Acer 8940g Random Restarts even in Idle Mode

Hello guys, i would like to ask for help from some pro experts as this problem is driving me crazy. I have tried everything and still don't get with the problem...

I have an Acer Aspire 8940g Laptop, changed everything and refurbished this laptop by myself. Everything is new, except the motherboard, which is the original one.

Laptop specs : i7 720QM
120GB Samsung Evo 850 ( Use for Operating System )
1000GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 rpm HDD ( used as second HDD to keep my own things )
4GB RAM So-dimm 1333Mhz
AMD Dell Firepro M4000 Graphics Card 1GB RAM DDR5 ( with Dell Bios works perfect in Acer )
Windows 7 Home Basic 64bit

I build this laptop back in 2015 and sience then was working perfect. Like 2 months ago it start to suddenly restard by itself, random restarts even in idle mode.

Everything works ok and no restarts in Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking. I tried everything :
- New Memory Sticks ( Didn't fix the problem )
- Another SSD ( Didn't fix the problem )
- Another Power Cable with another charged ( Didn't fix the problem )
- Replace the VGA ( Didn't fix the problem )
- Updated all my drivers, still didn't fix the problem

Like 1 week ago , the random restarts became more frecuently, after 2 or 3 minutes... Like i said, i can't get it to restart in Safe Mode, even if it's been running for 3 days with no crash . I am out of ideas, any opinions ??

An answer is highly apreciated, thank you

 

Did you reinstall Windows by any chance?

 

Yes, i re-install Windows again and is restarting by himself even on the Windows setup configuration screen, or if by any chance i manage to succesfully install Windows , after 3-5min the random restarts came back... All of this makes me thing that maybe the motherboard is dying ...

 

Yeah I think you are right unfortunately. The board is the only thing left that could be failing.

 

My question is why a motherboard fail ? If it's been used in proper conditions, always with 4 fans under... strange thing ...

 

Over time moisture can get into the computer and corrode the solder, causing it to not supply the correct voltage to certain components. Either that or the solder can crack completely (a lot more common now than older machines which had proper lead solder). You might be able to get a board repair shop to fix it, but if you can find a board for a low price then go for that and keep the old one for spares.

 

Hmm....i've read that some people said something about the Processor voltage... Something about speedstep or something like that available on 1st gen i7 processors.. somehow everytime when the processor is change is voltage, the motherboard is not able to keep up due to bad capacitors and that how the sudden restarts occur, even in idle mode...

I've found a mobo for 100 € on ebay and i found a whole working laptop 8940g with Nvidia GTS 250M for 250€... i think i'll go for that one, use the mobo from it and replacing my motherboard and put an Aspire 8942g mobo back to it and sell it... I have 2 Laptops 8940g ( with dedicated VGA ) and 1 spare mobo for 8942g... ( back in time i didn't know 8942g has a soldered VGA on the mobo ).

I'll keep you guys updated if the restarts occur again after replacing the motherboard with the other one. Thank you for your time mate

 

Does your BIOS log any messages? While my random restarts (on a Dell laptop) were not resolved using the content of it's BIOS error logs (they reported a symptom, rather than the causes), it still may be of help to you.

 

It dosen't report any errors on BIOS... it's a strange thing thougj, that's why i ask for help on the forum as it driving me crazy as i can't get with the problem of this random restarts, now at 3-4min a restart occur

 

In mine, one of the main causes was a faulty battery that caused some sensor to report an overheat (even without an actual overheat). Removing the battery confirmed the issue. It's part of a standard diagnosis. Remove everything, and start adding in parts one by one. Your safe mode success indicates the core system is stable, but some peripheral is causing an instability.

 

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Jeremy, replacing the BIOS baterry didn't fix the problem... guess the mobo is causing all of this chaos... I'll wait for the other 8940g to arrived and try to change the motherboard and see if this will fix the problem...

 

Just a little update, i have received the other 8940g i bought second hand from a local guy in my town. Remove the mobo from the one i bought it and replace my old motherboard that i guess it waas the problem for the random restarts...

So far, no restars at all and i'm running the laptop for like 3 days with no restarts at all... i guess it was the motherboard that was dying... will try to assemble again the other laptop with the old motherboard and see if it keep restarting...

PS : Does anyone know if the Acer 8940g can run on 1333Mhz RAM ? Right now i'm running on 2x2GB 1066Mhz and i would like to upgrade to 2x4GB 1333Mhz RAM Modules.

Thank you

 

The CPU supports DDR3 1066/1333 so, it should run at 1333Mhz if all the RAM modules/sticks support 1333Mhz or faster.

 

Thanks senso, i just order the 2x4GB Kingston 1333Mhz SODIMM from ebay... will wait for the RAM to arrive and install them in my laptop. By the way, the latest Official BIOS for this model is 3117 right ?

 

Yep , that's the latest Official Bios version .