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computer shuts down randomly
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Posted by: chagourypatrick
I have P3 intel 800mhz computer.
the computer started to deteriorate recently. I walked into the room and found my computer was off. I had left it on. I turned it back on and it went on. Then i left again and came back in and found it off! The problem started to get worse as time passed. It would start to shut down at random times. For example after boot up, or after loading windows. Sooner or later when it would shut down I would push the power button again and no response. It wouldn't start up! The only way to get it back up is to unplug the power cord from my power supply wait 10 seconds and plug it back in then power up my computer normally. Again it would shut down and the only way to get it on is unpluggin and replugging. Time passed and the problem got worse. The computer would start for 10 seconds and go off, and the time spent on started getttin smaler and smaller.5 seconds. Recall the only way to get it on is to unplug the cord and replug. SO it was time to get some parts. I tried different RAM's, still the same problem. I unplugged the RAM and the computer stayed on but nothing except beeping which is normal for no Ram. SO the RAM and power supply can't be the problem as I will show u later. I bought a new Power supply and still the same problem. THe cpu isn't overheating cuz i managed to check that recently on the bios. 50 degrees Celsius. I tried to boot up without the hard drive and with some other parts intact and others off..but still the same problem. sometimes the computer would stay on with a part off but no response on the screen and sometimes it would stay on for 2 seconds and so it went. Recently i move some pins around in my mobo and i got something after having tried parts and so on. My computer booted! So i booted with cdrom and quickly formatted my computer using a windows xp home cd. The installation and format were a success, I was so happy until After having started to run the new copy of windows the computer shut down again for no reason!!! I had to remove the power cord again from the ps and replug it in to get the computer going! This time the welcome to windows screeen showed up and the computer shut down! I didn't get into windows to see what's wrong. I unplugged and replugged again. this time I kept the windows cd in the cdrom and i started....this time the computer went into windows but after a about 10 minutes in the computer went off again, this time it went off after I connected to the internet and oopened explorer. but i did that in the last boot up and it didn't go offf!
so i left my pc there on the desk and stared at it. !!
I left it till the moring. come the morning plugged in the power and the computer gave me about 10 seconds of life...booted and all but then went off!!!
it seems to stay on longer when its a bit warmed up.... ahhhhhhhhhhh its killin mee!!!!!!!!
someone please help. And please don't tell me its a hardware problem cuz i'm certain its not...it can't be software cuz i formated my disk! its can't be harddrive cuz i ran windows and i ran a few programs ...
oh yeah another thing... the computer stays on and I can do whatever I want if I can get it into safe mode.. no problem there ...but in normal mode it gives me problems !!!! HELPP!!
thx to whoever can solve this problem you are a genious!!
Posted by: redwench
remove all devices except the hard drive and video card. in the bios, disable power management/atapi. as soon as you can get it into safe mode, start running virus scans. also start disabling various xp services.
Posted by: daii
you will have to leave the ram in as well
Posted by: redwench
since ram isnt a device, I think that would be assumed.
Posted by: chagourypatrick
the computer still going on for a while then off with only the hard drive plugged in. should i give power to the cdrom and floppy disks from power supply?
Posted by: chagourypatrick
i don't get why i have to run virus scan when i have already installed a new os with a formatted disk...
and why does the computer not come back on only until i have removed the power source from the power supply for a few seconds and repluged it.
Posted by: chagourypatrick
when i move a few pins around to different locations on the mobo the computer stays on but does not boot up....
Posted by: redwench
it does rule them out as the problem. but unless you need them for something, leave them. you really need to get to safe mode to try to fix this if its a software issue, which it may or may not be.
if you have your computer set to reboot on error, turn it off.
now, you say you tried formatting and installing, with no long term improvements. did you repartition before reformating?
Posted by: chagourypatrick
no i didn't repartition...
Posted by: chagourypatrick
this thing is booting up and then going off now!!!!!
Posted by: mbjorn
Patrick (or others) -- was this issue resolved? If so, please share the details since I'm having the exact same problem....turn it on and it shuts down in about 5 or 10 minutes. No warning, no nothing. Doesn't appear to be overheating and it doesn't "feel" like software. In reviewing your original post below, you've described my symptoms to a T.
Posted by: Nervious
Please help!!...I'm having the same exact problem!!...anybody?!
Posted by: Mofongo
Just last week my computer started doing the same thing: complete instant power off with no warning. Then it will not turn back on until I unplug and replug it. All of my temperatures are *well* within operating limits (CPU temp is something like 45c).
A couple of things I have noticed: The first is that this only seems to happen during the first 10 minutes when I turn it on for the first time that day. I have noticed that if I manage to keep it on for at least 10 minutes it never (so far) shuts down on its own.
Secondly, my power supply (450W RealPC...got it cheap and manufacturer now defunct) has a user-selectable fan speed (for its internal fans). Right now, it's on low. If I set it to medium or high, the system is barely on 5 seconds before it shuts down.
Third, it shuts down both in Linux and XP, so it's not a software issue.
4th, I have had the machine for over a year and it just started doing this last week, and I have not upgraded or changed hardware on it in almost that long of a time, so I doubt it's BIOS related.
All of this leads me to believe that it is the power supply that is the problem. I don't see how anything else would be affected by switching the fan speed of the PSU. On another system, I had the problem where if the machine were powered off, it would not turn back on again for something like 10 minutes. This was due to a bad standby voltage from the PSU and was replaced (in that case) under warranty. Apparently that particular model had that problem frequently.
Because mine also does not turn back on after powering itself off, this lends further credence to the theory that it may be the PSU.
Posted by: redwench
it the temperatures are normal, then its the psu or motherboard.
Posted by: Lancetb11
Well try this, download from my site this tool, which must be unzipped then transferred onto floppy, floppy must be formatted and label it GDisk. Download from http://geocities.com/openlance/GDisk.zip you must also have your boot sequence set to:
1st) Floppy
2nd) CD-ROM/DVD-ROM
3) Hard Drive.
Note that this disk wipes your hard drive securely and is non-recoverable. Once your computer restarts after the wipe of your MBR and any OS that was current remove the floppy and make sure your windows CD is inserted. Then setup Windows if possible.
Once windows is installed reply and tell me what happens if it works so far.
Also you may want to make your own Windows CD, say you had XP, copy the SP files (SP2) to the Cd your gonna burn, also place an Anti-Virus program in the support folder and name it accordingly like NAV2003 for Norton AntiVirus 2003 etc. Chuck in other programs which are essential like a firewall, drivers maybe and that sort. You must make this CD a bootable type of Disk. Also use Nero Burning Rom the latest editiion to recieve the best result of this burnt cd, oh n this is legal, Microsoft claim you may make one copy of windows cd for backup purposes and SP2 is included in the legal clause and have said u may make copies of Sp2 to make it more available e.g burn it for friends who cant get Sp2 yet. If you cant burn the cd on your pc find someone who can. It best to use a cd-rw disc, because every time a new critical update comes and so on you can add it without needing to go to windows updates, also include the wpa.dbl if you only want it to work on your pc and make a secure cd, oh n finally add the xpboot.bin file to the root of the cd. Ill be adding full instructions for the new XP cd mod at my site http://geocities.com/openlance within the next week.
Posted by: Lomeront
I am having the same problem my computer shuting down out of the blue. I have replaced my power supply and I cant even do a format on my hard drive. I have no Idea how to fix it. I am going to try the company that makes my motherborad unless one of you know how to fix it. my computer has a Sata and a ide hard drive 1g of memory dual chanle a GeForce FX 5200 from PNY. The motherboard is a Landparty Searies from DFI. The cpu is a 2600 AMD athlon XP with a 333 FSB.
Posted by: zorg
Lomerot you might have a virus, if it just restarts for no reason it could be, get a virus proggie with the latest updates and scan.
Posted by: Lomeront
I was runing nortan antivirus corpret edition and had done a full system scan and nothing came up. but if you think it is a vires please tell me how I shod scan my computer and it also is restarting on a format for a fresh instalation of windows
Posted by: dcaldharma
Dear Open Tech Support community,
Thank you so much for this series of posts and replies on computers that shut down randomly, boot up and shut down, etc. My husband has been experiencing this problem with his computer for several years. Last week he had to replace the hard drive because the computer would not boot up without immediately shutting down and the hard drive could not be partitioned for reformatting. Even with a new hard drive, however, the problem reappeared. After reading the posts on this page we considered several alternative possible explanations for the problem. Because he had long ago replaced the power supply and installed extra ram both of these became suspect. So - he removed the extra ram and the computer is now running perfectly. Of course the problem may reappear, but because we remember that the problems began right after installing the ram, we think that this is indeed the problem. Perhaps one of those ram cards is defective. Perhaps it is simply not able to work with the original ram in the computer (the same type but a different brand of ram). The computer had random shut downs for years. The recent catastrophic shut downs occurred shortly after installing service pack 2. Our local computer guru has suggested that service pack 2 is less accepting of mixing different brands of ram ... that accept data at marginally different rates, etc. Whatever the case, the computer is now running perfectly. If you are having random shutdown problems carefully consider your ram. You may have bad ram or different brands of ram that don't work together. Thanks again for this series of posts. They've been enormously helpful.
Posted by: voliva
Hello all,
I have an older Gateway AMD Athlon 1.2, I am also having the same problem. Recently my PC began to shut dow on it's own with no warning. The first couple of times, I could reboot with no problem. Then I started to have to unplug/plug the power cord for the PC to power-up. This past week the PC was in powersave/standby mode and the power just cut off. I tried most if not all the solutions on this original post with no luck. Now the power button lights up, after a few seconds the PSU fan begins to spin, then the CPU fan kicks in, but that is as far as it goes. The monitor does not come out of standby when I power the PC, I have a 250 Watt ATX PSU, anyone that may have a possible solution please help. I am trying to rule out any other possibilities before I swap out the PSU for a new one. Thanks, Vic
Posted by: redwench
possible solutions:
new motherboard
new power supply
new cpu
thats about it, unless youve shorted something while messing around in there.
