Random Shutdown

Vicxas

Hi all,


Having a very annoying problem atm with my custom built PC,

Basically the last 2 days shes been powering off at random intervals. id boot up and about half hour later itll just die. Ive consulted some tech guys around my home town and some say it could be overheating or the mobo could be fooked. but I ran a stress test and she didnt cut out at all. Computer is about 2-3 years old

CPU temps are sitting at 42c under normal.

SPECS:
Intel Quad core Q6600
Asus P35n2e SLI
Antec Toughpower 800W
4gb Patriot ram
2 x 500gb Samsung Spinpoint
Creative Fatal1ty Xfi Sound card.

Any ideas?

seyeM

If you think it's not the CPU (what stress test? How long was it run for? Was 42 degrees the idle temperature? If so what was the maximum?), other potential culprits are:

-Power supply, could be verified by testing computer with another one.
-Ram (run a bootable version of memtest http://www.memtest.org/)
-Motherboard
-This is a long shot, but perhaps some sort of virus?

VenomIreland

To test for overheating, download Intel Burn Test, and run it a few times, this'll stress it more than prime95.

Another thing, check the event logs, there could be something logged as the reason for the shutdown.

EDIT: You could try testing another PSU as well, it would at the very least eliminate the possibility of that being the cause of the problem.

Vicxas

Grabbing memtest now,

Question. My windows isnt genuine, im fixing that soon, could that be doing it? Keeps telling me to authenticate.

dwighet

I had a similar issue a while back and traced it down to the reset(power on/off) switch...
The wire from the switch that plugs into the mobo was loose at the mobo..:o
I gave it a little jiggle and it was good to go...

massy086

run memtest it would be my gues take out 1 stick at a time as in only test 1 stick at a time

Vicxas

Brought it to a local repair store and they ran everything on it, said that harware wise shes fine and that my copy of windows might be corrupt. So i got her home and im trying to install windows after wiping it and it happened again!!! So maybe it could be the HDD?

Monotype

Isn't it Thermaltake that make the toughpower PSUs, not Antec?

When it shuts down, are you able to boot it up again immediately?

Vicxas

Sorry its an antec. Unsure of the brand. When she dies i can reboot usually within 5 seconds. Now the guy who took a look at it he said outside of a windows enviroment it never crashed. Im running disc checker now and it hasnt shutdown yet. So maybe it was windows...

Overheal

if windows were to crash it would BSOD, I have never heard of it just cutting out and going dark. Definitely sounds hardware related. If it's not the CPU, the Memory, and you're pretty sure it's not the Board or the PSU, your next likely culprit is the Hard Drive. If the hard drive stops it's basically telling the Motherboard "K I'm done now bye" and the motherboard says Alright and shuts off.

Vicxas

Yeah i was thinking that too. so im swapping over to my backup HDD

massy086

have you done what i suggested

Vicxas

Yeah ran memtest ages ago. Ram is fine.

Update: Happened again with a new HDD. So i swapped the power socket out for a different one. That didnt help so im removing the old HDD and see what happens.

Update Update: Swapping HDD's didnt work, so PSU maybe?

massy086

how long did u do the memtest for and did you do one stick at a time

Serephucus

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you haven't checked temperatures yet. Download HWMonitor and keep it running while you're doing whatever it is that usually shuts down your computer. Make sure you exit whatever it is before it usually shuts off though.

When you do, take a screenshot so we can have a look at your temps.

Vicxas

Checked temps alright, CPU idles at 42c, havent checked my GPU in a while, will try that tonight.