Windows PC keeps restarting after ~1hr

Discussion in 'Tech Support' started by NuTech, 4 Oct 2012.

  1. NuTech

    NuTech Minimodder

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    I have a file server (read: small Win7 PC I keep running 24/7) that's developed a problem I'm struggling to troubleshoot.

    Roughly every hour the computer will restart without warning. As it reboots, I hear a single short beep, then POST as follows:

    Code:
    Asmedia 106X SATA Controller Ver 0.93 IDE Mode
    Copyright (C) Asmedia Technologies, Inc. All Rights resereved.
    S.M.A.R.T Supported
    Using PCIE Gen 2
    *long pause*


    Code:
    Asmedia 106X SATA Controller Ver 0.93 IDE Mode
    Copyright (C) Asmedia Technologies, Inc. All Rights resereved.
    S.M.A.R.T Supported
    Using PCIE Gen 2
    [B]Can't find any device[/B]
    
    *short pause*

    Code:
    Reboot and Select proper Boot device
    or Insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key_
    
    To get the machine to properly boot again, I have to disconnect the power. The computer then starts up and works without issue (until it reboots again within an hour).

    Unfortunately, there is zero warning or even a blue screen before the restart. I haven't installed any new software recently (aside from the standard weekly Windows Update).

    Any ideas where I should even begin to troubleshoot?

    Thanks.
     
  2. Tichinde

    Tichinde Minimodder

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    Tricky, and maybe impossible to diagnose properly.
    I assume you've disabled automatic reboots on BSOD?

    How old is the motherboard (or disk controller if it's seperate)?
    Can you identify which drives are connected to that controller and move them to another port perhaps? (I'm assuming you have more than 1 drive as it's a file server...)
     
  3. Deders

    Deders Modder

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    What Disks and what motherboard do you have?
     
  4. Tynecider

    Tynecider Since ZX81

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    I would sort the disks first, That's where the all important data sits.
    Either back up the data
    or
    If you have any spare working and tested disks, replace them with the current disks and continue with whatever process of elimination you go for.

    At least then if there is an early issue arising with the disks, your not going to accelerate it by powering them up and down.
     
  5. NuTech

    NuTech Minimodder

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    Thanks for the replies guys!

    So last night I went over the basics: opened the computer up, reseated all connectors (sata, power etc) and RAM.

    As the only drive on the Asmedia 106X 6Gb SATA Controller was the OS SSD, I upgraded the drive's (Crucial M4 64GB) firmware - the other HDD's are using the motherboard's native Intel SATA 3Gb controller.

    Something above seems to have fixed the problem - the computer has been running without fault for nearly 16 hours now.

    However I'm not going to take any chances (maybe I've just delayed the inevitable?), so as Tynecider suggested, I've started backing up important data and going to keep a close eye on the system for faults.

    So far I've checked SSD Life, which gave me an 'Excellent' result, and done a Windows Memory check (no issues) - do you guys recommend any other tools I should use to monitor the system?

    The computer is kept on a shelf (ventilated, but not greatly so) - here are the idle temps (it's hardly ever not idle), do they look okay?

    [​IMG]

    Thanks again!
     
  6. lancer778544

    lancer778544 Multimodder

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    It looks like the firmware update did it. Crucial had a problem with a firmware that after 5184 hours of on time, the drive would become unstable and restart every hour. More info here.
     
  7. Tynecider

    Tynecider Since ZX81

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    good to hear, nice one
     

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