Posted by: techman2005
Many things can make the computer turn off randomly.After a certain time of being still it goes into hybernation . For some dumb reason , not all computers can wake up from a hybernating state. Go and set all the options to never. Number two is improper ventilation . The computer is put in a tight spot which doesnt allow it to breath. Number three is overloading. The CPU becomes overstressed and heats up when you play 3d games . The fourth is the cooler. that is the fan on the CPU. After a long while it will start to just stop because of its age. Not even the best technicians can detect that because it will stop and restart at will.
Posted by: ChipChimp
Hi - just thought i'd add my view 2 this have had simila problems in the past - have u checked that ur running the correct FSB speed, and that the chip (processor is running @ the correct mutiplier etc) - i've had similar problems overclocking, where the system just can't handle the xtra speed and only runs for a short while - then shuts down or crashes - hope this helps - chipchimp
Posted by: ChipChimp
some thing i forgot 2 add to the above post - some chips have been remarked as higher than there actual rating (2 increase there saleability (happens more often than u'd think) try underclocking the CPU if its running @ 133 - try running it @ 100MHZ FSB and c if that helps - keep taking note of increases that r stable & revert 2 last stable setting once unstable - Cheers - ChipChimp
Posted by: catnip67
My friend is having the same problem. She can't stay on long enough to see if is an virus. She has scanned it for spyware and got rid of the stuff that labeled spyware but this didn't help. She took it to a Computer technician who went right through it and it had no virus or worms on it an he could not find a problem with it. After she took it in it worked fine. Then she left it on overnight and plugged in to the phone line (her computer when plugged into the phone line will answer it as a fax machine we can't find out how to turn this feature off so she doesn't usually leave it plugged in to the phone line). Now it is back to it's old tricks of shutting down randomly. It is a fairly new computer and she has changed nothing on it.
Do you think it would be possible for the power supply to be at fault? Maybe a fault fan?
Posted by: redwench
the list of things causing random shutdowns is pretty long. that it worked fine in a shop would normally point to the house supply, the phone line, or some other local phenomenon being the culprit. it is on a ups, with the phone line going through the ups as well, right?
Posted by: catnip67
Yes it is on a ups and the phone line go's through it. When this first happened she thought it might have been a power surge or a faulty ups so she bought a new one but it still happened with the new one. She also tried a different outlet incase it was the problem.
Posted by: redwench
is it well away from obstructions and have clean intakes? put it in the middle of the room if necessary.
Posted by: deshana
Wow, a few things can cause a computer to turn off randomly, I am going to make this generic, so bare with me.
1) Over heating,>> make sure your fans are all going check BIOS temps too. Might need better fans. Maxtor drives run very hot, and often need extra cooling.
2) Motherboard shorting against case, sometime just shaking a computer can move something, just wrong. >> make sure nothing is making contact. if you are in double, pull the components out of the case and set it up across a table where you know nothing can be grounding. then run it.
3) BIOS virus, very rare >> flash your BIOS and make sure you BIOS has it's write protection mode on
4) Bad or dirty power supply >> compressed air!
5) Bad power on switch >> you can test this by unplugging the power on LED, You can turn your computer on by completing the circuit with a screwdriver or something, it's won't shock you.. bad...don't be grounded for this.
6) Bad device, strip the computer down to a minimum, (mobo, ram, vcard, NO HARD DRIVE, NO DISK DRIVE) and try it a few times, then add another device. now to start with cheap things, like CD ROMs and floppy drives. Having problems with a stripped down computer? Probably the motherboard or RAM, switch it would with another and check. There are also any number of good RAM testers out there, do a search at google. If the computer fails after you install the a device, then you have found your problem. Test it on another machine while you are at it. (Sometimes ESD damage to a mobo, can cause things to look like they are at fault!)
And of couse you are always grounded while working on this right?
-Daniel
Posted by: Caskin
Im having the exact same problems. Computer shuts off randomly or so i thought. I have narrowed it down to my cd roms. If i boot the computer with a cd in either drive it will randomly shut off. Otherwise it will work fine. Sometimes when i put a cd in a drive computer with shut off liked i pulled the plug. Then i have to turn the powersupply off until the voltage bleeds off then turn back on. Maybe that can be some help to someone. I have changed ide cables and checked wiring but havent figured out solution yet ill post if i do.
Posted by: jasonchr
I'm glad I found this thread as I am having similar problems too.
Yesterday I started getting blue screen errors indicating a problem with the files system. I ran some tests and the blue screens went away but when I boot up now, everything is slow and the computer will shut down after about 10 or 15 minutes. I also have to wait a while to start it back up again. I stripped everything down to the bare minimum but am still having the same problems. I have six fans in the case and they all seem to be working except for one so I'm not convinced yet that it's an overheating problem.
I am suspecting a power supply problem. It is an Antec, however, (#pp-303xp) and they are supposed to have good ratings for quality. Is there a way to narrow it down to a PSU or Motherboard problem? The motherboard, btw, is an ASUS A7V266-E. Thanks for any help you guys can provide...
Jason
Posted by: redwench
something is overheating if its behaving like that consistently. my guess would be the cpu since it sounds like its underclocking. monitor the temperatures of the cpu and psu.
Posted by: jasonchr
Thanks for the quick reply, I'm going to monitor them and report back...
Jason
Posted by: atomic_derailer
ok so you've tried pretty much everything....everything but REPLACING THE CMOS BATTERY...try it out and see what happens...
Posted by: atomic_derailer
ok so you've tried pretty much everything...everything but REPLACING THE CMOS BATTERY...try it out and see what happens...
Posted by: moun
Hi All,
I'm quite happy too i found this thread. I have the same kind of problem: my PC shuts down quite abruptly (power goes off straight away) when I copy heavy files from the CD ROM drive to the SATA hard drive. It has caused the HD to die twice already in 6 months.
It seems to be either related to a short in the CD drive, either a failure of the power supply to deliver the extra power needed (seems unlikely though, 350W should be enough for my 2.8 HT configuration), either an overheat problem (however, couldn't establish a precise link between the ambiant temperature and the occurence of this problem). I am currently waiting for Seagate to replace my HD for the 2nd time. I will then install a bigger power supply and cross fingers.
I hope to sort out this problem as it is always a nightmare to retrieve data form a crashed hard drive. If anyone got any sort of hint since the last message of this thread, please inform us,
Thanks!
Posted by: redwench
there isnt a single cause for sudden shutdowns, and yours isnt random; any advice for a random shutdown wouldnt help you at all.
cd drives are very cheap, and even dvd burners are now reasonably priced. just replace that cd drive when you replace the power supply.
Posted by: Bastian
Hi,
I'm also having a problem similar to this.
The symptoms I'm experiencing are that within 5 to 10 minutes, either my PC powers off randomly, or the monitor goes into "standby" mode (seems to be receiving power but doesn't display any image).
What I also noticed is that this behaviour does not occur if I enter the BIOS immediately after turning the PC on. The PC can be left on for hours in this case without any problem.
If I allow the PC to boot into Windows and leave it on the login screen however, the problem is evident.
Can anyone offer any advice?
Posted by: redwench
something is overheating. check that the fans are working, and increase airflow to the cpu and gpu.
Posted by: mercury51
Ok, im not an expert by any means and dont pretend to know as much as some here. Ive had the same problems with two computers. One i assembled and the other was purchased from a major name. The common thread ive noticed is they both had high end ATI video cards. The second computer i tested. I bought a new hard drive. Installed windows. Everything was fine and it worked and didnt shut down for hours. I installed every windows update. Everytyhing was fine and it worked for hours. I installed the video drivers for my ATI 800. Left it on for a few hours, came back and it had shut down and the monitor desplayed not getting a signal message. I went into safe mode and uninstalled all the drivers and software from ATI. Its been on for several hours now and no problems. Im not sure if this is a problem with the drivers or some other part of the software. Im not sure if its windows problem, a service pack 2 problem or ATI's problem. All i know is my computer works and doesnt shut down now but i have a 400 dollar video card sitting idle in my computer. This is the 4th tech forum ive visited and have seen these problems. Im sure there are even more out there.
Posted by: vedran0305
Greetings,
I'm having a similar problem with my comp. I'm pretty sure it's an overheating problem but let me start from the begining.
I have AMD Athlon 1700+ XP, 512 DDR RAM and K7S8X mbo.
My computer just started to shut down one day and I had to unplug the cable to turn it on again.
I found out it was proc. that was overheating (Everest Home and BIOS).
It was reaching 69 deg. C but the CPU fan is working as it should.
Then I removed the PSU from the case and connected it from the outside.
It was working great so I figured it was the PSU and I changed it, but the problem persists.
I don't know what to do.
Please, help me.
Thank You.
Posted by: _toe_tag_
replace the battery.then go into bios load defaults reboot see if problem occurs again.
Posted by: redwench
......
might want to check your airflow in the case. perhaps toss in a fan or 2, or move the ones you have.
Posted by: vedran0305
Thank you for your reply.
I'll change the CPU cooler to see if that helps.
I agree, I also believe it is the air flow.
The case is pretty old, it was ment for P3 733Mhz.
Cheers
Posted by: jeffery little
i need help with my ar max
Posted by: Bogdanovist
I've been having some problems similliar to those described here, except I have noticed somthing evern stranger which may or may not help to explain the problem....
