Again Out Of The Blue - Unexpected Shut Down

[webfact]

Here we go -

XP prof, SP2

CPU Intel Core 2 Duo 2.13 GHZ

MB Asus P5NSLI

RAM 3 GB Ram

MB temp: 40C

CPU Temp: 42 C

NEW power supply

NEW 3 GB Ram

CPU Van 1780 RPM (varies due to workload)

Voltage 12.03 V

UPS works properly (tested)

And now - I have 2 choices

I throw the entire computer (except my HDD's) in the next Klong

or I wait and hope to find advise on this board.

For the technicians: I have a program installed which can analyze windows crash dumps.

It reported NO crash dump, so I suspect it is a hardware issue, but what causes the evil shut down...?

Thanks guys

[NHJ]

memory or chipset instability, in windows you can use prime 95 to check your ram stability or memtest if you don't wanna start windows.

[webfact]

memory or chipset instability, in windows you can use prime 95 to check your ram stability or memtest if you don't wanna start windows.

Thanks, I did that with prime95 before and run a 12 hour stress test. Everything was fine.

My CPD is not overclocked as I am not gaming

[jeffer]

RAM, what make and speed? On the Asus website it says supports 667/533.

Anything new will always be the prime suspect so swap out for something that worked before and see if that makes a difference.

Always make sure BIOS and drivers are up to date especially for your video card/s.

Recheck the manual to see if everything is set up correctly with all the Nvidea options on that board.

[fullwhenempty]

Replace the cable from the power socket to the server. When it starts to break down it may not do so until under load, so you might miss it. If it's not that then swap out the power supply.

Edited March 7, 2009 by fullwhenempty

[webfact]

RAM, what make and speed? On the Asus website it says supports 667/533.

Anything new will always be the prime suspect so swap out for something that worked before and see if that makes a difference.

Always make sure BIOS and drivers are up to date especially for your video card/s.

Recheck the manual to see if everything is set up correctly with all the Nvidea options on that board.

RAM: original Kingston 667.

Videocard Driver was updated.

Now only the BIOS has been left out and that is the part which I am scared to access: a BIOS upgrade. I got a lot of horror stories about that...

[webfact]

Replace the cable from the power socket to the server. When it starts to break down it may not do so until under load, so you might miss it. If it's not that then swap out the power supply.

Actually I suspect the UPS is the culprit. Its a Powercom "imperial series". Power management software installed. On self test no "blackouts" ! So I don't want to replace a 6000 Baht UPS only to realize it wasn't the culptit

[jeffer]

Check the manual but with a lot of Asus boards they have a method where you can update the BIOS over the internet, no need to use a floppy. First take a look when you start up your computer to find which number BIOS you have installed then check the Asus website to see the later versions available. Before installing anything read why each BIOS update was made. If you think the reasons aren't relevant to your system then don't update.

E6400? 

Brand and size of PSU?

Powercom Imperial 1500VA?

[jeffer]

http

://support.asus.com/download/download....p;model=P5NSLI

Take a look at the link above to see if anything of interest.

[webfact]

http

://support.asus.com/download/download....p;model=P5NSLI

Take a look at the link above to see if anything of interest.

Thanks Jeffer, maybe you can take a brief look into the attachment...

SYSTEM_SUMMARY3.htm

Edited March 7, 2009 by webfact

[jeffer]

The BIOS is the original one that came with the board. Have you had this board from new? It's really a board aimed at serious gamers so perhaps  a strange choice if you're not into games. If you have had it from new then it's probably not a BIOS problem as your CPU is an older model with few issues, same goes for your video card. If it worked okay up until now, then if it's not connected to your upgraded items it's going to be hard to tell where the problem lies. Check the manual to make sure you have the RAM installed in the correct slots. Try running with only 2GB installed also. 

http

://support.asus.com/technicaldocuments...Language=en-us

The EZ Flash method is what I've always used with a similar system to yours. It can take a few tries to get it to work as the Asus servers always seem overloaded. If it were me I would look at updating to 1702 but read the Asus site for all the information to see if you think it applies to you. Looks like you may need a floppy, been a while since I've updated my BIOS for a board around the same age as yours as there hasn't been anything of concern but your board was still getting updates late last year and not just for newer processors.

[stumonster]

EZflash will update your firmware in windows from the firmware you get from asus website - painless process.

[webfact]

Thanks guys, I'll give the BIOS update a try and hope it will work.

@ jeffer: when I got this computer built I mentioned I am NOT into gaming but graphic/design. Maybe the sales guy did not know what I mean...

I appreciate if you can tell me what kind of issues the video card might have.

[spacefruit]

As someone with the luxury of plenty of spares lying around and a complete lack of formal education, my experience of this problem was that the memory was at fault. I am afraid I didn't run any tests, just swapped components until I found what was wrong. In both cases it was a single stick of (new!) RAM. It is also true that my experience is on older chip sets than yours.

Personally I have never had to mess with the BIOS on anything, but that is because I am scared like you!

Good luck and let us know when you crack it.