Overheating processor
 

Anyone else experience their PC shutting down whilst trying to do processor intensive stuff like encoding? Its happening a lot to me recently (on my laptop here) and I have been wondering why,

I have it fully ventilated.

Any ideas?

Hi fingerbob,

Could be a virus :!:
Have you ran an antivirus scan lately :?:
http://www.free-av.com :idea:

-kwag

Laptops are not really meant for 100% CPU load all the time as the circulation of air is not very good in most models. They tend to overheat quite easily.

Is the laptop's bottom very hot? It might be a good idea to get some room between the laptop and the surface it is placed on.

The BIOS might also have some settings for throttling the CPU slightly when a certain temperature threshold is reached. It would make the encoding a little slower but probably would prevent the shutdowns.

[qoute]Any ideas?[/quote]

fingerbob,
if you're using athlons try vcool :
http://vcool.occludo.net/

i'm using 1.8 beta 10 from months and now the cpu temper here is
28C=82F ...and i live in Brasil(very hot)
encoding with CCE that want the max from cpu go to 52C.

one of the best programs that i use and is totaly free!

Sorry guys, virus check is clean and I have the back end of my laptop propped up to assist air-flow. guess its just the temperature of the room it's in - or maybe my P4 2.4 can work too hard for the cooler to cope with.

I like the second choice - its like taking a positive from a negative. :P

@fingerbob,

Run a memory test using memtest86 for weak or bad chips. My
desktop would reboot in the middle of a task without any warning.
I traced the problem to a weak chip. I've had no problems when
it was replaced. :wink:

-BP

This problem has now reached the point for me where any encoding I do at all will result in the laptop resetting at some point during the encode. :cry:

Its clean of virii, its well ventilated but the back of it gets really quite warm.

I hope I don't have to invest in a brand new PC to carry on with KVCD. Can someone (blackprince?) explain where to find this memtest86 program and how I might use it?

Any other solutions are most welcome. Even something that'd let the laptop tell me 'hey, I'm getting too warm here'

yes fingerbob, it can be memory problems.
Memtest86 3.2 Release (11/Nov/2004)

http://www.memtest86.com/

test round 4 hours but the best test for memory problem is encode with CCE, this encoder is hungry for all memory.

you can run prime 95 for windows too: http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

inside the laptop don't have heavy dust? have any easy way to clean?

I recommend that you try to run Prime95 in torture test mode. It will tell you quite fast whether the heat is the problem as the test will produce an error message usually before the temperature gets so high that the machine reboots.

I had this problem too, I think related with its ATI graphic card.

How's so?

I'd also recommend checking the possibility in BIOS to throttle the CPU speed when a threshold temperature is reached.

When trying to use memtest86 it would just keep shutting down during the second test (of about 8.). Checked the site for known issues and read the following:-

So thanks for the hint about memtest86 - it looks like a neat program - it just won't work for me.

I'll now give Prime95 a go and report back....

@ Boulder can you explain how you would throttle the CPU speed in BIOS? Thats a little too technical for me. :roll:

@fingerbob,

I wouldn't give up on MemTest86 so quickly. I have 3 memory slots on my
motherboard. When I first tried this test my PC rebooted during
the memory test after 10 minutes. I checked the Documentation
for Memtest86 and tried their suggestions. I removed all memory
except one and tested them one at a time. The third memory stick
was the problem and keep rebooting during this test. I replaced
this memory and have never had a problem since. Another interesting
problem is some PC's with a heat sensor intergrated with the system
fan. This could cause a shutdown when it is not operating or senses
over heating. This shutdown protects the processor. Check your processor
and/or chassie fan. They could be the issue.

-BP

great hints black prince, one by one is easy to find! 8)

@ fingerbob,
i forgot to ask: you don't "overclock" the cpu, right?

Thanks for the help blackprince & jeo.

I did notice that memtest86 always shutdown the pc at the exact same point (~70% into test 2). 8O

I'd gladly test each memory individually. The problem I have there is that I can't get at it. :roll: Have a look at this link. http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/advent/faq/laptop/7011.htm

I've tried to lift my keyboard as per the guide at the bottom of the page, but its far too fiddly for me :( . I really want to upgrade to 1Gb of RAM. If there was a duff chip in there too I'd love to replace it.

but don't seems so hard to do that fingerbob.
the pictures are horribles but save all as bmp and zoom in paint to see details.
remember, always remove the battery and wait one or two minutes for general discharge before do anything inside the pc.
hint: never use a hammer :lol:
to remove the keyboard need a little pression, but it's not hard!
remeber to remove all dust inside too using some "vac" machine or little air pressure with one soft brush before and after change the memory.

you can do it easily, don't be afraid! :wink:

:oops: Well I guess I have an apology to make. :oops:

After my last post, I was getting really fed up with the laptop constantly resetting. Just by chance, I decided to blow into the air vent at the rear. To my surprise, a load of dust came out when I blew in. I blew several times and there was a fair bit of dust.

I then restarted the laptop and ran memtest86. It got past the ~70% mark on test 2 :P and continued without problems for over an hour (3 passes without error). I dunno how many passes it does but I didn't want to wait any longer.

I also tried an encode. On a file I was previously getting 9 FPS using FreeEnc . But now since clearing out the dust, it was averaging 18 FPS AND it doesn't sound like an old man huffing and puffing! :lol:

Jeo, I have to thank you - you've given me encouragement to upgrade my RAM. Its certainly cheaper to do that than to buy a new PC. Just one question though....Should I use a special piece of equipment to lift the keyboard? I mean, all I have that fits in the gap is a knife and that's not a good idea :roll:

is a pleasure to help and i'm happy with that good result. :wink:

a knife to remove the keyboard? no, change for some robust/soft plastic object.no use metals or seamless, nothing laminate and/or sharp....they are coductives and plastics are electric insulators. initially need some pressure to remove but after the remove the first from 3 "sprung clips",you will see that is not so hard. initial "scare" and inibitions is natural doing somethig that we never did before...treat the keyboard like a baby.
another hint: a knife can kill the pc, don't do that. :lol:

stay calm, don't need faster( i need to listen my own recomendation :roll: ).
:wink:

Looks like the CPU was already being throttled :wink: