Crash at high CPU usage

Question

My machine seems to die whenever the CPU does any large amount of work. This is like running a few programs and transferring files. I didn't have any issues with XP.

I didn't install any Mobo drivers, could that be a problem??
Any thoughts would help!

Hardware :

CPU : AMD 3700+ ATHLON 64 939P RT 2.20 gigahertz
Mobo : MSI K8NGM2-FID GF6150 939
RAM : 2 x 512mb of DDR 400 ram
Video Card : MSI N9500GT-MD512M
HD : Maxtor 200gb SATA + WD Green 2TB SATA

Updated : When the machine does shut off, the power light does a slow blink. To turn it back on, I have turn the power supply off for a bit and/or pull the power cord out until the light turns off.

die meaning what? it shuts down? it overheats? it coughs, spits and collapses? what does it do? — RolandiXor, Jan 27 '11 at 18:38
have you tried to clean up your fans? dust can kill any machine regardless of the OS, also it can be failing hardware... — Uri Herrera, Jan 27 '11 at 20:08
Indeed. My old desktop computer showed random strange behavior, and the day arrived when it would even hang after starting it up. I opened the case and blowed the dust out of it and carefully cleaned the fans. After doing that, the computer worked normally. — Lekensteyn, Jan 27 '11 at 20:19
Hell I even had the dust issue with my old PlayStation 2. Brothers saw me as mr techy for fixing it and all I did was clean it up :P — Ward Muylaert, Jan 27 '11 at 20:23
I wonder if the power supply is being overtaxed and shutting down. — jwernerny, Jan 28 '11 at 13:40

score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited Jan 28 '11 at 09:06

0

Install lm-sensors to see the temperatures. See issue 43 of Full Circle Magazine, the Q&A section.

edited Jan 28 '11 at 09:06

Jeff Atwood

806

answered Jan 27 '11 at 21:50

I have a temperature readout on my case, it's not reporting anything crazy. But I'll install the Im-sensors tonight. – DjFarout Jan 27 '11 at 22:05
So, tracking the temp and tweeking it helped. Also the system is in a MicroATX case and the mobo was off it's tracks. I'm not sure which fixed it, but its working now! – DjFarout Feb 01 '11 at 16:40
Link no longer works. – Karel Bílek Nov 14 '16 at 11:03

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:23

0

If you need to throttle the CPU usage of a game for example, you can use cpulimit. See Can I limit the CPU usage of a single application? I had to do this with a game called Tibia which is a CPU hog on Ubuntu, its now limited to 50% CPU with cpulimit.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:23

Community

1

answered Jan 28 '11 at 01:33

deleted

2,479

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 01 '13 at 17:05

Additionally - you can try installing CPULIMIT and control the beast's cpu consumption. I had this problem with my DELL N5010 & I couldn't do anything with the fan speed. Installed CPULIMIT and throttled the Video conversion utility. I am able to get things done without my Laptop crashing - though, the speed is compromised. Well - I guess it is about to be the case - and better than looking for a fan replacement (or whatever else).

Crash at high CPU usage

3 Answers3