Computer problem

I noticed a similar problem with xp pro on my comp when I left it on all nite and connected to the internet via dsl. I didn't have antivirus running though. In the morning I would find it locked up. When I turned the internet off it seemed to help the problem somewhat. Not sure what was locking it up as I don't believe I was being hacked. You can download some very good utilities from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx

that will show you what's going on inside the computer in terms of registry access, file access, and a lot of other real time activities. Microsoft didn't develop them, a couple of geniuses developed them and they became so popular that Microsoft swallowed up the company. What I never figured out how to do was find a way to record the moment at which it locked because the file is lost if it's not saved. There may be an option somewhere to write the log file realtime so that everything is recoverable up to the point of failure.

As far as the damage to the ps, when a machine becomes locked, it's often due to a software flaw that causes an endless loop or other non-terminating action. This often causes the process running it to consume 100 per cent of the processor's capabilities. The processor is usually the single most energy consuming device in the machine and, as such, when running flat out, will heat up and draw more power from the power supply. The difference in power can be substantial. Power supplies are sized according to average loads so if your's is on the small side, it might be exceeding it's limit if the machine is allowed to run at 100 per cent for an extended period. I have a computer in my camper and the rv batteries that run it will drain much faster when I'm doing cpu intensive work.

Alot of antivirus programs are buggy, Norton Systemworks 2004 was especially bad from my recollection while answering questions at Experts Exchange. You can go into BIOS and set the max temperature limit for the cpu thermal protection at the lowest level. If it hits that temp, the machine will probably turn off. Haven't seen thermal protection for power supplies but they may be out there. You might also try a smaller fuse in the power supply though you would have to open it up to access it. If you have to leave it on with programs running, the only other thing I can think of would be a larger power supply sized to your machine using max power numbers instead of averages. They have power calculators online for determing ps size.

A computer running at 100% registered in the taskmanager... I would be more worried about the CPU overheating then the Power Supply failing or overheating! 100% duty cycle on the CPU is a killer for running overnight! Norton is the worst anti-virus program for wasting and hogging resources. I use BitDefender a welcome relieve from the crap that's out there. BitDefender is the #1 rated virsus protection program for first half of 2007. I comes in three versions with virus, virus/spyware and virus/spyware/firewall capabilities. It's really good and I recommend it!

I have a program that kills spyware I won't say what it is but when it finishes and there is no operator response to the results for an unspecified amount of time it will take corrective action and reboot. Not a good feature because you don't really know what the hell happened! People who design software like this should have their a$$ kicked!

Hi there,

It is quite a common problem, due to the unfixed bugs in the OS or any application you installed. So check the following...

1. Is your OS is upto date...? If not download the latest service pack & patches and try to fix the bugs.

2. Uninstall the last installed application and check.

3. If the problem continues, the best solution is to format and re-install the required packages. Normally some application installed with the bugs, and it make the CPU busy. And even, if we remove the application possibly it is not removed from the registry entry which make the system busy. So we need to reset the registry to old position to solve the problem.

It's surprising that what the CPU is doing can take out your power supply. Have you checked that the cooling fan is operating properly or that there is not dust obstructing air flow?

Here are a few things for you to check / consider:

Let's not forget about heat buildup in the CPU ... a CPU that overheats can lock up and nothing will respond ... not your mouse, keyboard or anything else. This is a common situation I deal with as a computer tech where customers' computers are freezing ... I clean out all the dust from the heatsinks and fans and other components and voila ... all's better ... dust in a system acts like a blanket and retains more of the heat.

This problem can be checked for by opening your computer case (make sure it's powered off), remember to ground yourself in case you touch any components, remove the CPU & heatsink/fan, remove the fan from the heatsink, blow out the dust from the heatsink or run the heatsink under warm/hot water, THOROUGHLY DRY the heatsink before replacing it back into the computer, remember to re-connect the heatsink fan to the motherboard connector.

Also check the vent inlets for the computer and the power supply - clean vents = more heat removal from the system.

Although there are probably millions of software conflicts possible ... here are some common ones that I notice:

Nvidia drivers can conflict with MSN Messenger.

Adobe Acrobat Reader can cause a system to hangup also - although not in the way that you're mentioning.