My first problem was not that my computer would shut down randomly, but that if i unplugged it or turned the power off at the wall (after shutting down correctly) the computer would not turn back on again. The only way to get it to turn on again was to unplug it and, with the power on at the wall and the back of the tower, plug it in halfway until I heard a little crackle of the power cord sparking against the power socket of my computer! This and only this would then turn the machine on! This sounds crazy but it worked every time and just plugging it in cleanly did not work (nor did plugging it in with the power off at the wall and then turning it on again). So I somehow had a frankenstein computer that required an electric shock to bring it to life. Clearly to me this seems like a power supply problem, but it seemed to work fine as long as I never unplugged it or turned it off at the wall.
Recently however the problem seems to have worsened, but still in a very strange way. If i first turned my computer on, then a few seconds later turned the power to my speakers on, the computer would turn off at the instant I turned on the speakers! I have a reasonably big woofer which gives off a click when the power is turned on, so I thought maybe it gave off some inductance that screwed with the power supply somehow? This seems strange but I was able to duplicate this effect at will and had no trouble turning on the computer if I waited for it to fully boot before turning on the speakers!
In the last few days however the situation has become more dire, I now need to give the computer the half plug in spark kiss of life thing for it to turn on at all, and when it does it shuts down after 3-4 seconds, in fact the time is always exactly the same. I haven't been able to turn it on properly since.
This is all very strange and I'm at a complete loss to explain it! I'll probably take the tower in for service somewhere as I'm not too confident at installing a power supply myself. I'll let everyone know if they find the cause and have any advice more generally about this problem,
Posted by: _toe_tag_
I must say you gave an excellent desciption of your problem
I would,nt fear doing the power supply it is straight forward.
There should be 4 or 6 screws on the back of it and you can,t mess up on the plugs to your board because they only go in one way.
First I would buy a new plug,maybe the one end got busted somehow.
Posted by: pdnielsen
Only advice I can give is don't be too cheap on what kind of motherboard you get if you replace it! Multiple postings to this website and others, letters to Biostar USA and even swapping mobo for an identical one that I already had - and my integrated sound is STILL non-functional. Thankfully, that's the only thing wrong so far - even after a moth committed suicide by flying into the side fan of my PC. Think it was attracted to the light inside!
Posted by: DarthKirby
Bah...wish i had seen this thread the other day, would've saved me from making a new thread :P
I'm having similar problems after replacing an old HD in my compy. Goes to stand-by at random times (whether I'm interneting or gaming). The CPU and case temps are normal, so that's not the problem. It shouldn't be the PSU's problem, because all I did was replace a HD.
It's starting to get on my nerves, because it's too frustrating playing WoW like this (I happen to be a Priest, so if my comp decides to go into Standby while our raid is fighting a buttload of baddies, I could get a bunch of dead people angry at me :P ). And I'm kind of stuck because I have no idea what else the problem could be 
Posted by: redwench
turn off all forms of power management in both windows and the bios as a temporary measure. run the hard drive diagnostic program. although standby isnt shutting down 
Posted by: DrTribble
My computer was shutting down randomly also, i had not made any changes to anything in weeks. It didn't matter what the stress load was, and most of the time it was idle. After a few days it started happening more frequently, until now it shuts off before it finishes starting up. It is not overheating as temp is 30 f, i cleaned the inside with compresed air. Unplugged different drive and the ram. All made no difference. Off note is that to turn it back on, i have to flip the power switch in back to off and then back on, as just hitting the on button in front won't work. There is no virus nor spyware on my computer as i am anal and update and check that on a daily basis.
So what is the problem? I have the computer for years, is something like the PSU worn out?
DrTribble
Posted by: DarthKirby
 Quote:
|
Originally Posted by redwench
turn off all forms of power management in both windows and the bios as a temporary measure. run the hard drive diagnostic program. although standby isnt shutting down |
True...but it's similar and still a pain to deal with (insert angry face here).
Trying the above didn't solve the problem...but I did notice that if I've got Windows media player running, it'll give a pop up saying "Going into stand by or hibernation may interrupt playback yadda yadda", and gives me a 'no' option so it doesn't go into stand by.
Another thing to note (no idea if this means anything), that after coming back from standby, there's a burst of loud static in my headphones, and none of my application's sound works unless I restart the app. It's teh strange =/
Posted by: redwench
reinstall windows
Posted by: DrTribble
For me, windows is obviuosly not the problem. I took the power supply to comp usa who checked it and said it was OK. I went ahead a bought a new one anyway, with a little extra wattage (250-->330). After installing it, the problem has not reoccurred.
Posted by: DarthKirby
Ok, well I did reinstall windows, to no avail however. I did, however, find an article by Microsoft concerning random standy-bys...but that problem was for Windows 98. But just for grins I tried the 'workaround', and so far I haven't had another problem.
But, it is random...just hope I won't wake up tomorrow to find a blank screen again :P
Posted by: DarthKirby
...well turns out the workaround didn't work, but after sticking my old hard drive back in my machine, it seems to be working fine. So Im'a guessing there's something I overlooked concerning my new HD...
Posted by: Darkside
I had:
P4 1.6 256 mb cache FSB 400 (processor)
Epox EP-4B2A (motherboard)
Geforce FX 5200 128mb (graphics card)
512 mb sdr-ram (133 mhz)
40gig harddrive // Seagate U6 Model ST340810A
I bought:
MSI 6728 865PE Neo2 (motherboard)
P4 2.8 1mb cache FSB 533 (processor)
512 mb ddr-ram (400 mhz)
Now when i start the computer it shuts down after 10-15 seconds.
It worked perfect b4 i bought those things...
This problem really irritates me and i hope u guys can help me.
-Darkside-
Posted by: redwench
did you format and reinstall windows after changing the hardware?
Posted by: Darkside
i solved it. no big deal. just ignore my posts...
Posted by: Caskin
From my last post i have not figured out my issue with shutdowns. I have been running the same system for 4 years, AMD 2100 athlon, asus a7v266-e, 3 sticks 512mb pc2100 ram, 60gb maxtor, geforce4 ti4600, soundblaster audigy, antec 350watt psu. In the last 3 or 4 months this is what has happened.
My computer will shutdown either before i make it to windows (sometimes right after post) or minutes after i get logged in. I will then have to turn off the PSU and let voltage bleed off then turn back on in order to get it to start up again. It will only shutdown if i have a cd in my dvdrom or cdrw drives. If i try to put a cd in either drive while in windows it will shutdown down 9 out of 10 times.
Other problems ive had are one of my PCI slots stopped working for 2 days then decided to work again. One of my RAM slots stopped working correctly and is only reading half the RAM and causes issues if i try to run at 133mhz.
I have tried everything, from new hard drive, flashed bios, different ram using one stick, different video cards, minimum component running, different PSU, virus scans from mulitple programs in safe mode and normal mode. I tried using different cdroms too, i can only assume my problem is the Motherboard.
Posted by: redwench
um, yeah, if ports suddenly stop and start working, its the board.
Posted by: Liger_Zero
I have been having a similar problem and it's driving me nuts. It started about a week ago, my computer just turned off without any warning, completely powered down. I restarted it and it ran fine for the rest of the night, but the next day it happened again and started to become more frequent. Now the computer can't even finish loading windows without shutting down. Whenever this happens I can't turn it back on without first turning the power switch in back off for a few seconds. I guess this is the equivalent to unplugging it and plugging it back in. I can run the computer fine in Safe Mode though. Problem is that my antivirus program, Avast, couldn't find any viruses, and Ad-Aware only found a little spyware (all of which have been removed). Both programs are up to date as well. I checked my Device Manager and nothing seemed to be wrong, an all of my fans (the two exhaust fans, processor fans as well as the power supply) seem to be running fine with no odd noises. I did dust them out anyway, but the problem still persists. I am seriously lost, because all my drives work in Safe Mode no problem, and I can't find any viruses, and the cooling stuff seems to be ok. By the way the computer is custom built with Chaintech motherboard, AMD Athlon 2700+ processor, and 512 Ram. I've had it since January, and i haven't put any new hardware or software in recently. Does anyone have any idea what's going on and how I can fix it without formatting my Hard Drive? Please tell me, thanks!
Posted by: redwench
formatting would probably take care of the issue, since it runs fine in safe mode. but you can try disabling or removing all the programs in your start up list.
Posted by: Liger_Zero
me and a friend were messing around with it today and found something. it turns out that when oneof the hard drives and an exhaust fan (i have 2 fan and 2 hard drives) it started up and ran for about 20 minutes before it shut down again. we think it's the power supply, but the thing isthat when i checked it with a voltage meter it seemed to be putting power out fine, also it didn't get hot or make funny noises. is it bad anyway?
Posted by: redwench
what size is your power supply?
Posted by: creepybrow
have you tried seing if the power button on your computer is sticky, your computer might think that button is being pushed twice
Posted by: creepybrow
try seing if the power switch to your tower is sticky, your computer might think that the switch is being hit twice.
Posted by: smitheo1
I have the same problem that I am working on. I think it may be the power supply. I have a computer that is very similar and is having the same shutdown problem. My computer however has the same specs and I actually can run mine all night if I wanted. I just formatted the hard drive, reloaded with Windows XP, SP2 and the whole nine yards. It didn't shut down until I played a game (Magic Vines). After 15 minutes, It shut down.
Posted by: smitheo1
Hey Liger Zero, you could try checking a cable or wire. Sometimes, if the wire from the power supply is loose from the connector or feels loose at the connector, then that may cause the computer to shut off (the hard drive will power down first).
Posted by: Bruce
I was playing a game, one I had played before, and it wasn't very long before the computer crashed. It suddenly went into hibernation. It had nothing to do with the game or power cord. I can hear crackling when I plug it into the back of the comp. The computer hasn't turned on since. It doesn't respond or anything. I hadn't changed anything, and the monitor and stuff still works. I am no expert. Please help!!
Posted by: redwench
your psu and/or power cord are dead jim.
Posted by: Bruce
Actually, a while back, my CD drive stopped working. That wasn't so bad, because I could use the DVD drive. Think this could have been a foreshadowing of the current problem to occur? Please respond!
