2015-02-26 09:02:37 (edited by cx2 2015-02-26 09:14:57)

I was wondering if anyone here has heard of such an issue. For a while now my self built desktop has on occasion rebooted around the point where I would anticipate the power on self test has just finished, but it started fine the second time. However just a few minutes ago it got stuck in a loop where it was doing this repeatedly, and when it had got past it I had no sound so had no idea whether Windows had booted or not. Several tries later I finally got into windows to find Jaws insisting the computer needed reauthorizing and one of the fans seemed stuck on full bore, it was fairly high pitched so I suspect it was the graphics card fan. A reb oot fixed the fan stuck on full power but Jaws kept insisting it had no authorisation, an issue I've come across on occasion in the past, but turning it off for a minute or two fixed this like it has done previously. Of course I am concerned this is a sign of a deeper underlieing problem so that's why I'm asking here.

Part of the trouble is it doesn't happen often so I can't ask someone sighted to see what happens on the screen, I just can't cause it to happen on command. Any thoughts are welcome.

Edit:
It seems particularly persistent today. In case it matters I'm running win 7 64 bit and Jaws 13, I know my hard drives are connected because it does boot properly some of the time and I'm using an SSD as my primary.

cx2
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2015-02-26 14:50:27

This problem also occurred to my computer. It was a desktop not a laptop. The only think I did was just pressing the power button which makes the computer restart, and as far as I can remember, after doing it two or three times, the problem was gone, but this doesn't mean that the problem might not occur again. What do you think checking the audio drivers?

2015-02-26 16:54:22

My first thoughts are overheating power supply, ssd failure, which is not impossible by the way, or a failing motherboard. Sorry for the grim forcast, but this stuff happens to folks all the time.

2015-02-26 20:46:45

I think I've figured it out, I was having issues with my CPU cooler. I only hope I caught it in time before it did any long term damage to my processor or motherboard.

cx2
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To live by honour and to honour life, these are our greatest strengths and our best hopes.

2015-02-26 20:56:02

Hi cx2
I have this on my brother's i3.
Either the board or the power supply itself could be on the blink.
or the cmos battery.
What I'd do is clean the dust out the system.
Clean all the components, and clean all the dust with compressed air either with a compresser or something or whatever.
I'd also clean the heatsinc with the compressed air and regrease the sync.
I'd also check all fans are spinning as I have known to have fans stuck.
I'd reseat the cmos battery or even replace it.
I'd check the bios smart info I assume you can see to build your own system.
I'd also run pcpitstop, from what you are telling me it sounds like the board or cpu may be out.
I was able to however after removing and cleaning all fans and such clean the  cpu and other things and blow the dust out the back.
I then cleaned the sync and removed and regreased the sync.
The issue is still there but its greatly reduced.
The other thing I suggest is getting something like motherboard moniter and monitoring the temperatures, maybe there is a fan failier in the system and things are going way hot.
As ffor activations is this spreading beyond jaws.
If cards are doing strange things or failing to start it does sound like a failing component, the main board or processer.
I have had graphics cards and tv cards fail on occation.
At any rate regrease the heatsync check and if needed replace all fans and regerase all syncs and clean your dust and it may work.
I did this and the system has not crashed though that doesn't mean there isn't still a problem with my power supply.
I'd also suggest to not hibernate or sleep the system to minimise stress on standbuy and to remove unnecessary programs from loading.
How old is your system?
It could be time to replace it.
Systems to get dusty from being used naturally.
The systems here including my laptop and the 2 desktop workstations are used daily sometimes they crunch numbers all night.
I had an old amd system run for 6 years doing various things before a card cooked itself and that was with 24 hour use.

2015-02-26 21:24:09

Thanks for the suggestions but like I said it turns out it was the CPU fan. The system's not that old, it's an Ivybridge I7 so losing it now would hurt especially since money is really tight.

Just as a note, no I can't see the bios info since I can't see anything. I needed sighted help to finish the build, but only as far as connecting up the front panel power/LED connectors and getting windows running.

cx2
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To live by honour and to honour life, these are our greatest strengths and our best hopes.

2015-02-26 22:51:41

I am having a similar issue with my windows 8 laptop that is about 2 years old.
A lot of the time, when I shut my computer completely down and turn it back on, or when it is restarting, it will just shut off in the middle of restarting. When I turn it back on it will be on for 10 or 15 seconds and then just turn off again. I have to turn it on like 5 or 6 times before it actually boots up properly. Because of this I put my computer on standby when i'm not using it for short periods of time.
I've also noticed that after a very short time of using it, it feels extremely hot, and the fan is also constantly on and extremely loud. Do you guys think it's a fan issue or something more serious? I can't figure out why my computer is constantly turning off when I try to turn it on, so I always leave it on standby.

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2015-02-26 23:42:45

I need to know, Briant: Does your computer shut down after 3 restart cycles in a row? Most laptops will do that after three reboots because it gets fed up with constant rebooting.
Also, remember: If your CPU cooler is screwed up or is not working properly, you have 30 seconds to shut down your computer before your processor melts.

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2015-02-27 09:28:32

Mine was on for more than 30 seconds before I realised the fan was a problem, turns out the blades were stuck on the fan's power wire. Unfortunately since then I've found my processor temperature going up to the 70 degrees region just with light web browsing for an hour or so. I'm probably going to replace the CPU cooler but I'm concerned if it might be something wrong with the processor since its overheating previously making its temperature rise, I'm loathed to spend the money on a new cooler if it won't help but I don't see any other way to find out.

cx2
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To live by honour and to honour life, these are our greatest strengths and our best hopes.

2015-02-27 14:45:30 (edited by afrim 2015-02-27 14:47:54)

CX2, I’d recommend replacing both the CPU cooler and the fan in the very back part of the computer. I assume it won’t cost a lot. I did the same about two months ago. I had noticed this problem on my computer earlier, and I knew a technique how to make it work well. However when I was at school, my father turned the computer on, and the CPU fan didn’t start at all. He wached a film for an hour or more and soon he smelled a bad aroma given off by the computer. Well he didn’t do anything but just turned the computer off and unplugged it. about two hours ago I tried turning it on but windows didn’t start. The welcome screen didn’t ever show. It showed only the specifications of the computer and the option to restart the computer. I pressed ctrl+alt+delete, but nothing would change. So I sent it to a service and they told me they need to leave it in that position for two hours. They also reported that the harddisk could be hardly damaged by this problem. They replaced the Fan and now everything works good. But the fan it’s not expensive, I bought it for only 7 dollars. My laptop had the same problem and when the fan didn’t start working, the computer wouldn’t turn on. So my recommendation is to check your computer frequently, especially if it’s under long usage. Also the man, who worked to that service I sent the computer, told me there’s a spray which helps the fan work better.