PC has started to turn off. Help

clivej

My PC has decided to turn itself off without any warning, it just shuts down. The same as if the power is turned off.

I thorught it was the CPU over heat but I cleaned out the heat sink and installed Fan Speed to keep a eye on the CPU tempreture btu it only getting up to 35 C so its not that.

Now before I start to rip it all apart has anyone any ideas as to what can be coursing this to happen????

dan_ep82

Blue Screen?
If not check even viewer.

Overclocked?

How old is the PSU/system?

chin_grin

Are you in the middle of a certain program when it shuts down? Do you get any error messages? Does it do the same thing even in safe mode?

Next thing to check would be hardware. IE removing one piece at a time and varying them (eg one stick of ram [if you have two] and the disk drive, or swapping the ram around). It'll be a painful process to narrow down.

Did you change anything recently on the computer? (install programs, update drivers?)

ScumLord

It sounds like it's restarting after an update, I've been caught by it before but it usually gives you a 15 minute countdown warning first. If it's shutting down rather than just abruptly turning off I'd say some program is doing it. event viewer should give the answer.

clivej

No BSOD, Can happen anytime, No updates, Not overclocked, No new hardware added, PC is about 5 years old and was top spec then. As said it just turns off, not a shut down, without any warnings. It may turn off even before it completes the boot up which leads me to think its more a hardware fault.

I did a BIOS reset.

On restart it may turn off right again or power up. So I can't go into safe mode.

How do I get into 'Event Viewer' and what am i looking for there????

yoyo

clivej wrote: »

No BSOD, Can happen anytime, No updates, Not overclocked, No new hardware added, PC is about 5 years old and was top spec then. As said it just turns off, not a shut down, without any warnings .

On restart it may turn off right again or power up. So I can't go into safe mode.

How do I get into 'Event Viewer' and what am i looking for there????

Could well be a power supply issue, if the cut outs are so random and no other type of error, BSOD etc. Do you have another PSU you could try out? Event viewer resides in Control Panel>Admin tools>Event Viewer. Look under the System reports

Nick

henryporter

Might be your battery - five year old PC would probably need a replacement at this stage. The battery is located on the motherboard. Normally though you get some kind of message to tell you that the system battery is low.

dan_ep82

Try running memtest for 7-8 passes
http://www.memtest.org/

After that I'd try a new/different psu

Nothingbetter2d

clivej wrote: »

My PC has decided to turn itself off without any warning, it just shuts down. The same as if the power is turned off.

I thorught it was the CPU over heat but I cleaned out the heat sink and installed Fan Speed to keep a eye on the CPU tempreture btu it only getting up to 35 C so its not that.

Now before I start to rip it all apart has anyone any ideas as to what can be coursing this to happen????

definitely sounds like a failing PSU.... try a different psu in it to see if its still shutting down.... if u ask any of your IT freinds im sure one could loan u a psu so u can check.

clivej

Pc was running for 3-4 hours today then turned off. Now its turning off with in a few seconds or right off, just after a press of the start button. So its not getting as far the POST.. Bleep sounds on start up sound OK (as normal) when it did start up

So its looking more like a PSU fault.
The PSU is a Corsair HX620w modular supply unit.

yoyo

clivej wrote: »

Pc was running for 3-4 hours today then turned off. Now its turning off with in a few seconds or right off, just after a press of the start button. So its not getting as far the POST.. Bleep sounds on start up sound OK (as normal) when it did start up

So its looking more like a PSU fault.
The PSU is a Corsair HX620w modular supply unit.

I have a Corsair aswell, they are excellent PSUs, although like anything can fail. My reccomendation is to take out the PSU completely, unplug all connectors and the the modular pieces. Put the unit back together and re-connect all connections to the computer.
I had an interesting problem recently with a new RAM upgrade, I went from 4-8Gig however the machine kept locking up on me, so I run Memtest86 overnight and it comes back fine? Looking in the machine it turned out one of the RAM clips wasnt secured properly, the heat the PC generates can cause a loose connection to slip out, even though turning back on will work for a while.

Nick

Overheal

Odd thread, as I just had the same symptoms today on a friends desktop. Removed 10 pounds of dust from the machine, opened up the PSU casing to find a pound more, and it ran fine. For about 2 hours. Then it cut off. I suspect the HDD might have overheated or it might just be on its last leg: the machine only had 2GB of RAM and it was overburdened. From the time it exits BIOS to loading into Windows the HDD never once stops, it's always working and always making noise. Not strange noises for a busy hard drive, but just a large amount of business. And then it would crap out.