Posted by: konman43
I am running an athlonxp 2600, 768mb of ddr ram at 333, radeon 9800 pro, 80gb WD 7200 rpm 8mb hdd, linksys nic, dlink wireless, sb audigy, 4port 2.0usb card, cheap 56k modem, dvd rom, cdrw, 4 case fans, on a 300watt codegen psu. it's been runnin okay, until recently. hot weather or high workloads used to aggrevate it, and it'd shut off by itself. when this happened i would try to turn it back on (power button, pulling plug and reconnecting, even resetting cmos) yet if i wait a while anywhere from a few hours to a few days, it'd turn on by itself, and be fine for a while. this is annoying because i had an hdd go bad because of all the random restarts and shutdowns, lucky for WD warranty .
just the other day, it happened to me again, so i took most of it apart and cleaned up the whole thing. dustballs everywere, there was even a thick layer of mossy looking dust on top of my cpu heatsink blocking the air my fan was blowing on it. cleaning included all cards, even took psu apart and removed all the dust. after i dusted everything off, plugged it in, it turned on (the switch on the back was set to on) i did not press the power button. i assumed it would be fine. after a few hours of internet surfing, and Guild Wars playing, it reset, hardly surprised i sat for a sec for it as it started up again, then in the middle of loading windows xp, it died. hasnt turned on for a day. suspected culprit: psu death. so today i bought a psu from newegg (mge 400wt vigor).
then somehow i got a psu (antec smart blue 350) from another comp and put it in. wont turn on. wierd thing is, i put my psu in the other comp. that one wont turn on either. switched cords, vid cards, same thing. yet when i put the antec psu back into the comp it came from, started up fine. suspected culpritsu death, and mobo death.
today i just bought an mge 400wt vigor online... hope i dont have to get a mobo too... no more $$ at the moment. refomatted 3 times, clean wipes, repartitioned, etc. new hdd. tried purty much everything but new mobo. gonna do the run with bare essentials thing now. dont know what to think now.
Posted by: redwench
taking apart the psu was not a good idea, looks like you cooked the board/cpu as well.
Posted by: gr8coaster329
My computer also shuts down randomly on its own. its not as bad as some of the other replies but it is annoying. i thought it might be a temperature problem but it does not just cut the power it runs the entire shut down sequence and shuts down normally. it will also start right back up when i hit the power, i dont have to wait at all. i was having this problem repetidly about a month ago and then it stopped. it just started doing it again today. i built the system myself and it is only about 2-3 months old.
i dont think it is a hardware problem because it doesnt just cut the power, it shuts down normally. i dont think its a temperature problem because the CPU is usually around 45C and case temps are usually around 35C. i scanned for viruses a few times and defragmented (because it needed done anyway).
any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thank you in advance for the help.
i am using windows xp w/ sp2, intel p4 2.8ghz cpu, intel d915pbl mb, ati radeon x300se video card, seagate 80 gb hard drive, memorax cd-rw, lite-on dvd burner, 256mb ram, floppy drive, and a 450watt power supply.
Posted by: frunns
I've had these problems for a LONG time, computer shuts off randomly or shuts off when doing something in particular (as updating WoW at the moment, at the exact same moment every time:grr. A few times I've been able to get rid of the problem, but this time it's worse.
When increasing the cpu voltage one step, it dies just after a few seconds (usually I at least get to Windows), maybe it was increasing voltage that made the problem as bad as it is now.
After increasing the voltage I replaced my 300W PSU with a 400W PSU, not making anything better, if possible worse. At that moment I think I had the CPU set to 1667MHz (AMD 2.08GHz orig.), and I was barely able to boot, so I decreased it a step making it like 1225MHz, and now it's QUITE stable... Except when updating WoW that is, though I have a feeling I wouldn't have been able to play for long even if updated it (don't play anything else at the moment).
I've ruled out harddrives (Linux live cds).
I've ruled out CD/DVD (even though it ONCE worked better when disconnecting the dvd-reader)
I've ruled out PSU.
I've ruled out overheating (sure, the CPU isn't too cool, but I've been through worse).
Truly doubt the video-card.
If I haven't overlooked something it has to be CPU/mobo (will buy both at the same time anyway), if you guys don't have any ideas? Don't exactly have the money to buy any new stuff atm. In like a month or two perhaps, so any ideas you might have are welcome.
Posted by: redwench
since you apparently messed about with overclocking, you could have done some permanent damage to something or other along the way. you should run a ram tester and see if thats the issue though, and see if stripping out the cards & drives improves stability or not.
Posted by: frunns
Well, I haven't really tested the ram, though I've tried both memories without the other, so I doubt it's one of them and I don't think I've been trying to overclock this one anything, if so very barely as the bios isn't the best for overclocking... But well, I just hope it's the mobo/cpu, because if I buy those new and it still won't work, I'm gonna go with my brother's idea: sinking the computer in the lake.
Posted by: konman43
apparently i cooked my vid card too. 9800 pro gives a black screen and mobo doesnt beep, but new comp i put it in turns on. just never goes anywhere. so i'm gonna have to test out all the other components. just wondering what was the cause of the whole thing so i dont fudge up again. bad wires? old psu that cant handle new vid card? too many peripherals? not up to date bios? hmm... too many perps. one problem leads to another, and now i'm just ranting... thanks for the advice though.
Posted by: redwench
you apparently had overheating due to dust buildup, which you then attempted to rectify by opening up the psu. it made it through one bootup, then keeled over and died, probably taking other hardware with it.
translation: you bumped something in the psu and cooked your hardware.
Posted by: Kamikaze Cletus
Hi, my PC doesn't "Shutdown" but rather goes into a Hibernate or Standybye that it can't get out of. It's still "on" I have to hold the button in to turn it off. My PC is not over-heating, and I dunno how this is a Power issue. It does not happen whem i'm playing games either. Just webpages.
Posted by: zima
Ok i have run into the same problem with shutdowns only mine restarts i have swapped out my ram p/s i have Unplugged all my components well nothing happened it did not restart so i figured ok i will put in my hard drive and let it i thought get hot enough to shut down which it did i let it shutdown a couple of time then unhooked my hard drive so all that is running is mobo vid and cpu i have let it run now for a half an hr still running i will see how long it takes for it to shut down if it doesn't i would guess my hard drive is coruped
by the way i have done a dos partion as well as format in dos reinstalled win me and 98 se at different times so i know i have no viruses
Ok so i ran the operating sys in safe mode for at least a 1/2 hr no problems never shut down
so now i am running it normally i do have a ATI vid card but am going to shut down sys tray from cntrl+alt+del see what happens will let u know as i keep going this might help some but from a previous post maybe it is my vid as well will soon see
well looking more like vid card all i had running in back ground is explore but of course vid still runs so have uninstalled vid driver and when asked if i wanted to install i said no we will see how long before shut down
Ok i am at a lost i tought perhaps vid card seeing how it ran ok in safe mode so went back into normal uninstalled as said above didn't make any difference still shut down
changed out vid cards still shut down any sugjestions
Posted by: daygo140
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by smitheo1
I have the same problem that I am working on. I think it may be the power supply. I have a computer that is very similar and is having the same shutdown problem. My computer however has the same specs and I actually can run mine all night if I wanted. I just formatted the hard drive, reloaded with Windows XP, SP2 and the whole nine yards. It didn't shut down until I played a game (Magic Vines). After 15 minutes, It shut down.
|
I think the game Magic Vines is the culprit. My customer's laptop kept shutting down from an overworking and overheated CPU. Ditch the game!!!
Posted by: redwench
fascinating. the cpu overheats, and you tell someone to ditch a program rather than FIX THE DAMN PROBLEM. please tell me your company doesnt have that policy for warranty repairs officially.
Posted by: daygo140
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by redwench
fascinating. the cpu overheats, and you tell someone to ditch a program rather than FIX THE DAMN PROBLEM. please tell me your company doesnt have that policy for warranty repairs officially.
|
Listen Einstein. I researched this game Magic Vines on the 'net and there were numerous people that had their PC shutdown while playing the game let alone their notebooks. Notebooks tend to run hot the way it is.
There are many games and software that are functional and look neat but the programming sucks. This game for some reason tacks out the processor like no other. I wouldn't be surprised if the developer is aware of the problem and that they may have an update or patch to address this issue.
Keep your stupid sarcastic crap to yourself and examine the issue before you open your big pie hole.
Posted by: lcousins
woah, never spotted this thread before
daygo140, are you actually claiming that if a program causes the cpu to run at 100% for an extended duration that it will cause the cpu to over heat? |Whilst there are many things that can cause a cpu to overheat running at full capacity is not one of them without additional hardware based causes.
sure programs can be badly programmed to the extent they cause a computer to crash, but not overheat.
Posted by: redwench
call me crazy, but my pie hole was under the impression that cpus were made to run at their rated speed without overheating, notebooks or not.
Posted by: Ran
Hello all,
I am new to this forum, and not an expert in hardware, but I think I may have a solution that could help with our common problem. Let me sum up the trouble (this was a long post and not everybody speaks about the same thing) :
1) Random shutdown, seemingly due to the thermal protection ("nee nah nee nah" sound for those who - o joy - have the buzzer working)
2) No actual reason for overheating - eventually, all components cold to the touch.
3) Shutdown occurs randomly, at boot or while working, and gets worse over time
Then, according to what I saw, it could probably be the MOTHERBOARD CAPACITORS that are defective.
The explication then would be : an unstable voltage supply to the CPU, causing a faulty thermal shutdown order. The capacitors continuously degrade with time, so no improvement to be expected. Moreover, the trouble seem to have nothing to do with the actual temperature of either the CPU or the motherboard : no use to add fans etc.
The solution : replace capacitors, or the motherboard itself if you are not found of precision welding.
