Subject: System Problem: PC Shutting Down
From: "rcm" <rcm711@hotmail.com>
Date: 31/07/2003, 15:03
Newsgroups: alt.sci.seti

I have 4 PCs running SETI with the CLI client (3.03), SETIDriver and
SETISpy. They 4 systems ran stable all the time.  One is my main PC, one is
my son's, two are drones on their own running SETI off a single monitor and
switchbox.  One is a PCChips motherboard P3 750, the other I don't remember
brand P3 800 overclocked to 810.  These have been running forever stable.
All run Win98SE.

The problem is with the P3 800.  I come back to the PCs once in a while to
find it powered off, shutdown.  At least daily, if not twice.  What is
strange is that the PC seems to have shutdown nicely.  On rebooting, there
is no scandisk run checking the hard drive, it just boots to Win98SE and
starts SETI.  And when it starts SETI, the WU is always new, no more than 1
%, often 0% or 0.34%, etc.  It had barely started a new WU.  I check the
SETISpy Log and the last WU recorded is at 100% or 99.xx% showing it had
completed.  It seems to shutdown automatically at the start of a new work
unit.  And sometimes it will run through 2 wu's before doing this.

I have stopped overclocking the PC now and the same thing is happening.
There has been a heatwave here so it has been hot but the unit is in the
basement and it is cooler down there, no 30+ C degrees there.  I check the
temperature once in a while turning on the monitoring software (I keep it
off as it makes a WU take 3 times as long)and it is running 52 to 58 C
degrees which is okay.  The unit starts at 42-44 on cold boot.

I thought it might be the KVM Switchbox, so I leave it on to the P3 800 but
the screen is dead when I check on it and the other P3 750 is accessible on
the switchbox.

The P3 800 in trouble has barebones Win98 on it.  Nothing else except Win98
updates, CLI, SETISpy, SETI DRiver.  I don't surf with it other than an
occasional check of SETI stats from the feature built into SETISpy.

What is perplexing me is that it shutdown when a full WU has been completed
and a new one started.  This may be a mere coincidence or a clue to the
problem.  I was thinking it was having problems updating the SETI stats at
the end of a WU and getting a new WU (Cache of 2 on the SETIDriver).  And it
does not seem to have crashed as it does not do a hard disk scandisk on
reboot.  because I run 3 other PCs, I don't know if the WU has been recorded
and updated at SETI.  I would assume so since I did not see a large drop in
my stats.  Other than the 1 WU I loose because the PC is down.  I seem to be
getting the ones done in my stats.

Any help on this problem.  This was my fastest PC, turning out a WU in 7-8
hours. Now I loose a WU or more per day.  It is frustrating.  Any
suggestions?  right now I am trying to be there when a WU completes and
physically monitor the PC to see what occurs if anything.

Any suggestions on how to trace, to log the PC, to see what happened.  I
would try to use a WU near completion and log in the last hour of completion
hoping to catch the problem.