Computer Issues

BIOS version says its from 2011 I just noticed. I would go update that just not 100% sure how to and reading things saying if power blacks out computer won't boot up again

It's easy to update BIOS, you just don't want to lose power during it. That'll brick a system.

I mean I shouldn't lose power and this constant crashing is going to make it so I throw the computer out a window soon

I had a problem a while back and I figured out what is happening, but not why. My monitor would shut off when my pc was transcoding video, it was weird. I figured out that it is the ups. The pc is plugged into the master port on the ups, so whenever I transcode video or do anything that taxes the cpu, the ups kills everything in the master controlled ports, including the monitor and speakers. Disabling the master feature temporarily fixed the issue, but I have no idea why it was doing that.

chaos_sl said:

I had a problem a while back and I figured out what is happening, but not why. My monitor would shut off when my pc was transcoding video, it was weird. I figured out that it is the ups. The pc is plugged into the master port on the ups, so whenever I transcode video or do anything that taxes the cpu, the ups kills everything in the master controlled ports, including the monitor and speakers. Disabling the master feature temporarily fixed the issue, but I have no idea why it was doing that.

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PC pulling more juice than the UPS wants to supply. Shutting down ports is a creative way to keep the UPS from burning your house down.

So what you're saying is, I'm going to burn my house down. Awesome.

Wakandan needs a better UPS

Yeah I never really paid attention but I have a 475 watt psu on my pc and the ups I have is only rated to 450 watts. SCIENCE

chaos_sl said:

Yeah I never really paid attention but I have a 475 watt psu on my pc and the ups I have is only rated to 450 watts. SCIENCE

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PSU wattage means nothing. A 475 watt PSU doesn't pull 475 watts all the time. It's just the max before it causes brownouts in your neighborhood due to bad design.

Your UPS may be rated to 450 watts, but that wattage may be split among the number of outlets on the UPS for an aggregate, and further, only a few of those outlets may be rated for a max amperage before it shits itself.

Unless you have really, really shittacular electrical service in your area, there's next to no need for a UPS. Also, there are compatibility issues with UPS's and PSU's. I have no idea what they are, but that's something you can find out on your own.

A really super, qualified electrician (NOT ME) can keep your electronics running in top order all the time.

I had a faulty UPS that was doing the same thing. Returned it ,and no problems since.

Also some BIOS's have a surge protection option on them that will shut your computer off as well.

Yeah I don't really need an UPS and I don't use it as anything more than a surge protector really. Big, heavy, expensive ass surge protector. Not my best purchase. I was halfway through researching buying a newer, bigger one when I realized this and came to my senses.

I still need a lot of outlets, though. I have 2 pcs, a router, monitor, speakers, and powered external HDs. And a lamp. I have a lot of shit;(

Kind of anecdotal, but we had one of those large UPS things for awhile and it was a hassle doing things like you said so we ended up only connecting our monitor to it because we ran out of outlets. So the desktop, wireless mouse hub (this was a long time ago), speakers, and some other stuff were just plugged into the wall. We had lightning hit our house and it destroyed everything except the monitor. We actually had caps explode inside the PC. Probably won't happen to you, as it's pretty weird occurrence, but just saying.

So my monitor has been blinking rapidly when I turn it on for about a few weeks now, started off lasting a minute or so, now its about 5 minutes after I turned the monitor on. My second monitor works just fine so I'm assuming its a monitor problem.

I heard it could be faulty capacitors that are supposedly easily replaceable, but my question is, would someone with no experience using a soldering iron be able to do so? I can put together my own computer, but I never play around with anything on the hardware. Basically its either around $30-50 to fix it myself or to wait and buy one of those 2560x1440 monitors on ebay in a few months and hope this monitor doesn't get any worse in the mean time.

Is it a Samsung monitor DeLLy? I had the exact same thing happen to a Samsung 24" LCD I used to have. Started flashing for a few seconds until it "warmed up", and that few seconds grew longer and longer and longer over time until you were talking HOURS until it stopped flashing(I'd just never turn the thing off). But yeah, its a cheap fix if you can use a soldering iron. Just need a few capacitors that cost about 10 cents each online + the ability to use a soldering gun.

That being said, I didn't do it, as I don't even own a soldering gun, much less know how to use one on delicate electronics. I sold it to a friend for $50 who is great at soldering stuff(he used to chip/mod playstations back in the day) and he had it running like new within a couple days(just had to wait on the capacitors to arrive)

Yeah it is a Samsung and I've had it for at least a few years if not more. Sounds like the exact same issue. I don't own a soldering gun either but if its such an easy fix I might ask a buddy to do it.. or possibly just sell it towards a new monitor which isn't a half bad idea.

