Topic: voltage diagnosis

[messydesk]

I am using "PC Alert 4" to figure out why my computer is freezing, whenever I do any video rendering the voltage meter on the far right of  "PC Alert" begins to go haywire with alert just before the crash, Problem is i am a newb and don't understand what the voltage meter is indicating,

the meter shows a graph with 10.0 at the bottom and 13.0 at the top, underneath the graph it says +12V,  my reading at normal computing is 12.9 ish, and when I start to render something my reading jumps to well above 13, the alarms go off and then I get the crash.

Could someone explain what the voltage meter represents and what problem it is indicating?

Thanks all!
-Dave

[Simon]

Hi Dave, and  

I'm no expert, but I'm wondering if perhaps the voltage meter is a bit "too much information".   Usually, this sort of thing (freezing when rendering images) turns out to be a problem with the graphics card, which may need a) updated drivers, b) removing and reseating, or at worst, c) replacing.  It could also be a problem with the program you are using for the video rendering.  Does the PC only freeze when attempting one particular task?  How much of a "newb" are you?  Have I lost you already?  Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of the problem somehow.

[sam]

the volt meter is probably not telling you anything more than the voltage supply to your motherboard from the powersupply. Take a look at simon suggests. Oh and the voltage should be pretty constant, if not - either the program isnt working correctly or you could possibly have a dodgy power connection / psu.

[messydesk]

Hey there,
In terms of beinga newb, I have a great handle on some things, but not so hot on others, but I learn quickly.
thanks for the responses so far,
I just reformatted my drive, (it was freezing before the reformat and had been a while so I thought this might help) and it is still freezing now, It seems to be mostly when rendering video in several different programs, But last night in my quest to fix the problem and find a god rice pudding recepie I had several explorer windows open and winamp, and the screen flashed off, falshed on with a bunch of wonderful colors and random shapes all over, flashed off, flashed on with a screen somewhat resmbling my desktop, the flashed off...repeated the process once and then reset itself. I haven't updated my video drivers, so I'll do that next,  

then I'll go for a remove and reseating of the video card during my next power down,
any other ways to diagnose if it is the Power supply or the video card easily(yeah right....cause anything is easy.)

regards
dave

[Simon]

Well, it sounds, from what you have said, like something protesting when being fully utilised - when you check your graphics card, make sure, if it has it's own fan, that this is working, as it could be an overheating problem.  Also check that the processor fan is still working, while you're in there, as I suppose this could also be a symptom of the CPU overheating, when under load.

If the freezing was there before and after your reformat, then this does point more towards a hardware problem, unless you have just been unlucky with a piece of software you have reloaded after the format.

I don't know of an easy way to disgnose a power supply problem, other then trying another one, but as I first said, I'm no expert.