Computer keeps restarting - any ideas?

Hello everyone,

Since my last thread here made great success in fixing my problem, I have decided to come back for more help! This time with a similar, but new problem

This is my last thread: https://photography-on-the.net …read.php?t=1134​362&page=2

Copy and pasted from the first thread as nothing has changed besides the PSU.

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System Information
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Time of this report: 1/6/2012, 22:53:11
Machine name: COMPUTER1
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.1106​22-1506)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: BIOS Date: 08/24/10 17:39:01 Ver: 08.00.15
Processor: AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1055T Processor (5 CPUs), ~3.3GHz
Memory: 16384MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 16374MB RAM
Page File: 2890MB used, 29857MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode
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Display Devices
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Card name: AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series
Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x6719)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_​6719&SUBSYS_20101787&R​EV_00
Display Memory: 1761 MB
Dedicated Memory: 2022 MB
Shared Memory: 3835 MB
Current Mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: L226W
Monitor Id: GSM566B
Native Mode: 1680 x 1050(p) (59.883Hz)
Output Type: DVI

Motherboard is a Asus M4A87TD Evo and the new PSU is a gaming Corsair GS700.

Last time the problem I had was that my computer would randomly turn off and refuse to turn back on unless I physically hit the on/off button on the back of the PSU and then turned it on. After replacing the power supply a new problem has arose.

This time, the computer is just randomly restarting. For the past while it would only do it under heavier loads such as running a new video game on highest graphics. I never had it restart with photoshop / lightroom / stiching panoramas. I assumed it was either the GPU acting up or something else. I had the graphics card replaced about 5-6 months ago since my last one died in warranty. Anything that required the video card ran at about 1FPS, produced about a million colors at once and turned my monitor into a disco. This problem does not mimic any of that.

I have thought that it might be over heating so I tried logging my cpu temp but every time it restarted it was no where near over heating, the number it restarted at was always a random digit. It also restarts instantly and starts running everything under load immediately without issue which usually doesn't hint a over heat as it would still be hot.

The event viewer only shows this as the error:

Event 41, Kernel-Power
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.

It sounds like I have another electrical gremlin in my PC somewhere Any suggestions?

Thanks!

take a look at scenario 3.

http://support.microso​ft.com/kb/2028504

if you have spare components, you can always swap out parts to make sure something is not defective.

Well the PC doesn't hard lock, it will restart and run perfectly fine. But as per scenarios 3 trouble shooting ...

Overclocking: Not over clocking anything
Check the memory: As per windows 7 dos memory checker, no problems reported
Power Supply: Has enough power as its a 700w and it will restart on a light load.
Overheating: Not overheating
Defaults: Reset settings to default in bios. Still random restart

If you see that the computer generates a Stop error that contains a BugcheckCode value that is not reported in an event ID 41, modify the restart behavior for the computer. To do this, follow these steps:

Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
Click Advanced system settings.
Click the Advanced tab.
In the Startup and Recovery section, click Settings.
Click to clear the Automatically restart check box.

I cleared that box a year ago but it doesn't actually flash a blue screen of death or anything. Just restarts automatically.

Get a new hard disk (or an old one), install the OS, new drivers, install just the basics you need and see if it still does it. If it does, it's probably hardware. If it doesn't, it's drivers.

You have checked all your drivers right?

ASUS boards with Realtek Audio are notorious for having problems. So in the future let me suggest EVGA which has a huge support community.

Be sure you have the latest Realtek driver which of course you wont get from ASUS as they rarely update driver lists. Then check the bios revision to be sure that is up to date. If neither is the issue your video card could be triggering TDR crashes. So if none of the above check for driver updates for that too. If all of that fails to fix it consider looking into updated firmware for your hard drives. For sure it's a driver related issue. The only real question is which driver for which device is triggering the error.

are you sure your power supply is working right? if it's failing under load i'd suspect power.

Right click on My Computer
Select Manage
Look at the system and application logs

Any clues?

I am an admin and have around 500pcs under supervision.
I have traced(, and still tracing,) all similar problems to faulty motherboards.

Do what i did:
1) Create partition and install your OS cleanly. Dont overwrite the old one!
2) install the basics.
3) stress-check the new OS.(free utils)

its a pain. i know.

Can you reproduce it with some consistency by opening the same programs or doing something specific?

With no obvious overheating, I tend to start with RAM. I see you have 16GB, so probably 4x4GB sticks. If youre comfortable inside a computer, take two out and see if the crash/restart still happens. If it does, swap the sticks and try again.