Xp random restarts

hey all,
MY SYSTEM CONFIG
Intel(R)Desktop Board D865GBF
WINDOWS XP SP2
Intel(R) Pentium(R)4 CPU 3.00GHZ
1 GB DDR RAM

i had problems wherein my system would come up with a BSOD very often or get restarted randomly...i was asked to run the memtest(techspot forum) which would get hung up...So i was doubtful of my RAM..But finally i checked the MOBO for bulged/leaking capacitors and was right..So i got my MOBO replaced(had warranty)..Now,i ran the MEMTEST and it was running perfectly...Checked it overnight...
0-ERRORS
26- PASSES
Since the MOBO was new, i formatted the system and installed the OS fresh...
Now the BSODs have stopped but not the random restarts...
The hard disk,motherboard and RAM are all new...
Have also tried updating the BIOS,no use..
Suspected a corrupt page file,so have reset that too...Still, I have a computer that would restart at random and at times freeze..
I checked the BIOS setting and saw something like this

Processor Fan Speed 0 RPM
REAR Fan Speed 4878 RPM
Front Fan Speed 0 RPM

So opened the CPU and found that the CPU Fan wires were connected to the Rear fan slot..and the wires from the rear and front fan were connected through connectors and not to the slots on the MOBO.(But all the three fans were running).So tried to connect the Cpu fan to the Cpu fan slot on the MOBO..when i restarted,intel active monitor gave me an immediate warning that the system fan isn't working and that could overheat the system..Though,i didn't check physically if the fans were running.
As with the RAM,i have four memory sticks of 256Mb each..Iam yet to check each of them seperately..I haven't done it 'coz iam unsure if i can put any stick into any slot randomly or if there is any combination that needs to
be followed?
I would be grateful to anybody who helps me solve this problem...Am so fed up seeing my computer restart every now and then...This has been the problem for a very long time now...Please help...I was a complete novice about hardware when i first got this problem...But now,this has made me learn so much about hardware..I always wanted to learn but not this way...And still the mystery of the restarts stands unsolved....
Thanks to everyone who takes the time to read this post patiently....
Am attaching some minidump files,if that would help..

 

you could try this ...

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp#quick

this will identify if it's a memory problem that's causing your woes.

 

I shall definitely try it and let you know the results. Thankyou..

 

Probably already checked this, but if you right-click on "my computer", go to properties, click on "advanced" tab, click the "settings" button under "startup and recover", and then uncheck "automatically restart" under "system failure" (and then hit "OK" on everything), do you get a bluescreen message instead of a silent restart? If so, please give us the message, might really help to narrow things down!

 

Gecks,i will do it and tell you what is the message.I have tried it earlier also but lemme do it again and tell u what messages i get now.

 

ok,here are the results.
1) tried the microsoft memory test in a extendable mode.No errors,15passes.

2) wrt the blue screen, the error description was

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
***STOP: 0X0000000A(0XF928D4BC,0X00000001,0X00000000,0X804E94A2)

 

Possibly a cooling problem. Try dusting out the computer with a can of compressed air. i personally use a vaucmn cleaner but some say it is not the safest way to go about cleaning hardware so i would sugest geting a good ol can of compressed air and blasting the thing out with that. After that come back and tell us how it is working.
-the new tech guy

 

Could very well be a cooling issue. When you replaced the MOBO, did you get the heat sink in right? It is easy to do it wrong.
More info found here gives the possibility it could also be related to drivers, etc.

Will the unit run in safe mode? (which loads minimal drivers).
Try removing some components that are not critical, CD/ FDD/ pci cards not needed/ lan card (if have). In other words, take the system to bare bones and see if it runs. If so, then start adding back in 1 at a time.

 

Yes, as stated in the previous post, take your system to a barebones state, and if you don't mind reloading the OS, do that as well and do not load any additional programs. And even use one stick of RAM as well. It could be a piece of hardware or even a piece of software causing the restarts. So if you just have your PC set up with just video and no software and it is still restarting on you, then you will have it narrowed to one of the few pieces of hardware left in the PC. If it does not fail, then slowly add more RAM and the rest of your hardware. If it still does not fail then slowly start installing the software. It is very tedious, but what can you do. And do check the position of the heat sink, because I have incorrectly installed one before, causing many lockups before I realized what I did.

 

Yes please try these ideas stated and come back and tell us how things are running. Also i like the updates that were done to the site yesterday as I did notice the downtime yesterday.
-the new tech guy

 

hey,
will try it out and get back to you guys...Hope it helps solve the problem...Would be out for a week, so will get back to you as soon as it is done...Thanks a ton...This has been a never-ending problem for me so far....Hope the problem gets solved atleast this time....