Yahoo toolbar has been known to conflict with Windows and cause hangups

.It's unlikely that 'any' software program would lead to physical damage ... I suppose that in the right circumstance if a program was 'stuck' at 100% CPU usage that it could cause problems with either the CPU or the power supply.

Another consideration ... if you're running off of a UPS (uninteruptable power supply) it's very likely that the UPS battery or voltage regulator is problematic ... I have seen this with a customer that went through 3 power supplies in 2 months because he assumed that he kept getting bad power supplies ... but the entire time it was his UPS ... A simple test to see if it's the UPS is to plug the computer directly into the wall outlet and run your computer through the same set of programs that you were running when it crashed/froze ... You can also use a voltage meter to test the power comming from the UPS to the computer to see if you're getting all the power that you're supposed to be getting and also to see if the voltage is regulated correctly.

One last consideration ... it's also very likely that you're not getting clean voltage from the main power supplied to your house ... voltages typically go up and down and are 'rarely' exactly 110V (or whatever your rated voltage is for your area) ... it's common to see voltages fluctuate by 3V - 10V up and down ... larger voltage swings can cause problems and can kill a power supply faster than smaller swings ... This can also be checked with a voltage meter to test the main power coming from the source (the wall outlet) ... just make sure you have the voltage meter set to the correct setting 'before' starting your test or you can kill the meter.

Just a reminder if you do dismount the cpu/fan/heatsink then after cleaning you might need to use some thermal grease on the contact area between the heat sink and the cpu. New heatsinks often come with the grease attached in the form of a small white square that looks somewhat like picture hanging tape only not as thick. Not sure if it's a good idea to reuse it, but if it's not in good shape I would go ahead and by some grease from Fry's, Comp USA, Radio Shack, or other electronics store. It's ten bucks at Radio Shack, I think you can find it cheaper elsewhere if you look.

I have found the design of the the cabinets to be one major factor in overheating of the CPUs & power supplies.

Make sure you create unidirectional airflow such that fresh cool air is sucked in & warm/hot air is pushed out without creating a sort of a loop which recirculates the same air or does not pass over the CPU on its way out.

In one situation I had to literally seal off a number of vent holes on the back of the cabinets adjacent to the addon card slots so that air sucked in by a fan at the bottom of the front of the cabinet had only the power supply and the adjacent vents to exhaust through. The operating temperature of the CPU dropped from about 58/60 C to around 43/45 c.

I have recently seen some cabinets which have a snout under the cabinet cover which reaches just over the normal cpu position on the motherboard. There is also a provision for adding a standard 4" 12v dc fan in it. This might be a good solution for you.

Hey guys,

Many thanks to all for responding with some valuable points. In fact I got the power supply tested and found o.k. Then I got the UPS tested and found O.K. There was a problem with the cabinet design earlier due to overheating due to which the computer was hanging. I got it fixed by changing to a new bigger cabinet of different design which considerably reduced temp. on the cabinet. That solved the hanging. But all this occured long before the present problem. The present problem occured during the scanning with the Anti-virus program. Now I got the windows re-installed. Since then there have been no problems of hanging.

What is your: 1. normal temperature? 2. CPU make & Frequency 3. PSU [to which you say SMPS. SMPS means Switch-Mode-Power-Supply. In Computer-Terms it is PSU ie Power-Supply-Unit ] 4. Most PC Help Personal ask about the PSU's condition [Its Voltages condition ] As a common user cannot say anything about it, not being a Techo, some Mother-Board manufacturers like Intell & Via [MSI] have a System Monitoring setup in their System CD. If you have one like it on CD install it. It shows all the Temperatures, PSU Voltages etc monitored. If no such thing on CD try: Speedfan by http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php What is SpeedFan SpeedFan is a freeware program that monitors voltages, fan speeds and temperatures in computers with hardware monitor chips. SpeedFan can even access S.M.A.R.T. info for those hard disks that support this feature and show hard disk temperatures too, if supported. SpeedFan supports SCSI disks too. SpeedFan can even change the FSB on some hardware (but this should be considered a bonus feature). At the lowest level, SpeedFan is a hardware monitor software that can access digital temperature sensors, but its main feature is that it can change fan speeds (depending on the capabilities of your sensor chip and your hardware) according to the temperatures inside your pc, thus reducing noise.