Until then I'm gonna have it stop going to sleep and just leave it on, not sure why I hadn't thought about that until you mentioned it. Hah. Thanks.

Calbiyum_sl said:

My computer keeps getting this screen. It occurs whenever I tried to patch Diablo 3 or About 20 minutes after I opened WoW, EQ2, or other games and an internet browser (or EQ2 and WoW at the same time). However now its happening non stop in Elder Scrolls Online. Usually when I'm in a big siege battle or many people on my screen, but has happened just when I'm the only one around.
Friend who build it updated drivers as I thought it was that but now I read I may need to update BIOS or undo overclock (not even sure if it is overclocked). Also not too sure on how to do either of them and don't want to fuck something up

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Sorry for slight necro but error starting happening again. About 2 weeks ago I sprayed all the dust out of PC with compressed air and through a desk fan on it and the problem was fixed, no crashing (except once while patching Diablo). However, yesterday the same problem started occurring again. I still have fan on it and sprayed the inside of the computer and now that won't fix it. Computer is idle on 38-40c and while running ESO it's at 59-62. also the game runs fine on my computer, can run high graphics with 0 lag or anything. I did adjust them down a little but stll crashing.

Calbiyum_sl said:

Sorry for slight necro but error starting happening again. About 2 weeks ago I sprayed all the dust out of PC with compressed air and through a desk fan on it and the problem was fixed, no crashing (except once while patching Diablo). However, yesterday the same problem started occurring again. I still have fan on it and sprayed the inside of the computer and now that won't fix it. Computer is idle on 38-40c and while running ESO it's at 59-62. also the game runs fine on my computer, can run high graphics with 0 lag or anything. I did adjust them down a little but stll crashing.

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Randoms are always a bitch. They tend to be related to RAM, the motherboard, and the PSU. In my experience the cause and effect relationship you think you are seeing is often wrong. Dust is unlikely to be the sole issue since you cleaned it two weeks ago (unless you live in dust/pet hell). Also, you need to keep the compressed air cans upright to avoid spraying the liquid chemicals out which may cause damage.

Providing CPU type, GPU, RAM w/timings, and PSU make and wattage can help.

Do the following in order:

Check mechanical: Visually verify the CPU fan, GPU fan, and case fans are rotating. Verify the CPU heatsink is properly seated, especially if it uses Intel's push-pin mounting. Check that all power connectors are firmly seated, mainly the PCIe power connector(s) and CPU 4/8 pin aux.

Reset any CPU, GPU, and RAM overclocks back to stock. You could also "load safe defaults" or "load optimized defaults" in the bios, but you will at least want to check the Sata port mode first (either IDE, AHCI, or RAID) and change it back to that value after loading defaults. Windows might not boot without going into Safe Mode if the current Sata mode doesn't match the mode it was installed with.

If you have a spare HDD or SSD, you can unplug your existing drives and reinstall Windows on your spare (skip activation). Let it patch and use the default drivers (assuming it finds them), then install your games and play as normal to test. If it is a software or driver issue, it should be caught here.

Verify RAM. Downloadmemtest, make a bootable USB or CD, and let run for at least a few passes / overnight.

Assuming that passes, download and runPrime95for at least 8 hours / overnight. You should enable "round off checking" under the Advanded menu and run the torture test with in-place large FFTs. Watch your temps initially and for the first hour or so. Temps will vary by CPU make and model, so you can look up or ask about the max for your CPU. They should level off and stay there. It's very unlikely the CPU is faulty, but this should check mobo and PSU power delivery.

If you have access to another PSU, I'd swap that unit into your computer. You don't have to install it, just make the proper connections and test. If it still crashes randomly, it's probably the motherboard.

DeLLy_sl said:

So my monitor has been blinking rapidly when I turn it on for about a few weeks now, started off lasting a minute or so, now its about 5 minutes after I turned the monitor on. My second monitor works just fine so I'm assuming its a monitor problem.

I heard it could be faulty capacitors that are supposedly easily replaceable, but my question is, would someone with no experience using a soldering iron be able to do so? I can put together my own computer, but I never play around with anything on the hardware. Basically its either around $30-50 to fix it myself or to wait and buy one of those 2560x1440 monitors on ebay in a few months and hope this monitor doesn't get any worse in the mean time.

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Try turning the brightness down on the monitor. I had the same thing happen about 4 years ago to my Samsung. Like joeboo I am bad with soldering but read somewhere that turning the brightness down helps.

4 years later the monitor is still fine.