 

It's more likely to be a driver or hardware problem.

HERE are some troubleshooting steps.

 

hey,
am back but am yet to try out all that you have asked me to.Iam not confident about checking the hardware components physically.So i'll have to get someone to do it for me.In the meanwhile here is something that has been happening very often now.I've an APC Ups to support my sytem.When i switched on the UPS before switching my Cpu on,it automatically got switched on opening a screen which said
-------------
Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00 GHz

DDR320-------Operating in dual-channel dynamic paging mode.

1008MB system RAM

Legacy Keyboard -------- Detected
Legacy Mouse -------- Detected
USB Legacy -------- Enabled

Fixed Disk 0: PM-ST380013AS
ATAPI CD-ROM : 4M-LITE-ON LTR-52327S
ATAPI CD-ROM : 4S-YAMAHA CRW2100E

CMOS/GPNV Checksum Bad
CMOS Date/Time Not Set

Press <F4> to Run SETUP

----------------

After i got this screen,when i restarted,the date had automatically got changed.

This seems very strange.Does this convey anything?
A few more BSOD messages that i got are
------------------
PFN_LIST_CORRUPT
***STOP:0X0000004E(0X0000008F,0X00014A37,0X0002E1E7,0X00000000)
----------
MEMORY_MANAGEMENT
***STOP:0X0000001A(0X00041785,0XC0C00000,0X0002DF5B,0X00000000)

Any clues or suggestions would be of great help.

 

Yeah i too think that it could very well be an overheating or hardware problem. If you built it urself then it is possible that you didnt stick the CPU heatsink on all the way. You have to apply a surprising amount of force to get those suckers stuck on there. Without full contect to the heatsink then overheating is most definitely gonna be a problem sooner or later. Also u could try sumthing like arctic silver thermal compound.

 

O yeah, try posting in the hardware section too.

 

OK,so,i think first i should try to check the CPU heat sink.And i shall also try posting it in the hardware forum.

 

Hey

Sadly, am back with the same problem ! The CPU Heat sink has been attended to and the CMOS baterry has also been changed.The problem still persists.I get a "Bad Checksum Error" almost everytime i switch on the computer. The BIOS settings doesnt seem to be getting saved !

My SMPS is currently 350 Volts. Would changing the SMPS to 400 or 500 volts help ? My system config is as follows :

Intel(R) Pentium(R)4 CPU 3.00GHZ
Intel(R) Desktop Mother Board D865GBF
SeaGate 80GB SATA HDD
Gigabyte ATI RADEON 9200 SE 128MB DDR
HYENIX 1 GB DDR RAM
350 Volts SMPS
WINDOWS XP SP2

Please dont give up on me. I rely completely upon Majorgeeks for a solution. Any kind of suggestion is welcome !

 

Are the cooling vents clear and clean? Even if they are i would recommend taking a can f compressed air into the computer and clean it all out. That may help you.
-the new tech guy

 

The most common causes of PFN LIST CORRUPT errors in XP are incompatible drivers and hardware, or failing RAM.

Only have the minimum XP compatible hardware installed, and make sure drivers are WHQL rated.

Also, try removing sticks of RAM and leave just one, or move them around.


HERE are some other things to try.

 

And here is How to debug memory dumps for your reading pleasure.

Happy Festivus everyone!

 

hey,
I tried the memory sticks in pairs and with the first pair the system works wonderfully...Didn't have the heart to check with the second pair and the system restarting again...So probably the problem is because of the combination of RAM...Just that i would be missing 512 MB of RAM....But as long as i have a system that i can trust on....
I just wanted to thank you guys for your great support.....This forum rocks...Keep up ypur great work guys...

Cheers,
Mad

 

I too have had the random restart issue and have ALSO narrowed it down to the Ram. Just out of curiosity, was your RAM name brand or generic from EBAY?

 

Hey Dicky

Did u mean to ask if I bought it from EBAY, If so, i did not. It is a HYENIX RAM. Just that one of the four sticks (i have a 256 x 4 DDR) was from a older lot and the other three are from a new and same lot. What was your RAM make ? Again out of curiosity

 

I have 3 slots, and all but the one I bought from EBay are "Corsair" brand, which I have no problem with. The one I bought off of EBAY has no name designation. So, I would not rec getting non name brand RAM from Ebay, or from anyone for that matter.