I took it in to work to have the geeks look at it. I very much feel the HDD overheated or is giving up the ghost, it's mounted sideways and there is no front airflow in this case. I had to reverse one of the exhaust fans just to give the case Positive Pressure. All it had was 2 exhaust, which explains how it got caked in 10 pounds of dust. Bloody immaculate looking now though after 2 spent cans of air and 10 minutes with a compressor Will have to wait and see what the verdict is. I could have done more but it's one of those weird HP cases where I couldnt even fathom how to remove the hard drive let alone service it.

clivej

Well i ordered a new Corsair 600w PSU today from Komplett. Lets hope it will cure the problem!!!!:o

Overheal

Turned out to be a bad motherboard.... so good luck on that.

yoyo

Overheal wrote: »

Turned out to be a bad motherboard.... so good luck on that.

Yeah I wouldn't have jumped the gun and ordered a new PSU without trying another, having said that motherboard issues don't tend to be as intermittent

Nick

GreyEagle

I think I may have the dreaded BSOD as well, on an otherwise satisfactory Toshiba L-500. If I close the lid or Sleep or Hibernate I wind up having to startup after an abnormal shutdown. Doesn't happen every time but most times. It's less than 2 years old. Any ideas for a solution?

clivej

The new PSU arrived a couple of days ago only to find they now don't have the P4 4 pin (2 yellow + 2 black cables) connection for the MB. :mad:

So into the local PC shop and managed to get an old PSU with a P4 and a molex connector and will solder it up tonite.:)

Nothing comes easy :eek:

yoyo

clivej wrote: »

The new PSU arrived a couple of days ago only to find they now don't have the P4 4 pin (2 yellow + 2 black cables) connection for the MB. :mad:

So into the local PC shop and managed to get an old PSU with a P4 and a molex connector and will solder it up tonite.:)

Nothing comes easy :eek:

The PSU should have had such a plug, sometimes theres an 8 pin one which you can break away in half (like power ATX 20/24)!

Nick

clivej

yoyo wrote: »

The PSU should have had such a plug, sometimes theres an 8 pin one which you can break away in half (like power ATX 20/24)!

Nick

And you were correct that plug did break into two.

PC is all back now but the fault is still there so it's looking like a new MB, PCU, Mem and the rest.

Feck just what I didn't want for Christmas :mad::mad::mad:



JUST A MO.

I did a stress test on it for the last hour, used OCCT v4 and it didn't stop.

So what other software should I use to put this PC under pressure??

clivej

The PC is still doing to same and turning itself off.

SO it's now looking like the Main Board is the culprit.
To change now means a new MB + CPU + RAM, i'll keep the PCIex graphics card, case and HDD's.

yoyo

clivej wrote: »

The PC is still doing to same and turning itself off.

SO it's now looking like the Main Board is the culprit.
To change now means a new MB + CPU + RAM, i'll keep the PCIex graphics card, case and HDD's.

There could be a loose screw or something shorting the machine, I would rebuild it from scratch, remove mobo CPU cooler, RAM etc. If it still fails then you'll likely need to replace the mobo. You can sell the spare Corsair on adverts, may get a few quid for it

Nick

clivej

yoyo wrote: »

There could be a loose screw or something shorting the machine, I would rebuild it from scratch, remove mobo CPU cooler, RAM etc. If it still fails then you'll likely need to replace the mobo. You can sell the spare Corsair on adverts, may get a few quid for it

Nick

As you say I have now got the MB on the table under going a stress test with the minimum of hardware connected to it. Using HeavyLoad to use 100% CPU & Memory. And OCCT v4 (not running) to monitor the temps. and voltages

How long should I leave it testing?? and will it prove that the MB is OK and that it may be one of the other parts thats gone belly up??


Screen grab of stress test

yoyo

clivej wrote: »

As you say I have now got the MB on the table under going a stress test with the minimum of hardware connected to it. Using HeavyLoad to use 100% CPU & Memory. And OCCT v4 (not running) to monitor the temps. and voltages

How long should I leave it testing?? and will it prove that the MB is OK and that it may be one of the other parts thats gone belly up??


