PC random shut down
 

I built a PC a few years ago. Starting to have a issues. Initially, when I power up it will get just through the XP splash screen before it just shuts down (as in turns off). I hit the power switch again and the same thing happens. It will some times take several tries before it stays on. Even once it gets going I'll b working on it and it will just shut down.

Now I cannot even get it to get past the splash screen. I swapped out the power supply thinking it was the issue but the same thing is happening.

When I get home I was going to remove all the peripherals I can. Video card, sound, Ethernet etc to narrow it down.

I a guessing it is the mother board but I do not know how to test test it.

Any ideas?

Sounds like an overheating issue to me, or corrupt OS.

Get into the BIOS and check the temps as quickly as you can.

If the Motherboard was an issue, it wouldn't boot at all. I've been doing this stuff for a long time :)
Peripherals will not cause this type of thing.

Sounds like a bad motherboard component and if I had to guess, I'd say it's a capacitor on the motherboard. Visually inspect for any oozing of brown material from the caps.

How do I check temps? I cannot even get the thing to stay on at this point. It shuts down after about 30-60 secs or so.

I just reformatted the hard drive a few weeks ago because I was having issues.

BTW, its a A-bit board and a AMD CPU

Check the fans run, mainly the CPU fan.

I would do as you plan, remove all peripherals, including the HD

Add them back slowly

I had a similar problem with my AMD machine, turned out I had a defective motherboard...then the replacement was defective, and now I'm on number 3 and its still sort of funky but functional. It also blew a PSU which then burned out a hard drive. Check all the capacitors on the mobo and see if the tops are bulging or broken.

Get into the BIOS via pressing the DEL key on boot up. If it crashes in the BIOS then look into hardware.

If it does NOT crash in the BIOS and temperatures look OK, download Memtest86 via antoher computer..burn it to disk and run it. If it crashes or errors out, RAM is your issue. If it does not, more than likely your windows is corrupt and needs reinstalling.

You might also want to have a look at this:-

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

Peripherals can cause this behavior, have seen it with defective network - ISDN - game and other cards.

Defective mainboard, CPU, memory or harddisk is also possible.
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Take everything except the video card out and try to get into the BIOS.
If it does not shut off in the bios, boot from an other disk.

I have a computer business since 1985, seen a lot of strange problems. Finding what is wrong is a lot easier if you have parts to swap.

Rob

I cannot get it started now. Last time this happened, I reformatted and it was good for a bit. Can the OS be working and ten cause the PC to just shot down like someone pulled the plug? I figured if the OS was bad, it would freeze or give an error of some sort. Going to try a reformat here in a bit.

Yes that is possible. Usually always at the same stage when booting.

Why have you formatted your disk? Did you do a full check when formatting?

Rob

I thought the same thing when I saw the title of the thread. Its either a failing motherboard or a failing power supply.

I was having a booting issue a month ago or so. It would get past the splash screen and then stop loading. Did a reinstall with complete format.

I usually format about once a year to get all the crap off that MS saves over time. Seems to make everything run a bit faster and smoother.

I'm doing it again right now on the desk top. I guess we will see whats happening. I suspect since the PC has not shut down already that it is not a mother board or HD issue since it would not stay on more than a min or two earlier and when it stopped booting after the splash screen I could leave i on for several minutes to see if it would do anything and it would still stay powered on.

OK, I don't think it's the OS. I got the format and install done and the PC rebooted to start the set up. Got to the point where you select your time zone and it shut down.

I'm going to see if I can get through this and I'll check the temps. Then Im going to start pulling peripherals.

I would start by opening the case and see if the fans are working and get all the dust out.

You can probably see the temps in the BIOS setup screen, press DEL on start up. It is often under POWER > Hardware monitor.

Rob

PC has been on for about 2 hours now and the temps are remaining steady at

40C - CPU
36C - SYS

Fans are all working. Cleaned out the dust when I swapped out the power supply a few weeks ago.

The next thing you could do is turning overclocking of (in the BIOS).
Setting memory to longer CAS latency my also help.
What memory are you using?

Taking the memory out and putting it back in sometimes solve bad connection problems.

If you have two strips of memory leave one out for testing.

Rob

PC has been on for about 5-6 hours now. Temps have not changed at all. Are they accurate?

The PC has just shut down 3 times in the last 10 min. It might be my imagination but it seems to shut down more when I have more apps open and it's under 'load'.

I am not very familiar with AMD CPUs, but I assume that they have some sort of power control. They'll take more power and produce more heat when under a higher load. Old CPUs didn't do this, but then again, they didn't take much power or produce much heat by comparison.

