Unknown Problem

[Matt761]

My problem is that when I boot into windows the computer restarts while it is booting up. It does this 4 or 5 times before it boots up into windows. After it boots up into windows the computer is completely stable. I can play all the games I want and fold all i want and the computer doesn't restart. First I tried reformatting the computer. It worked fine without any restartes for about a month. Then the problem started accuring agian. I kept reformatting it and the problem kept coming back more and more frequently. Now I've had to reformat it after 3 days. It is even worse now because it will not start up at all it just keep restarting forever at the windows loading screen. I have ran memtest86 without any problems. I also recently noticed that if I shutdown my computer and let it sit for a while and start it back up it will sometimes boot up fine. This led me to believe it may be caused by temprature. But when I checked the temps after it had restarted a few times they were at 44 C . I have no clue what could be the problem and any help would be appreciated. Ill try running some hard drive diagnostic tests. What is a good program for this?

[fabulouscoops]

You could try upping the voltages at little from stock.
Vcore 1.575 or 1.6
Vdimm 2.7 or 2.8
Vagp 1.6 or 1.65

Also, are you sure about your power supply. Check the rails with a voltmeter.

As for HDD diagnostics, Western Digital has a free program for its drives on their site. Aslo, check out HD tune and atto.

[Matt761]

It doesn't want to start at stock speeds either. However i got it to boot when I underclocked the computer.I have an ocz powersupply with adjustable rails so i have them all at what their supposed to be. I will try raising the voltages though. I tested the harddrive with western digtal's diganostics program and it turned up nothing.

[Wathnix]

try taking off the CPU fan and blowing off the heatsink

[Matt761]

Alright, I cleaned off the heatsink and set the voltages up to
vdimm: 2.8
vcore: 1.625
vagp: 1.65
But it wouldnt boot.
I found that it wont boot at 140 fsb. Ive got it booted at 120 fsb right now. Could this be a motherboard problem?

[fabulouscoops]

Did you try to reset the CMOS? Maybe there is a bad BIOS setting.
Other than a bad mobo it could be that you set the PSU rails using the motherboard reported voltages and not the true voltage. You did not say, but setting the voltages using a voltmeter is a more accurate way to do it.
Any other volt mods or just the vid card?

I would take the computer apart, blow out all the slots with compressed air, not just the heatsink. Over time, dust and grit can cause electrical leakage.

[Matt761]

I reset the psu rails with a voltmeter. I reset the cmos. I have no other volt mods. I also tried dusting it and it got my computer to boot up at stock. But when i restarted it, the highest it would boot up was at 120fsb. This may be because the canned air cooled it down. I noticed temperature affects it because if i start the computer on after its been off for a while, it can boot up at 120fsb. But if i try restarting it, I have to go down to 100fsb. So is this the mother board or proccesor or should i try sending both for rma?

[fabulouscoops]

You have made a good attempt to get it to work. I would RMA.

[Matt761]

Should I rma the motherboard, cpu, or both?

[fabulouscoops]

I would say it is more likely the motherboard. Before you take it out check that there is not a short somewhere like the motherboard touching the frame. The CPU works but not at the right speed. If you cannot test the CPU in another computer then wait for the new mobo and if it still does not work then send back the CPU then.

[Matt761]

Alright thanks alot!

[Viiper]

could be a corrupted setup or bad ass virus...

[KillrBuckeye]

I had a similar problem.
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=360910
In my case, the problem went away when I stopped using the crappy Asus SmartDoctor software to overclock my video card. Are you running your video card at stock speeds? If not, make sure you do, because this made all the difference for me. It is likely that my power supply could not supply adequate power when the video card overclock was applied during startup. I have sinced switched to CoolBits and I don't have the restart problem when overclocking my video card. Hope this helps.