ABIT IC7-MAX3 with Intel 2.6Ghz - Random reboot problem

Hi all!

Have an IC7-MAX3 with 1024 ram 3200 and Intel 2.6Ghz. Have 2 SATA disks, 4
IDE disks and 2 IDE with Highpoint SATA-IDE (RocketHead) adapters. 8 disks
total.

I am running Win XP.

The system has for the last 2-3 weeks rebooted at random, 3-7 times a day.
CPU temp is 45C idle, and up to about 60C with load. Case temp is apox
25-27C.

I am wondering if this could be a HW or SW problem, and if anybody else has
this config and experience same kind of problem.

Bios ver is now 13 , and 12 has same problem.

Speedy

For a quick fix, disable the Automatically Reboot option in Windows XP,
right-click My Computer, click Properties, click the Advanced tab, and then
click Settings under Startup and Recovery.

Often this is a problem with ram that is clocked too high or has the timings
set too tight. It can also be caused by a flakey power supply. You've got a
lot of drives sucking up the juice.

"SpeedyGonzales" wrote in message
...
Hi all!

Have an IC7-MAX3 with 1024 ram 3200 and Intel 2.6Ghz. Have 2 SATA disks, 4
IDE disks and 2 IDE with Highpoint SATA-IDE (RocketHead) adapters. 8
disks
total.

I am running Win XP.

The system has for the last 2-3 weeks rebooted at random, 3-7 times a day.
CPU temp is 45C idle, and up to about 60C with load. Case temp is apox
25-27C.

I am wondering if this could be a HW or SW problem, and if anybody else
has
this config and experience same kind of problem.

Bios ver is now 13 , and 12 has same problem.

Speedy

With 8 harddrives and a bunch of other stuff, I'd bet $$$ that your power
supply is not able to handle the load.

Well...I have an 420W Chieftec Power...brand new ...with 2 fans!

And regarding autoreboot.... I can work on PC and. bam...black
screen...reboot....no warning what so ever... :-(

Speedy


"Herr Pie" wrote in message
news:xZarb.106184$275.302515@attbi_s53...
With 8 harddrives and a bunch of other stuff, I'd bet $$$ that your power
supply is not able to handle the load.

Speedy,
I majored in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and built
motherboards so I am fairly knowledgeable. I'm sure your Chieftan 420W
power supply is very nice but do some math on all of the components that are
working your power supply. The CPU, (8) hard drives "whew", the video card
pulls alot of juice, not to mention the fans. Actually, a really big power
drain is when you first boot and all 8 drives simultaneously spin up, that
is a testament to your power supply. Try this. Disconnect 6 of the drives
temporarily and just use your 2 primary RAID drives (I'm guessing that you
put the system on a 2 SATA Raid setup), see if that helps your problem.
FWIW, when I run 4 drives, an overclocked CPU, and an ATI 9800 pro, my antec
500W power supply is right at the limit. good luck.

On Sat, 8 Nov 2003 20:43:44 +0100, "SpeedyGonzales"
wrote:

Well...I have an 420W Chieftec Power...brand new ...with 2 fans!

And regarding autoreboot.... I can work on PC and. bam...black
screen...reboot....no warning what so ever... :-(

Speedy


"Herr Pie" wrote in message
news:xZarb.106184$275.302515@attbi_s53...
With 8 harddrives and a bunch of other stuff, I'd bet $$$ that your power
supply is not able to handle the load.



Is there space in the case to fit a second PSU to run some of the hard
drives, it definitely sounds like a PSU problem, also, what does your
BIOS say about the voltages ?

Taff..........



www.sounds-pa.com | www.thecomputerworkshop.com

Herr Pie wrote:
I majored in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and
built motherboards so I am fairly knowledgeable. I'm sure your
Chieftan 420W power supply is very nice but do some math on all of
the components that are working your power supply. The CPU, (8) hard
drives "whew", the video card pulls alot of juice, not to mention the
fans. Actually, a really big power drain is when you first boot and
all 8 drives simultaneously spin up, that is a testament to your
power supply. Try this. Disconnect 6 of the drives temporarily and
just use your 2 primary RAID drives (I'm guessing that you put the
system on a 2 SATA Raid setup), see if that helps your problem.
FWIW, when I run 4 drives, an overclocked CPU, and an ATI 9800 pro,
my antec 500W power supply is right at the limit. good luck.

What kind of sh%tty powersupply is this then?
My Enermax 365 bla bla handles my overclocked 9700, P4 2.6 @ 3.25, dual
channel RAM, 3 optical drives, loads of scsi sh*t (3 10k rpm harddisks), and
still doesnt waver or crash.

Ow yeah, 11 fans too ;-) Almost forgot about them.

Ow and PS, congratulations on your Computer Science and Electrical
Engineering :-P

Thomas, MSc chemical engineering, for what it's worth, hahaha

Thomas,
You are the keeper of the knowledge, we bow in your presense.
Enlighten us with your wisdom.

Speedy, if my suggestions didn't work, then it is probably a voltage
regulator/bad mobo....

Thomas wrote:
What kind of sh%tty powersupply is this then?
My Enermax 365 bla bla handles my overclocked 9700, P4 2.6 @ 3.25, dual
channel RAM, 3 optical drives, loads of scsi sh*t (3 10k rpm harddisks), and
still doesnt waver or crash.

Ow yeah, 11 fans too ;-) Almost forgot about them.

Well...I increased the ram voltage from 2.6 to 2.65, and system has not
rebootet all night!

Memory is Twinmos Dual 1GB 3200.
Spec says is uses 2.6 volt +/- 10%, so I will increase more if needed.
I can increase in 0.05v steps.

I think the 420W PSU is enough.
In my old machine I had more stuff running at a 300w power, but that was a
slot2 866 cpu....

And sorry for typo..it was Chieftec....not Chieftan :-)

Speedy


"Herr Pie" wrote in message
news:fFfrb.107129$275.308443@attbi_s53...
Thomas,
You are the keeper of the knowledge, we bow in your presense.
Enlighten us with your wisdom.

Speedy, if my suggestions didn't work, then it is probably a voltage
regulator/bad mobo....

Thomas wrote:
What kind of sh%tty powersupply is this then?
My Enermax 365 bla bla handles my overclocked 9700, P4 2.6 @ 3.25, dual
channel RAM, 3 optical drives, loads of scsi sh*t (3 10k rpm harddisks),
and
still doesnt waver or crash.

Ow yeah, 11 fans too ;-) Almost forgot about them.

Well...have removed several disks, and problem is the same. RANDOM boot is
still a problem....
I am now wondering if this is a XP/OS problem or HW.

Speedy


"taff" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 8 Nov 2003 20:43:44 +0100, "SpeedyGonzales"
wrote:

Well...I have an 420W Chieftec Power...brand new ...with 2 fans!

And regarding autoreboot.... I can work on PC and. bam...black
screen...reboot....no warning what so ever... :-(

Speedy


"Herr Pie" wrote in message
news:xZarb.106184$275.302515@attbi_s53...
With 8 harddrives and a bunch of other stuff, I'd bet $$$ that your
power
supply is not able to handle the load.



Is there space in the case to fit a second PSU to run some of the hard
drives, it definitely sounds like a PSU problem, also, what does your
BIOS say about the voltages ?

Taff..........



www.sounds-pa.com | www.thecomputerworkshop.com