I had the same problem (the same "symptoms" actually) and, looking at my capacitors in plain daylight, I noticed that several of the big 2,2 mF capacitors had blown their top. I could not fix it yet but it seems coherent with what I found on the internet.
About faulty thermal shutdown order due to unstable voltage :
http://www.physik.uni-freiburg.de/~...io/indexeng.htm
(this page deals with laptops but I guess that the physics are the same for all comps)
About defective motherboards capacitors :
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=195
I hope this can be helpful. Please correct me if I stated something wrong.
Posted by: Ran
About the case of the "capacitor plague", some cool sites with pictures to help diagnose the disease :
http://www.answers.com/topic/capacitor-plague
http://cquirke.mvps.org/badcaps.htm
Please let me know if this helped solve the problem...
PS : The appropriate word in my last post was "soldering" and not "welding". Oh well. I should have paid more attention in the "technical english" course
Posted by: climbing18away
I have an Alienware Area51-M laptop. I owned it for about a year and a half before I went out to cut the grass came back and it was off. I turned it back on, went upstairs to eat lunch, came back down and it was off. I bought it 8/17/02. At first i thought it was the fans not working, so i turned it on, and looked at the fans, and they turned on and worked. Sadly the laptop still died after about 15-20 minutes, and then if instantly restarted it wouldn’t make it through start up. I then took it all apart, cleaned all the dust out, re assembled it, but to no success. I concluded that the only way to check that it was broken for sure was to hook a vacuum up to it, as with that kind of air movement it couldn't possibly over heat. It still turned off. I started it in BIOS only, and it still shut off. I took it to best buy's geek squad, they didn't know anything. I don't even know what to try since it's a laptop. The wires aren’t long enough to lie out on my floor, and run out of case, and I don't know what else to do. Also I don't really know anything about computer circuitry (I just finished high school) but when I took it apart nothing looked shorted or fried.
Specs are:
I don’t know what the motherboard is, which makes it impossible to use MBM
P4 2.4 GHz
Radeon 64 meg graphics card
512 2 dimm memory
5620 laptop case (the old style case)
40 Gig IBM Travel star 5400 HD
24x10x24x8 DVD-CD/RW combo drive
Thanks
-Jon
Posted by: redwench
your best bet is to contact alienware and see if its a known issue with some part. i would guess the psu or mobo to be the problem, but diagnosing that stuff is difficult on a laptop. you can download and run sisoftsandra, which should tell you your motherboard and flag anything odd it finds.
Posted by: climbing18away
I called alienware like 1.5 years ago, and then i just called them again, and once ur warrenty has expired they don't help you at all, not even over the phone. They just say to take it to a local computer fixer. I asked if there were known issues with the computer, and he said that he doesn't know of anywhere where alienware says known issues for their computers. And then said to check the forums. i'm not sure if i have time to run sisoftsandra before it shuts down, so buying it for that purpose without knowing that it'll work seems like a waste of money, unless there is a free trial version. It's so nice when computers just work...
Posted by: dreamer4ever88
I have the same problem as the original poster -- the computer shuts down randomly.
But when it does and i restart I get this error message: "the system has recovered from a serious error. a log of this error has been created."
I tried a few things:
I copied all the files from the original profile to a new profile on Documents and Settings and logged in with the new profile. But the same error message occurs saying "the system has recovered from a serious error." The error message still pops up after I click "don't send."
I tried to do a system restore and that error message still pops up.
Any other suggestions on how to get Windows XP functioning normally again minus the errors? Do I have to reformat my computer in this case? I can backup all the files to a cd. But I think this is the second time I've had to reformat the computer.
The computer also restarts at random moments similar to the orginal poster on this thread: http://www.opentechsupport.net/foru...ead.php?t=21969
It restarts also when I use Photoshop and it says graphics card does not support the software or something.
I have a PIII, 128MB ram, 30GB hard drive, 82810E graphics card from Intel.
What I've done so far: I tried testing the memory through this software I installed and it's not working. That system error message isn't going away. I've copied all the files from the old user profile to a new user profile. I logged off from the old user profile and used the new one to log in and the error message still pops up. When the computer restarts and the blue screen is loading, it says user profile is corrupted.
I'm so frustrated. i've reformatted the computer already when I installed a new hard drive. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!!
Posted by: dreamer4ever88
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Ran
Hello all,
I am new to this forum, and not an expert in hardware, but I think I may have a solution that could help with our common problem. Let me sum up the trouble (this was a long post and not everybody speaks about the same thing) :
1) Random shutdown, seemingly due to the thermal protection ("nee nah nee nah" sound for those who - o joy - have the buzzer working)
2) No actual reason for overheating - eventually, all components cold to the touch.
3) Shutdown occurs randomly, at boot or while working, and gets worse over time
.
|
After reading your post a few times, my computer does make that sound "nee nah nee nah" at least I think it sounds like that.
I've always wondered what the sound was and what was causing the problem. Is it hard to replace capacitors for someone who's really a beginner with computers? Do you think once the capacitors are replace, the random shutting down and noise will stop?
Thanks!
Posted by: redwench
an overheating alarm is not generally the result of anything other than the cpu actually overheating. hes speaking of very rare instances of capacitors failing, which is usually obvious by inspecting the board. if by chance you do have capacitors that have exploded, replace the board.
Posted by: John Gill
I'm working on an AMD 2700 with a Chaintech board that shuts down almost randomly. I tried reformatting and it only made things worse. XP starts to load, it get to the starting windows prompt and shuts down every time at the exact same spot, just before windows starts. I thought there may be a MBR virus so I put another HD in and the same thing occurs. Temps are OK, voltage is OK. I'm wondering if the chip is bad, motherboard is bad or not set up for the chip. The computer ran for two or three months just fine, customer did have a lot of viruses and spyware.
When the computer shuts down only turning it off in the bad (or unpluging) will alow it to reboot. Plus I left it on the Bios setup page for an hour and it never shut down, must be related to a load on the chip/motherboard.
Any suggestions?
Posted by: redwench
well, its hardly random if it shuts down at the same point of the boot every time.
power supply, cpu, mobo, ram....start removing all misc cards and drives
Posted by: dremofsmoothpc
My system has done this often as of late. It also has hidden my new slave (backup)drive. I have a lot of cooling going on and it really seems to be random. I crashed last night 3 times trying to reinstall windows to see if that helped. I really think its some kind of bug. I corrected the stopping and HD problem once before by restoring to an old save point, but have since removed them all to try and eliminate the bug. I may be royally screwed now. Any new ideas would be appreciated. Has anyone heard of a trojan, worm, virus or whatever with these symptoms? It seems to me if it was hardware it would be more constant.
Posted by: dremofsmoothpc
Ok, I have reinstalled winxp pro into a new directory. My slave drive is back and I seem to be stable. Question is how do I migrate all of my settings , etc from the old windows to the new installation, so I don't have to reinstall office, etc? I still think it is a virus of some sort. FTR I run zone alarm pro w/ AV and MS antispyware. Neither detect anything wrong.
Posted by: redwench
your old settings are quite likely one of the reasons for your problems. reinstall your programs.
Posted by: Reaper_69
I have had more than just similar problems to the original poster, my pc's symptoms are identical. The PC shutsdown randomly, sometimes after 5 minutes sometimes after 1-2 hours. And as for leaving it in BIOS that didnt work either as the PC shutdown while i was busy checking the BIOS settings. My CPU is not overheating, running between 45* & 50°C. So the only other problem could be spikes from the PSU or the MOBO. Anyone have any suggestions? Busy swapping out the MOBO and the PSU, will let you know how it goes...
Posted by: Satanosphere
well.. i have the same problem.. mi komputer shut dows randomly, but the its dosnt turn it off.. the system dies and the monitos goes off, just like when you turn it off manualy.. but the fans and some led in the case still on.. i know its not the mobo. HDD. RAM V.Card.. or any other hardware.. koz.. i have this problem for a wile, but i change almos all komponents, ( mobo, ram prosesor, hdd ) its like a new komputer, and it works fine for like 2 months, then it star with the same problem.. i test every komponent, one by one.. also changed the power supply, mouse, keyboard, and every thing.. except for the computer case.. but i think the "case theory" its kuite stupid.. but its a posibility.. i know its not overheat, fans work fine.. and i am cheking the temps.. its not the video card.. i test with others.. is not the ram i test with others.. its not HDD.. i test with others.. its not the cd roms.. i test with others.. its not the floppy.. i know i dont know what in the hell could be the problem.. its not a software problem.. coz.. i reformat the hdds.. i reinstalled windows.. But.. this is the weird thing..
if i start the system.. and run almos any game.. like World of Warcraft, or Gta.. the system never, never shuts down.. it only dies.. in windows or when starting the Post.. or wile working in any system.. i try Knoppix too.. so.. i thinks is the devill or some dark magic spell from an ex grilfriend.. or may be, the moon is making some issues in the water of my body, and thats make my Cpu to die..
seriusly.. this is killing me.. if it where a hardware issue.. it will die wile in the games too.. if it where a software issue.. tha HDD changes would solve the problem.. so please.. if u know what the hell is going on.. POST AN ANSWER.. PLIS.. ( could it be tha case?? )
aaaa other thing.. is not the power lines in my house.. i change the computer to other places.. problem unsolved..
mm what else.. i think its everything by now.. sorry if my english sucks.. im doing my best.. plase.. dont let me die..
Posted by: hwm54112
In Bios, under PnP/PCI configuration, enable "Reset configuration". Doing so may eliminate conflicts in reources that aren't apparent in device manager be re-enumerating all resources (irq's, memory addreseses, dma, etc.)
Posted by: hudsonriver
A little further, I bought a Dell 9months ago, the 4700 series. While on web chat with them trying to fix the problem, I did most of if not all was has been stated previously here.
