PC just stops (im thinking HD problems)

system data posted in profile is for an other machine.

in November, i had to replace my system Disk, even since ive been having an odd kind of crash.

I have a:
3GHZ P4 (with hyper threading)
1 GB RAM
2 HDs:
System Disk is: 160 GB IDE
Data Disk is: 500 GB Sata

also i never shut my PC down so unless it crashes or we get a power outage it runs 24/7.

PC would be running then suddenly it would stop, you can hear the HD wind down and the fan stop but the lights in the tower are still on and i end up having to force shutdown to really turn it off (reset button doesn't work).

on the next start (im not sure if its every time or not) PC reboots before reaching the windows start up screen and once im logged in to my user i get "windows recovered from an error..... "

i have the dump file but i can never seem to find the "sysdata.xml" file

also im wondering if that should be posted in windows XP or here.

 

i just opened up the tower which should help with ventilation.

if not ill change the PSU thx

 

I'd agree with Pete's comment but in reverse order. Based upon symptoms described this sounds more like a heat issue. Cleaning up your CPU heatsink/fan and all other case fans should provide some relief.

 

About the clean up how often should that be done? we did a thorough cleaning when we changed my HD (Mid November, but the PC has been crashing like that for maybe 2 month), come to think of it the tech guy recommended I disconnect the extra fan that was on the side panel, something about the wind from the fan hitting the CPU directly which supposedly isn't good.

Since i opened up the side panel the problem seems to be fixed:
1st i was able to finally do a full system scan with no crash
2nd PC doesn't sound like a plain on take of any more.

 

A tech told you that the fan on the side blowing on your CPU wasn't good for it? Do yourself a favor and fire them.

 

hehe well he did recover the data so im still happy with his work, but the question remains do i put the side panel back on (with the working fan) or just leave it open.

 

ok sounds good, thx allot for all who helped.

 

braindead

I'd like to ramble for a minute or two, primarily for the sake of others who may experience similar problems. Then again, this also applies to your situation. Heat or let's say excessive heat is one of a computer's worst enemies. Fortunately, there have been significant advances both in processor design and heatsink technology that have gone a long way to neutralize this issue, however, this doesn't necessarily eliminate the potential for heat related performance problems, especially when dust and dirt build-up are added to the mix.

OK - that's a pretty simple concept to understand. Lets call it a no-brainer.

We've also heard a few comments regarding ventilation and the movement of air inside your case. "Disconnect the side fan" - "fire the technician" - "reverse the airflow ". All of these are valid comments from very knowledgeable people. So who are you going to believe? What's the right approach? Can they all be correct? You Betcha, pal.

Let me explain. The whole objective here is to bring cool air into the case, circulate it over, under, around and through the internal components and then exhaust it out of the case. The basic standard includes bringing air in with one or more cooling fans in the front, side or top of the case and pushing it out the back, side or top of the case. Wait - That sounds like a contradiction. You Betcha, pal - it is a contradiction.

The most basic of all setups includes a front intake fan and a rear exhaust fan - this is pretty common and there are few exceptions. Beyond that, throw out the rule book and light up a cigar. Depending on what's inside the case and how its populated, the only way to know whether or not additional fans are necessary and whether they should be intakes or exhausts is going to require some testing and measuring. The cigar smoke isn't going to tell you much unless you've got a windowed case and the lung capacity to produce enough smoke, but it can be a darn good indicator of poor ventilation which in turn is going to cause unnecessary heat build-up. Monitoring motherboard, CPU, HDD and graphics card temperatures with different fan configurations is going to be your best indicator of "how to optimize" your case cooling and more isn't necessarily better. I've seen three case fans do a much better job than five in some situations. Disconnecting that side fan may have been helpful in your situation. Then again that might have been ill-advised. Perhaps it should have been reversed. Maybe not. There is no one right answer except, "it all depends ".

So why am I writing this long diatribe - The only way I know of to optimize cooling inside one's case is by trial and error. The objective is to pull cool air in and push hot air out while creating a smooth and efficient air flow inside the case itself. Fans aren't the only thing at play here either -

 

Optimal air flow on a case works like this:

Front: intake (blowing in)

Side: intake

Top: outtake (blowing out)

Bottom: intake

Back: outtake.

 

since this is turning into a physics class about airflow and heat management (im actually enjoying this).

id like to mention I have a cooling fan for my Sata drive (as recommended by the same tech) its mounted on the HD it takes the spot of a floppy and blows air out, I m wondering if i should get an other one for my system Disk.

one more thing the shop were i buy my hardware suggested a type of tower (cant remember the brand) that are made of aluminum and are water cooled supposedly they manage heat way better than the regular stuff and are completely silent (which is something ill need when the family decides I should keep my PC in my bedroom), I thought about buying one then found out the tower alone starts at 450USD and the PSU's prices start at 350USD, Apparently those cases can hold 12's of HDs they are really something I was shown a few some had a transparent side panel, the only description i can give about them is they were pretty colorfull they reminded me of the Cars in Need for Speed.

I am sure you guys know what I am talking about if you can remind me what the brand was and tell me if you think they are worth it. (as far as the prices go im sure they is a huge mark up over here like everything else).

 

i don't need 12 HDs i just mentioned that to help describe what Im talking about and with a bit of googling and i found them the brand is called Thermaltake.

 

lol. He's a salesman too

That Thermaltake he's talking about is pretty decent.. BUT. . You sooo don't need it. That's for extremes.. Overclocking everything. And they do require maintenance.. It will be a money pit.

One of my staff has one custom with copper piping and the whole deal. It's quite impressive, but completely unnecessary. Cool to look at though.

There are plenty of completely silent fans on the market that would serve your purposes just fine. Get a nice Seasonic or PC Power and Cooling power supply.. both completely silent and give you the best, most reliable power.

120mm Antec tri-cool case fans are also silent with decent flow.

A Zalman CNPS8000, CNPS9700 or CNPS8700 will do just fine on the CPU.

 

If only life was so simple. Not trying to get into an arguement but how about a side port sitting directly over the CPU heatsink/fan. The above then pits two opposing forces - not too good and definately not too cool. As a general rule, you have listed the norm, but I could write a very long post peppered with exceptions. I'll stick with "It all depends ".

 

Actually, no it doesn't.. Not at all.

A CPU fan blows down, not up, forcing air downwards towards the CPU and out the side of the fins. The other design is a sideways mounted fan, which blows air towards the back of the chassis.

We need to keep in mind ambient temperatures. A CPU fan is only as good as the ambient temperature around it. If it's a heat wave in the case, the CPU fan will simply be moving hot air around, as opposed to cool air which effects a heat transfer from the fins.

Thermaldynamics..

The idea of a fan blowing into the chassis is to force more cool air through the fan.. Especially when intake from the front is "challenging ". Push it in, as opposed to having the CPU fan s uck like a vacuum cleaner.

We also need to bear in mind that the side mounted fans are reasonably low volume in most cases. It's not like a tornado or anything.

There's a very good reason why high end case makers (such as Antec, Coolermaster and Thermaltake) put a fan there.

 

I wouldn't mind dishing up a big sum to get something good, but i expected it to be low or no maintenance, ok so that's off the list.

ill be keeping notes of ur recommendations thx.

 

Excellent. I'll show you something good. One of the best cases on the market at the moment...

http://www.thermaltake.com/product_...id=C_00001251&name=Spedo+Advance+Package&ovid

 

hold the discussion i need to contact Thermaltake and collect for all the advertising there getting.