Screen grab of stress test

I'd leave it overnight.

Nick

clivej

I left the stress test running for 4/5 hours and all was well. All results are OK with temps and Voltages oK.

I then closed the stress test programs down and started to open Photoshop, fireworks, and Premiere Pro. and open them up all at the same time. This again crashed the PC without any warning.

It would seem that the PC will take the stress test but not a working scenario.

Is there any known problems with my setup

MB = MSI K9N Platinum nForce 570
CPU = AMD AM2 6000 3.0mHz
HIS ATI 1950 256 ram Graphics card.
1gb ram

yoyo

Your problem could possibly be GPU related, I'd download and run FurMark and see if the system stays stable. FurMark is quite GPU intensive so I wouldn't leave it running too long, if the system crashes soon after opening GPU accelerated apps (Photoshop, Premiere etc.) then a GPU benchmark will likely cause the same problem if that is the culprit.

Nick

clivej

yoyo wrote: »

Your problem could possibly be GPU related, I'd download and run FurMark and see if the system stays stable. FurMark is quite GPU intensive so I wouldn't leave it running too long, if the system crashes soon after opening GPU accelerated apps (Photoshop, Premiere etc.) then a GPU benchmark will likely cause the same problem if that is the culprit.

Nick

PC booted up fine and I got to run Furmark one time OK, in the easy mode. Second time it failed.

Now as it was before it will spin up but not get as far as the boot screen or will get half way through booting into windows. Or boot uo into windows OK and then sit there waiting.

Its like you toss the dice and take your chance as like it will boot up at all or stay sitting there waiting for some sort of input or run a program and then power off.

Time to shoot the auld dog I think.

OK I'm now looking at this lot as a new build.
Is the 1.65 volt ram OK to use??? 'cos most of the ram I see is 1.5volt.

And is the supplied Intel CPU FAN OK to use or should I upgrade that as well while I'm buying the new gear????


(I don't need the extra's of the Pro board)
Asus P8Z68-V LX - Socket 1155 - ATX Intel Z68 - 4x DDR3 - SATA600 / USB 3.0

Intel Core i5 2500k 3.3GHz 6MB S1155
Quad Core - Includes Cooler

Corsair XMS3 DIMM- 8GB 1600MHz PC3-12800
DDR3 - 240 pin - 1.65V - CL9 - Kit

Using exsisting graphics card
HIS X1950 PRO IceQ 3 Turbo 256MB PCIe
http://www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-318.shtml

yoyo

clivej wrote: »

PC booted up fine and I got to run Furmark one time OK, in the easy mode. Second time it failed.

Now as it was before it will spin up but not get as far as the boot screen or will get half way through booting into windows. Or boot uo into windows OK and then sit there waiting.

Its like you toss the dice and take your chance as like it will boot up at all or stay sitting there waiting for some sort of input or run a program and then power off.

Time to shoot the auld dog I think.

OK I'm now looking at this lot as a new build.
Is the 1.65 volt ram OK to use??? 'cos most of the ram I see is 1.5volt.

And is the supplied Intel CPU FAN OK to use or should I upgrade that as well while I'm buying the new gear????


(I don't need the extra's of the Pro board)
Asus P8Z68-V LX - Socket 1155 - ATX Intel Z68 - 4x DDR3 - SATA600 / USB 3.0

Intel Core i5 2500k 3.3GHz 6MB S1155
Quad Core - Includes Cooler

Corsair XMS3 DIMM- 8GB 1600MHz PC3-12800
DDR3 - 240 pin - 1.65V - CL9 - Kit

Using exsisting graphics card
HIS X1950 PRO IceQ 3 Turbo 256MB PCIe
http://www.hisdigital.com/un/product2-318.shtml

Have you overclocked any of the hardware? I'm guessing if you ran Memtest and benchmarks/stress tests the RAM is ok, you may find if you arn't running it overclocked it will use default "fail safe" settings.
The fact that Furmark caused the system crash could be due to a faulty video card, I use stock Intel coolers and while there not great they'll work fine. Just make sure the fan is properly attached to the mobo, to check this the black push pins (on the bottom) should be all the way out for all 4 white/clear joints. If the CPU fan is loose this would cause the CPU to overheat.
Do you have another video card you could test in the machine, or even use your one in another machine?

Nick