To add, when my system shuts down, I get a orange blinking light next to the power button. The only thing that changes that is to manually unplug the power supply to the tower, wait and plug it back in. Then try to boot-up. I've ran the ad-spy and anti virus in the safe mode prior to their tech coming out.
The tech comes and replaces my mobo saying that if you don't see the 4 lights on in the back of the tower, it is your board.
Horray.. I thought...but, you guessed it, I shut down and tried this morning and same thing, just shuts off within minutes of boot-up with orange blinking light....seeing how we all have talked about hardware and i've done the software thing, well, as most here, still looking for the right answer to solve the problem.
Thanks,
Posted by: lcousins
well you could open the case, find the lead to the flashing led and trace it back to the motherboard, make a note of the connection name/number then refer to the motherboard manaufacturers site to find out what its for??
Posted by: redwench
well, if its not the board, and not overheating, its almost certainly the power supply.
Posted by: jw20002
http://8help.osu.edu/1383.html
Try this out!!!
Posted by: baronnep
Im having the same problem of my computer randomly shutting down. Found that it was the usb card. When I replaced the card it happened again. So thinking it's the motherboard.
Posted by: Snakeam
ok, here is a really Detailed post of the problem " Shutting Off Randomly "
System Information first:-
1. Intel Desktop Board D875PBZ
2. Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.8GHz ( Socket 478, 800MHz Bus Speed )
3. 1,024 MB RAM ( 1Gigs ) DDR400
4. OS, Windows XP Pro SP2 Ver 5.1 Build 2600
5. 2 Plextor's , 1. DVD Rom , 2. DVD-WR
6. 2 HDDs , one with 120 Gig, one with 200 Gig , both SATA, both 7200RPMs
7. ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 256 ( LATEST DRIVERS )
8. Audigy 2ZS
The Problem started when i was playing B&WII, i exitted the game, went to the bathroom, came back to see my PC was OFF, Power lid is ON, Wireless Mouse Signal Sendor was ON, Keyboard lids were ON but not working no matter what i press, i press the power button but nothing happens, i Switched off the MAIN POWER SOCKET " from the wall " and switch it back on, PC starts normally for the first 10 minutes, then does the same, shuts off no reason, wasnt playing anything , just browsing the net, then after that nothing happenes for like 2 days, then while i was watching a DVD movie, it just shuts off doing the same thing!, i cleaned the CPU/ Case and everything out of dust, i got Intel Monitor and the temperatures are normal, i had problem with System 1 FAN and i fixed it by cleaning the fan and now its RPM works fine, i dont know whats the cause, i read through here, any help plz? am getting annoyed by this!, no reason, shuts off, no warnings, nothing, please help...
EDIT: I checked Event Viewer, and found " DCOM " whats that?
this msg was displayed " DCOM got error "The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it. " attempting to start the service upnphost with arguments "" in order to run the server:
{204810B9-73B2-11D4-BF42-00B0D0118B56} "
but i doubt this is the problem,, any ideas? plz.
Posted by: jw20002
Would it be possible for this to be a software problem???
I currently use the firefox browser which appears to have a glitch which hangs the computer at some point and causes the computer to shut down???
So far every time I use the browser my computer I have this problem. I have run every Trojan scanner virus protection on the market but still have the problem. I have checked all hardware and have no problems their!!!
Not sure if everyone here uses the browser but???
When this happens I press the sleep button and wait for the computer to enter hibernation mode. Then the start led flashes on the front of the computer at which time I press the start button and everything starts back up!!!! That is until it hangs again. I haven't noticed my computer hanging when I use any other browser.
Thanks
Posted by: jw20002
No, it isn't the software, it isn't the board, and it's not the power supply.
I took the thing apart and noticed dust everywhere. I blew off the dust from the processor, and the video card and everything works fine now!!!!!
SO GET RID OF THAT DUST!!!
PS,,MAY NOT WORK FOR EVERYONE. BUT A CAN OF AIR IS A LOT CHEAPER THAN THROWING PARTS AT THE DARN THING!!!!!
Posted by: jw20002
Problem solved!!!
After running every virus protection under the sun and checking every possible connection; power supply, video card, hard drive ,,, I finally opened up the case and cleaned off the fan to the CPU.......PROBLEM SOLVED!!!
You may have a hardware problem but a $2.00 can of air can't be a bad place to start.
Posted by: redwench
how do you check connections without opening the case?
overheating is a hardware problem btw.
Posted by: Snakeam
Hello guys, i was Testing with my PC for a Week, and this what i found out,, first, i did the following to stop the random shutdowns,
1. Updated my ATI drivers
I didnt notice there was new drivers after the last one i downloaded, its like 5 days between each driver,, kinda weird.
2. Updated Motherboard Bios
Very Simple easy and you should do it.
3. Went to Power management and changed the " When i press the power Button my PC will " to Dont do anything.
Just thinking that the power button might have something to do with it.
4. STOPPED USING FireFox
I have no idea but that might be the problem, i stopped using firefox for this week.
now PC runs Fine thank god, and still checking, tomorrow will start to revert no.3 and no.4 , and see if the problem was mainly from Firefox or Power button, if none, then mostly from Bios update or ATI weird release of drivers. or from a PC having its " Suffer moments "
Posted by: Khit
OH MY GOSH!!! I'm glad I've only had the problem for a few days. I had to join this here to share with you guys the solution I found for me. It's just too bad for some that they had to buy new stuff and reload everything.
I went through my registry and read, checked and checked unfamiliar things in there. The ones that I thought looked like it didn't belong there, I extracted to my desktop (so i know where it is) and deleted them from the registry. From the desktop I put them in my recycle bin. I restarted my computer and guess what... THAT FIXED THE PROBLEM... NO more restarting or shutting down on it's own.
I hope this helps. I was so exctied but felt bad at the same time for some that erased their hd and re did everthing over...
Khit
Posted by: johnhartwick
I have an HP Pavillion zd7000. It will shut down abruptly with no shut down procedure. It is though I had held the power button down for 5 or 6 seconds. It does this somewhat randomly, but only happens when I have Adobe Acrobat open. It has occurred with both version 5.0 and 7.0 pro. This could be a coincidence, but has happened about 20 times - always when Adobe is opened, never when it was not. It has happened twice this morning. I have not opened adobe since and it is running fine now.
Any ideas? Norton has nothing about it...nothing really about it on the web, either. I am about ready to reformat my drive to rule out any viruses???
Posted by: redwench
formatting may help, but why would you do it just to rule out a virus?
Posted by: Kurando
Ok i really need help please you have to. Im a bit of a PC noob so i wont understand all your technical talk so can someone simply help me. My computer started shutting down for no reason I tryed everything but it kept doing it and when it turns off its not a normal shut down the monitor suddenly goes black says it will turn off in a few seconds switches off and i cant reboot the pc without cutting the power and turning it back on over time the turning off got worse and it did it within seconds of being turned on. I wiped the harddrive completely reinstalled windows XP and it just turned off again please someone WHAT CAN I DO?
Posted by: redwench
you have a hardware issue. probably a component overheating, but not necessarily. if you have difficulty following the instructions for troubleshooting given here, you should probably take it to a shop and let them do it.
Posted by: Kurando
Any ideas what peice of hardware i unchecked the thing on my computer properties which says "restart automatically" the computer stayed on for longer but then started shutting down again any more ideas?
Posted by: Kurando
And now ive started it up in Safe mode and it isnt going off but it cant be a virus because weve wiped the harddrive and weve took out most of the added hardware and its still going off. ANY IDEAS?!?!
Posted by: redwench
probably something overheating, most likely the cpu. its possible for the cause to be almost any hardware in your system however.
Posted by: Kurando
Turns out went off after a while in safe mode aswell how do i fix a CPU overheating?
Posted by: Kurando
Can someone just tell me how to fix this freaking problem?
Posted by: redwench
you need to find out what the problem actually is before someone can tell you how to fix it.
Posted by: Kurando
well whilst in safe mode i went on to the harddrive and turns out everything is still there and when i clicked open a file the computer turned off :S
Posted by: Hitokiri
Hello...
Just giving u good people an idea...
I seen that happens plenty of times where the machine just turns off after 10 seconds or so.
It can be anything related to hardware.
One thing that I noticed if u havent tried yet is to remove the FAN/HEATSINK and place in again. Some machines are cry babies and want it place only one way.
This happened to me when I tried replaces CPU heatsink and fan with another and it happened to 3 different machines.
Just worth a try...This thread is humungous so maybe somebody else post this...I didnt check 
Posted by: bellisimo
There is a spybot worm that is designed to randomly shut down your computer.
See this website:
http://www.liutilities.com/products...slibrary/NVCPL/
good luck,
Posted by: Kurando
Help! Whenever i play games on my computer i get error messages it happens with every game whats going on?
Posted by: redwench
rather difficult to say without knowing what the messages are.
Posted by: ezilybored
ok here goes. have been havin this problem for quite some time now, a year and a half ish. it is the bane of my life and nearly cost me my MSc as it started dying the day before hand in for my project.
first attempt to solve was to re-install windows. no help there. all my drivers are up to date. no help there. i then went and built an entirely new machine with all new parts except the monitor, floppy drive, keyboard and mouse. still no help. I have re-installed windows XP professional on this new sysytem before and just left it with nothing else on there and seen it reset itself.
every time it shuts windows down normally not just shutting the power.
event log comes up with different resons every time and i slowly work through them.
i formated the HD both of this and the old machine with the maxtor formatting tool supplied on their website, no help there.
i thought it was my sound card and have reverted to my old card (an old audigy 1) but still problems persist.
I'm getting a new monitor tomorrow but i doubt it could be that.
I did back up my old HD onto a removable HD and transfer some of the files to the new one. Are there such things as HD firmware viruses that could have transfered from one to the other and not been eliminated by formatting?
don't think the power supply is too small as it is 650 Watts.
don't think it's over-heating as has 7 fans in it from vaious things, 3 on power supply one on cpu, two on case and 1 on graphics card.
graphics card is new and different from old one.
any of this help any one with any sugggestions?
