Various crashes/reboots in new building

[bluewhaleCA]

Hi. Our office moved from the building we have been in for 12 years to a brand new building last week. We have about 35 PC, half Dells and half systems we have built using ASUS MB's.

Since moving I've had half a dozen systems start crashing or rebooting without warning. Also my own, which is giving BSOD's suddenly.
The only thing which has changed is our physical location. Still using APC Smart Ups UPS's, same programs, same hardware.

As nothing else has changed, I started looking at the physical environment. In this new building the power stays at a fairly constant 121 Volts. I've spoken to the head electrician ( still on site finishing the building ) who suggested that it might be possible to lower the frequency of problems encountered if we moved the common ground out as far as possible from the outlets...this would allow any noise created by mechanical devices like compressors and motors more of an opportunity to die out before being tied into the outlets the PC's plug into..

Has anyone gone through this, or perhaps read about something like this? I also question the voltage, remembering that voltage of about 123+ caused problems in client systems 10 years ago. However one rarely encounters an instance where you can point with certainty toward the physical environment as the cause of problems thus the knowledge base is sparse on this.

Thanks for any thoughts.


Paul

 

[BadBigBen]

Hi there,

there might be another problem that you've encountered by the move to a newer building...

through the transportation it might be possible that cables, PCI cards, and/or MEM sticks have come loose and cause this prob that you are experiencing...

another thing I'm thinking might be that DUST knocked loose through the transport is shortening out the systems...

BEN

PS strange things occur in life... much stranger things when you add computers to the equation...

 

[edfair]

Input power switches on 115? They will run set at 220 if the voltage is a little high but change to a noisy environment and they crash.
Does it make a difference how many are plugged into the wall. Power is pulled at the peak of the cycle. Have had systems crash with copiers clipping the AC.
You might also get one of the outlet testers. Might show a ground open somewhere. Or something reversed.

And use of UPS is good, but they have problems with short duration sags. Takes a while to transfer power. Don't know if the full time backups are still available , but you might want to try one. Expensive , but good, if it is critical.

Ed Fair
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[bcastner]

Are there any event or Dr.Watson log entries for these BSODs?

I think BigBadBen's notion of loose boards and cables is more likely than the power issue; neither noise or 121 volts is particularly problematic with a relatively modern workstation power supplies. They are incredibly tolerant.

If using XP, Start, Run, eventvwr.msc and look at the System logs for a better explanation of the BSODs.

For other Windows versions enable Dr.Watson and then check the logs.

 

[ceh4702]

Might invest in a few cans of compressed air and see if they need to be cleaned up. Dust can accumulate quite a bit. You might have more dust in the air there.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[ceh4702]

Moving computers around can damage hard drives, and cause IO cards to come lose and that sort of thing.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[Pharaohseti]

If the only thing that changed was the physical location adn you can't find anything external as the problem I would have to agree that it's a "physical" problem. Try shutting down the problem machines and resetting the cables and anything else that might have moved during the change of location.

Jesus is still LORD

 

[bluewhaleCA]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. For some reason, TekTips has stopped notifying me via email even tho I have it marked for notification and my email address is correct/has not changed.

Power has been confirmed since posting on one machine ( the Co President, of course <g> ). When heavy power tools are being used near his office by the construction workers finishing up the building his system crashed a couple of times when the tool was started. It Could have been coincidence, however once they moved on to another part of the building the problem ceased.

Three of the others look to have been loose cards or memory.. the sole exception is my own unit. however it has not crashed in 5 days so things are looking better.

Thanks again for the ideas.


Paul

 

[BadBigBen]

Hi there BluewhaleCA, glad to hear that you've found the probs (at least most of them)...

Yes, heavy use of electricity can cause pulsation in the powerlines, while most equipment (like TV's, vacuum cleaners, microwaves, coffeemakers, etc) will function normally, computers are a bit more sensitive to spiking of the line... BUT (there's always a but somewhere even if its just a beer) I've not heard this being a problem while using UPS...

Ben

PS thnx for posting back, it gives us insight as to what was wrong and how it was fixed... One never stops learning in life...