[COLUG] Computer overheating

[David McGlone]

On Monday 03 September 2007 7:11:38 pm jep200404 wrote:
> David McGlone wrote:
> > My desktop computer keeps shutting down when anything too much
> > is done on it.
>
> Please define "anything too much is done".

Sorry about that. What I mean is say for instance using a couple applications 
simultaneously.

>
> > the system log says it is overheating.
>
> Open the case and touch things to feel how hot they are
> (while first making and maintaining contact with metal chassis):
>
>    The CPU heatsink
>    Other big chips such as northbridge or southbridge chips
>       (or their heatsinks)
>    memory modules
>    electrolytic capacitors
>
> Also, _look_ for bulged electrolytic capacitors.
>
>    http://www.altavista.com/web/results?q=domain%3Acolug.net+electrolytic

I stick my finger in and touch the heatsink, the north & southbridge and all 
other components and they are all cool to the touch. can't even tell they are 
even warm.

I've looked at all the capacitors and I see none of them bulging.
>
> Look at the heatsinks underneath the fans. Are they clogged with dust?

I have blown out the tower numerous times and applied new thermal paste on the 
cpu which did not seem to help.
>
> Look at all the fans. Do _all_ the fans spin? slow or fast?
> How do the fans sound? smooth or erratic (hoarse)?

the only time the fan spins is on startup, it doesn't make any noise out of 
the ordinary, it runs smooth and seems to be working just fine.

I started seeing this problem a long while back when I was using redhat. The 
problem with that is when I would go to install Redhat the computer would 
shutdown from overheating and I would have to open the case and direct a 
house fan into it in order to get anything installed. With SuSE I never had 
the problem. Then about a year ago, I switched to kubuntu and I again had to 
use the fan to get kubuntu installed. Ever since then it shuts down from 
overheating when It's used.

Another thing is when I did get redhat installed it would shutdown from 
overheating without even touching the computer and I asked the people on the 
redhat list and IIRC there was a solution which had something to do with 
cputemp or something like that wasn't working correctly and I had to stop the 
temperature module or something. (Mind you this was about 3 or 4 years ago.) 
I think with RH 7.

Also this never happened with SuSE which I used from Fedora's 1 day up until 
about a year ago. Even the big bloated YaST didn't overheat the computer.

Another thing, windows works just fine.

All this is what makes me think it's a software problem and not hardware.


-- 
David M.