Posted by: ezilybored
oh yeah, also shuts down in safe mode
Posted by: redwench
Quote:
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Originally Posted by ezilybored
built an entirely new machine with all new parts except the monitor, floppy drive, keyboard and mouse.
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if those are indeed the only remaining parts and you used a new case and power supply, then its your incoming power or one of those parts.
Posted by: ezilybored
that is the case, everything i said is true, however i just noticed one other similar component, the actaul power lead, not supply. I've also tried in several diferent houses, in fact in two diff countries ( england and wales ) but no result. maybe a dodgy conection in the cord? will let ya'll know.
Posted by: ezilybored
hmmmm 5 mins and counting, this is the longest time since the problem re-appeared. incidently the problem re-appeared after moving the ****ers. this involved removig the lead. hmmmm
Posted by: ezilybored
ya know what... this would explain the crackling of electricity from the power lead when removing it (mine did this too) it would also explain the need to remove the power lead and plug it back in again after re-start. I can't believe i've missed this. it took coming on here and actually writing down my problem to see it.
Posted by: redwench
why would you have noticable crackling when removing a lead? youre supposed to have the power supply off when you do those things.
Posted by: ezilybored
bummer. went out and came back to find it had shut down after 2 hours. just tried again and it shut down after about 20mins. the crackling does result from me leaving the power on when removing the power lead, careless but not harmfull. have installed the Wblaster removal tool and windows update but that hasn't helped. am particularly vexed by the fact that this happens in safe mode and with a fresh windows install. it must be hardware. tho what i don't know. have now also ruled out the floppy disk drive by isolating that.
Posted by: ezilybored
forgot to mention if anyone knows if an inapropriate sized fuse in the plug could do this by not allowing enough power or something? it's somethin i thought about cos i had lots of music hardware (synths and stuff) and the leads used to get mixed up all the time. is quite possible that the lead i'm using for both these pc's isn't suitable. the PSU for the new one didn't come with a lead.
Posted by: loveys
i have done my best to read all of the posts in this thread, but nothing seems to directly suit my problem. ( For the record I am not extremely knowledgeable about computers)
I have a computer with windows XP installed on it. Sometimes, when I'm running a few programs such as Limewire, MSN Messenger, and an online game perhaps, the computer will seem to turn off. The light stays on on the front (green), but when I push the power on button, the computer does not 'turn on'. I reach to the back of the computer and turn the switch, then turn it back on, then the computer will turn on normally. When i try to turn the computer on the first time, I get the female voice message, which sounds like it is saying: "system failure, CPU Tap", At least it sounds like Tap. Please help me with my problem , It occured once about a month ago, and 4 times today.
Adn I would also like to know how i can monitor my CPU temp.
Posted by: redwench
probably overheating or a dying power supply.
Posted by: loveys
Could it be the fan as well?
Oh, and I kept Task Manager up for a while as I did my things, and its usually at about 13%, then when I play the game and Limewire, its at about 90-95%. So I imagine running those things plus more would overheat the CPU right?
I still need to know how to moniter the CPU temp.
Posted by: ezilybored
so both my pc's will stay on in the bios which rules out the power supply, what else does this rule out?
Posted by: ezilybored
have also tested the RAM with memtest 86 and the HD with PowerMax and both passed the tests.
Posted by: redwench
it doesnt actually rule out the power supply, just that all your hardware is functioning at a basic level.
Posted by: ezilybored
ok right so it doesn't rule it out. am having trouble beleiving that both power supplies would randomly have a similar problem. I'm having huge trouble believing that this problem has passed accross from one machine to the next when none of the components are the same now. have tried new monitors, keyboards and mice.
Posted by: Warrior1109
I have recently had similar troubles with a PC, after working my way through the list, starting with PSU, it turned out to be the processor itself, after replacing the processor, all seems well, and has been good for over a week now. Hope this helps some of you's
Posted by: ezilybored
did you replace it with a new processor or just remove and re-install the old one?
Posted by: chris2504
Hey, seen this post when searching on google and had to sign up to tell you i had the same problem when i had P3, a friend of my fathers had changed the power supply, and had to change the case also because the power supply wouldn't fit in old case. Anyway when i got it back it was doing what you were describing, and was getting worse. Took it to a pc repair place and some kind of clip on the CPU wasn't on or wasn't on properly, so check your CPU and heatsink and that its all clipped in right.
Chris
Posted by: ezilybored
interesting...will have a look, could be a possibility with the second pc, the one i built, however the first was a packard bell piece of crap that i didn't ever touch the cpu on.
will take a look tho. cheers
Posted by: ezilybored
ok just to let anyone else with a similar problem know, I no am pretty convinced that it's my keyboard. strange but tis the only thing that when i isolate it removes the problem and as soon as i put it back into the system the problem resurfaces. It has one of those power swithes to easily turn your pc off, so i'm guessing this is a bit fudged somehow and is causing the problem maybe. who knows but it seems to be the source at the moment.
Posted by: Chapski
Same problem. I just built a PC. Booted it fine the first time but had problems downloading the operating system. I didnt have another one on hand so I decided to clean up a few things and fix some minor problems. Fixed a few wires inside (the front power LED wasnt lighting. I connected it wrong), but forgot to use the anti-static gloves I'd been using. Didn't feel a shock or anything but now I'm having problems. The system runs when I hit the power button but shuts down quickly after (sometimes before the monitor can load anything, sometimes a few minutes) and it seems to shut down quicker and quicker if I try turning it back on right away. It looks fine for the few minutes it runs so I really hope I didn't fry anything. I didnt even finish instaling the OS so its obviously not a virus or something. Any ideas?
Posted by: redwench
reseat your heatsink and check that the cpu fan is working.
Posted by: Chapski
I cleaned up the CPU and heatsink and reapplied some thermal compound. It helped but the thing is still overheating. Fan spins about 3000 rpm (good?) and the temp just keeps climbing. Whats a cheap fix to keep this running cool?
I have an Asus A8N-SLI Premium mobo with an AMD 64 3200+ with the standard heatsink and fan. I'm trying to mess with the BIOS to lower the temp but I'm new to this and there's no simple "Fail-safe" option.
Posted by: Chapski
I upgraded to a fluid cooling system. Works great now.
Posted by: johndoe21888
Well, i'm not too great with computer, so i can't give you a good description of what i am working with but i know from Control panel system thats its
Intel(R)
Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.40GHz
2.40GHz, 512 of RAM
And i know it has 37.2GB of memory
The computer is roughly a year and a half old, and it hasn't given me many problems. I reformat it every couple months, and try to take care of it.
But lately when i begin to play any games that are remotely graphic (Starcraft, Warcraft, and even several online games) it makes a ringing noise for roughly 5 seconds, changing from high pitch to low picth, like a siren, and then shuts off.
This happens within the first 5 minutes of when i start playing, and is really aggravating me. I know how to work inside a computer, check voltages, remove and install parts. I just don't know how to find out whats wrong.
If you could help me, or shove me in the right direction even, i would be very grateful.
Thanks,
Mike (johndoe21888@hotmail.com)
Posted by: johndoe21888
NVM, it was an overheating CPU. I could tell when i looked at my temperatures, and i noticed my fan was a little slow. I replaced the fan and added some heat sync and now its up and running.
Posted by: swan_g
Well... I have the same problem too, but with a variation.
Let me tell you how this started.
I put together like 3 years ago an AMD system. It worked fine, until one day it started to turn itself off randomly, as if someone had yancked the power cord.
After cleaning the interior, it kept on doing the same thing. So I thought, "faulty PSU".
And I changed it.
For a while it worked fine, and then it started to turn off again.
Then for weeks it worked fine again, and then started to shut off again..
Ok, so in the last year, I ruled out.
1) Motherboard (changed)
2) CPU (changed with the motherboard and went from an AMD to Intel)
3) Memory (I switched RAM with my other computer, an HTPC that runs 24/7, and still the same)
4) PSU (first thing I changed, it's a 420W)
5) HD (recently upgraded to a bigger one)
6) Heat (it happens with the cover off, and a recently cleaned heatsink, I even removed the heatsink, cleaned it, applied Artic Silver and put it again.. CPU is 42C and MB 26C)
7) Graphic Card (went from an old TNT to an ATI)
8) OS problems (I reinstalled so many times WinXP, that now I have to call them to authorize new installs from the same disc!)
9) My home electrical system (I even moved during this time! )
I tried the "clear CMOS" jumper trick, it seemed to work, but after a couple of months it started to turn off again, and now the only thing that I achieve "clearing the CMOS" is to have to set all the BIOS settings again...
I run memtest, and after a while it turned off... So, I think that it's not OS related, since memtest doesn't boot into windows, right?
OK, now I have the same setup that I have in my HTPC, same mother, same CPU, same memory, very similar graphics card... My HTPC runs all year without a glitch, my "family PC" turns off several times a day. Both are plugged into the same model of UPS.
The only different thing between them is...... the freaking case!
I'm about to change the case, that is the ONLY thing left from when this issue started 1.5 years ago... The one I have now is an Antec, and I do not want to change it, especially for the work it implies...
Do you have ANY ideas besides changing the case? Could the case's power button be the culprit? That would be strange, since I could make the thing shut off running Sysoft Sandra, and it was always at the same point (something to do with graphics) that it turned off.
Any good Exorcist?
Thanks!
PS: When it turns off, I just turn the PSU switch off for maybe 10 or 20 seconds, and then I can turn it on.
Posted by: redwench
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by swan_g
I could make the thing shut off running Sysoft Sandra, and it was always at the same point (something to do with graphics) that it turned off.
|
that is most definitely not the case. did you try changing the irqs of the assorted pci cards?