Check the heat-sink temperature with an IR thermometer. Check again for dust buildup. Ensure that your fan is running at the correct speed. If the motherboard is lying about the CPU temperature, it may not be running the fan fast enough.

There are programs for testing pc's.

I think Bitpro has a free evaluation version.
Loading more programs does not necessarily mean more load on the processor. Memory and disk access will be higher.

Rob

seems to be a degrading issue.

It was fine most of the day. I had one shut down during the reinstall and then it was OK for a while. Last night I had a several shut downs and now it will not get past the windows splash screen where the little blue bar is. It's been off all night so it's not a heat issue.

Seems like a software issue but how does the same thing happen twice in a row? This is the second install. The only difference is the spot in which it gets stuck and now it freezes instead of shuts down.

I'm going start taking out peripherals when I get back. I assume the HD is OK because if it was not, nothing would load? I had no issues loading on XP either time. I'll pull memory, vid card and ethernet card.

The mother board and CPU are under warranty till he 21st so I need to pull the trigger before then.

You may have a BIOS problem.
- Switch of power supply
- Remove battery
- Put a jumper on CLRTC
- Put the jumper back
- Reinstall the battery
- Turn power supply back on
- On power up load BIOS defaults

This sometimes helps

Rob

How do I load Bios defaults? Will I have to reinstall the OS? The CLRTC ring a bell but can you refresh my memory?

CLRTC is usually a jumper on the board, look in your manual where is is (and how to use it).

Do not forget to turn the power supply off and remove the battery, also press the power button on the PC to make sure there is not charge left.

If the BIOS is cleared he BIOS screen will appear when rebooting, otherwise press the DEL key.

Load defaults will be under EXIT > Load setup Defaults.

No need to reinstall OS

Rob

The manual refers to a CLR_CMOS

Is this the same thing?

Manual says nothing about removing the battery. How does the Cmos get cleared if there is no power?

Cmos reset did not work. I did see the Cmos error-defaults reset - hot F1 to cont. so the process worked but did not fix the problem.

I'l take out a stick of mem and the cards tonight. I have to go to work now.

Thanks for your help Rob.

The idea is that the CMOS is cleared by taking the power of it, is the pc is shut down it is still powered by the battery.

If the BIOS is reset it should be OK

Rob

I successfully reset the Cmos but it did not fix the problem.

I thought I had two sticks of memory but only have one. I'm going to see if I can get the memory tested to see if maybe that is the problem.

Abit boards are not exactly known for quality. Try using a Biostar, Asus, or MSI board next time. The only a-bit I've ever bought failed in about a year. I have Biostar and ASUS boards currently in service that are between 6-11 years old and won't die.

I recentely fixed a pc with random reboots.
Took the board out, removed CPU.
Cleaned all contacts and put it together again.
Works for a week now without rebooting.

Rob

Striped the whole thing down. I brought it into Frys and they ran their tests on the CPU/MB and found no errors. Put it all back together and the problem still persists. I think I am going to wipe out the partitions on te main HD, format it and try that. I do not understand how a software issue could cause a shut down but who knows. If that does not work I will try sing my secondary HD and install the OS on it. Just trying to eliminate the HD as the source of the problem.

I got 3 faulty ASUS boards (DOA) in a row from the factory. 4th is questionable but somewhat functional. May have been the model of the mobo, but my friend who used the same exact one had his first one DOA as well. My Asus netbook on the other hand, had a 32 inch CRT tv fall directly on it, and all it needed was a new screen :confused:

I've had the best luck so far with Biostar boards. Only 1 failure out of probably 40+ that I have built.

Curious that you did not blue-screen.

My initial thought was heat since I started having similar problems when the weather got warm and my computer was flat on the desk. Tilting it up so heat could dissipate solved that problem.

The only non-blue screen shutdown I have experienced was when I upgraded my RAM and did not seat the new ones properly -- but that happened immediately. Is is possible one of your modules be seated properly while the other(s) is/are not?

I don't think so. Had memory out when I striped it down. When I put everything back in I was careful to make sure everything felt solid when I put it back together.

The tower has 34 fans. One on the side panel, one back one front one on the CPU and it is in a well vented cuby in my desk (no rear obstruction, 4" on the side and 3" on top and open at front.

My bet is that the motherboard is shot. Time to claim warranty.

Tried that. went to Frys and they ran test ton MB but were unable to detect any issues wit it. If they cannot reproduce it, they wont do anything.