has just rebooted randomly.

Would i be right in thinking my PSU isn't powerful enough?
I wasn't doing anything that would be a strain on the psu at the time, which seem's a bit odd.

System specs
Hiper 380/350watt? (impossible to read the sticker without dismantling everything)
Asus A7N8XE
AMD Barton XP2800
512 + 1024 meg 400mhz ddr
1 x 80 gig maxtor hdd
1 x 300gig SATA maxtor hdd
1 x dvd writer
1 x cd writer

GT-6600 256meg -> 2x 19inch TFT's

USB "MIDI" Keyboard

[Danno]

when a pc reboots at random can be caused by almost anything. the power supply that you have should be fine with the PC, the uv lights will use very little power.

if the pc was working before adding the new hardware i would recommend removing all the new components and adding them back to the system one at a time. if you do this hopefully you will be able to identify the cause of the problem.

[djgandy]

Well i've turned the uv lights off and it hasn't gone yet :) It's not a persistant problem so trying to get it to turn off could be a long wait :p
The only difference i can think of is that i'm using the dual channel mode slot on the board now.
Still if it was a memory problem you would think it would BSOD, rather than reboot altogether.

[Big Beere]

Hi.. After reading your post about the random shutdowns I thought I would post you some of my knowledge.

I am running the same mobo as your self (i think) - I have the A7N8X-E Deluxe version. (my spec+pic is shown below).

I noticed you said:

512 + 1024 meg 400mhz ddr

If you are using a single 512mb stick and another 1024mb ram stick, I know ASUS mobos are pretty fussy about what Ram you use - especially when trying to run them in Dual mode (but obviously you cant run those two different size sticks in Dual)

I also have a Hiper PSU (580W - perfect for hardcore gaming and heavy usage) - Even though you think you have a 350W PSU I would (personally) purchase a 400W -branded- PSU (just to make sure its not a lack of power your system is shutting down).

As you are trying to power x2 optical drives x2 Hard Drives XP2800 + quite a hefty GPU which is powering x2 19" TFT's.

BUT BEFORE spending more money, try doing what Danno suggested, because the occurrence has only happened since you inserted new hardware.

I am guessing its down to the RAM not being the same size as each other -I had the same problem on my Asus A8N Mobo. Simply purchase another identical stick as the 1024 Stick (or 512stick) and run them in Dual .. No Probs 8)

Thanks,

Big B:P

[djgandy]

Well I'll see what happens.
The power supply should be plenty enough, since i had to buy it to replace an unbranded rated at 550w (actual was around 280) which broke. If it happens again i'll switch the memory into the other slot.

[djgandy]

After reading some posts on the ASUS forum, i am led to believe that it is caused by using the dual channel slot, when the installed memory sticks are NOT identical.

[Big Beere]

Yee I thought it was, becuase ASUS Mobo's are pretty fussy about the RAM.

Has it solved your problem now though?

[djgandy]

No it didn't, but now i have switched the new stick (samsung 1gig) into slot 0 and put the older stick of 512 next to it.

So far no reboots :D

[Luc]

On saturday i bought a gig of ram and 2 uv light thingys from novatech. Also added a wireless keyboard mouse + webcam.

This morning i woke up and my computer was just sat on the login screen (had put it on a sleep timer) and i was kinda confused why.
Twice today it has just rebooted randomly.

Would i be right in thinking my PSU isn't powerful enough?
I wasn't doing anything that would be a strain on the psu at the time, which seem's a bit odd.

System specs
Hiper 380/350watt? (impossible to read the sticker without dismantling everything)
Asus A7N8XE
AMD Barton XP2800
512 + 1024 meg 400mhz ddr
1 x 80 gig maxtor hdd ('http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/products/a502x1y0z1p0s0n0m0')
1 x 300gig SATA maxtor hdd ('http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/products/a502x1y0z1p0s0n0m0')
1 x dvd writer
1 x cd writer

GT-6600 256meg -> 2x 19inch TFT's

USB "MIDI" Keyboard

A computer like that wouldn't need extra power on its supply at all.

Read my specs, not showing off but I'm using the more updated version of your processor and stuff which would require more power and is using 350W PSU Powersupply.

[Nox]

Go to system properties -> advanced -> startup&recovery settings -> turn off automatically restart.

Now you will see the actual error when it crashes. You may be able to glean something from the eventvwr too. In the mean time, update all drivers, esp sound, gfx and keyboard.

Nox

[djgandy]

It was sorted a long time ago peeps ;). I thought i had posted the problem.

Basically my asus board was being fussy with which slots i put my memory in. I did some switching around and got it sorted.

Put the 1gig stick in the first slot, and the 512mb in the second.

Thanks anyway :)

[Chewie]

DJ, Beere, Its not restricted to ASUS boards guys, Its a major flaw in the nF2 chipset boards. MSI's varient, the K7N2 Delta series, with them its down to not liking certain brands (mainly in Dual Channel mode, but occaisionally single channel). Big one for it was Kingston Value ram, but any kind of value ram resulted in all sorts of non post problems.