Posted by: swan_g
Hi redwench, thanks for your answer...
I have no idea how to do that... Can you help me there?
And that shouldn't have changed with all the things I changed from the PC?
Remember that this started with different components... and was never solved!
Thanks!
Posted by: jgrtmp
Best I've found in the freeware realm is called "MotherBoard Monitor 5".Download it here-
http://mbm.livewiredev.com/
Set the "High/Low" log to add entries at Start & LogOff & at Intervals of 1800 secs(30 min).This gives a big picture at half hour intervals with ongoing averages until shutdown(not crash).The 2nd setting to get a snapshot look is the "Interval Syslog".Set it to every 60 secs & # entries to 180 for 3 hrs of min by min report.A spike crash will leave gaps of time & you can see what led up to that moment.
It reports CPU & Case Temp,VCore thru VCore2,other voltages & Fan RPMS.Good enough to indicate a culprit mother board...
Posted by: jgrtmp
post 161 replies to post 156- Hope it help johndoe21888 or any one else.
For me it excuded the motherboard, but not an internal spike.
Posted by: jgrtmp
Ther are problems creates by Adobe Acrobat v7.02 & Quicktime that result in both hardware & installer problems,but they dont crash the system.Quicktime prevents the installation of Creative Audigy4.Iv'e heard of problems with Acrobat v7.02 & it wouldnt uninstall.You have to delete it & purge it from your registry & Startup/Taskbar,then puge it from the Control Panel/Add Remove Program listing.Manually its tough,but you can delete v7.0 & the v7.01 patch using Control Panel/Add Remove Program first.Once purged go to Adobe & download Acrobat v7.03s full version!It doesnt cause problems.I believe this influenced the programmable Keyboards someone commented on.Microsoft has a web page on this.
Posted by: jgrtmp
On CPUs & heatsinks there is a hotspot dead center of the CPUs back that severs as its heat conductor to the back panel of the chip.Its probably about 1/4"x1/4".You should get a good thermal conductor to actually pass this heat to the heatsink.I use Arctic Silver 5.It is a non electrical conducting heat conducting grease(85% silver,10% zinc oxide & 5% unksubstance).A 3.5gm syring of this stuff can fix numerous computers as you only use a splotch about the size of a grain of rice.However there is a 200 hr break in period.I'm already getting CPU tems around 21-26 deg centigrade.
The problem now only occurs on my machine when I'm using graphic intensive games.It goes about 15 min & CPU temp rises to about 43 deg centigrade with a case tempof about 53 degs.Then bye bye.
Posted by: jgrtmp
The graphics cards of today are the armpits of the computer box.Pull those cards periodically & with a phillips head screwdriver(smallest head you can find)unscrew the top retainer covering the fan.I've overhauled 3 in my household this week & they were packed.I bought a soft toothbrush to clean with & even unscrewed the fan retainers.You can oil these buggers by pealing back the owners seal covering the hub.Apply only 1 drop of WD40.Th do this spray the point end of a pencil & then touch the drop to the exposed retaining clip.It you get any outside the hub clean it up.Keep it away from exposed electric clips in stepped fans.Place the seal back on it & reassemble fan & cover.This will stretch out the amount of time before crash.At least for me.Hopefully eliminate problems for some.Also in your BIOS settings make sure to set the proper AGP step(4 or 8).The aperature refers to the amount of memory you wish to gate to the CPU(it is a bandwidth).The more memory you have the better.
I'm off to check on some of the ideas I've gleaned here.I'll be back...
Posted by: jgrtmp
Oh I almost forgot.Some asked about the DCOM errors.OLE is DCOMs predicessor.Someone came out with it & Microsoft modified OLE & called it DCOM.Its all evolved into ActiveX now.As you know many try to stay away from ActiveX because of hacker scripts.DCOM is rarely used any more & if it is its usualy a hacker.You can disable that service.An easier & more intersting way is to go to
http://www.GRC.com
It has a freeware program called the DCOMbobulator which acts as a toggle.For Servers it can enable or disable the program when nodes are initiated.This is an amazing site with many interesting programs.This is the guy who found out about Zombie Fleet servers with armies of Zombies poise to initiate Zombie DNS attacks.A guaranteed interesting night of reading up.He also has a free service called SHIELDS UP!!!It gives a full range of attepted attacks on your computer as well as a full port report on open ports & whats using them.Check it out.Its a must...
Posted by: jgrtmp
Back again.Was hopeing to see some more input.I found one pg that is a interesting addition
got to:
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/ar...s-Shutdown.html
This might also help with Remote entities.TTFN...
Posted by: jgrtmp
Back once more.In relation to the page I refered to in the previous post I investigated a site belonging to one of the authors at that site & found a great autostartup tool.This will allow you to find any hanging programs or bad startup installs to the list.Compare it to your list from msconfig & you can find blank entries & use RegEdit to kill them(Caution).Point & click on entries sends you right to the offending key.I had 2 from Creative having to do with online Registration for Audigy4 (which I had done) & one from McAfee MIS6(MISAggregator).This also generated two running dllml.exes in the task list.The suggestions from the afore mentioned site + the tool from this site did it.
Go to -
http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Autoruns.html
Its freeware & there are many more cool tools there.Another must check out site!I'm out on this problem.Hope it helps the rest of you...
Posted by: neosnipes
hi my computer has been having random shut down problems lately after i replaced my video card.
system specs:
MOBO: gigabyte 7n400pro2
1.5 gig corsair xms memory
2 raptor SATA HD
Athalon XP 3000+ 400 mb FSB
old card:
radeon 9600 pro
upgraded to:
radeon x1600 pro
i replaced the card after one day the lights in the computer died, (has happened before inverter burned out), i turned off the computer to remove the burned out inverter and when i turned the computer back on, no video, tried another video card booted up fine, so purchased an upgraded card (x1600 pro) and after about an hour or 2 the computer shut off and would restart everytime it got into the bios over and over, other times it will shut off and the power LED will be on and the system will be off. all fans are running fine, i dont think the CPU is overheating.
when it restarts sometimes it will repeat long beeps which MOBO manual states is DIMM error, tried swapping memory and it still restarts.
the new video card requires that it is hooked up to the powersupply but im not sure if it is a power supply problem when the system was running lights and such before and it still shut down after unhooking one of the hard drives to see if it was the problem.
i just want to get some more input to see if anyone has any thoughts, thanks
Posted by: redwench
this is random restarting?
sounds like you forgot to upgrade your power supply.
Posted by: neosnipes
powersupply is 450 watts, also it is randomly restarting sometimes itll run over 2 hours sometimes 10 mins
Posted by: neosnipes
i tried to disconnect a hard drive to see if it was the powersupply not having enough juice, but it still cut out on me so im really not sure
Posted by: lewy75
I'm having the same problem with my computer just turning itself off.
I've had my computer for about 3 years now and it only started to do this last week, like the power plug has just been pulled out. When it happens the hard drive light stays on and there is still power going to the hard drive, floppy drive and one of my PCI cards has a green light on it when there is power going to it an this light is on, as well as the PSU fan is still going. I did a clean install, didn't work, tried it in safe mode, still happens, even when I'm in the cmos it still happens, so I went and disconnected all power from the drives, removed all cards, I got into the cms again and it stayed on for 3 hours, before I turned it off I checked the CPU temp which was 45 degrees celsius. I then just plugged the floppy drive back in, it got to operating system not found, so I left it on for 2 hours. I then plugged the hard drive back in, 5 minutes after booting off it went. I'm not sure if it is my hard drive, cpu, cpu fan, motherboard or psu.
I have 1.8 Ghz celeron
40 Gb hard drive
512 Mb RAM (which has been replaced after this started happening
200 watt PSU
1 cd burner, 1 dvd burner, 1 floppy drive
3 pci cards
Foxconn motherboard
Please help me I'm ready to throw my computer out the window.
Posted by: redwench
a 200w power supply cant help, but run the hard drive diagnostic program to see if thats it.
Posted by: lewy75
I ran a hard drive diagnostic and it didn't find anything, could it be the power supply? Can you recommend any tools to check cpu's and motherboards.
Posted by: Fireproof4ever
Let me tell you about a similar case I just figured out.....I had built a comp. for my father-in-law. It is a great comp with all new pieces and parts. I tested it and ran it pretty hard before I gave it to him to make sure there were no bugs. I took it to him and in a week it was randomly shutting down. I had set the BIOS too shut down whe the comp. gets hot, so I figured it was hot. I installed a temp. sensor and fan controller, I even cut the back of his desk out so there would be better airflow. Still had the problem persisted. I checked all software settings and every piece of hardware....still no luck. I booted to Knoppix (to see if it was a Windows problem)...No help. I figured bad PSU...even though this was a beautful new Antec Sonata II with a 450w PSU, I guess it could be bad.....not the problem. I also purchased a new APC UPS on the off chance he had a bad power strip, on a whim I put the comp. on the new UPS and installed all the bells and whistles that came with the UPS. I was promptly greeted with a message that the UPS had activated twice due to "Noise" on the line power. The computer has not shut down since. I was glad to know it was not my build, but I would have never thought it could be the power coming from the plug that was causing the problem!!!!!
Something to think about.......
Posted by: nobug
And Finally the Solution for me!!!
It was the freaking case...the button shorted out or something I guess. Anyways I disconnected all my leds from the mobo (those pesky little cables that come with the computer case and connect to the mobo) and only connected the reset led cable to the power switch led on the mobo and bada bing!!!! I have to use the reset button to power on my sys but thats nothing compared to buying and installing a new led cable and button not to mention a whole new pc case. I'm really disappointed at Antec for doing such a lousy job on its leds for the Sonata Case its the least they could have done for the expensive price of 100 bucks for a case...I smell conspiracy...lol anyways I'm just happy my pc finally works...CHeers and to all good luck, I'm off to watch the rest of the world cup germany 06
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