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computer just shuts down

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by spoiledroten, 2004/04/03.

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  1. 2004/04/03
    spoiledroten

    spoiledroten Inactive Thread Starter

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    Day before yesterday my computer decided to start shutting down just about every 2 hours. I took the cover off the tower and blew out the inside with canned air thinking it may be dust. I put the cover back on plugged everything back in and turned it on and checked to make sure the fan was working and it is. I also ran 2 dif. vrus checks and came up with nothing. Anybody know what may be going on with this thing?

    Thanks, Karen
     
    spoiledroten,
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  2. 2004/04/03
    Daizy

    Daizy Inactive

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    When you had the cover off, did you by chance, take a look at the capacitors? (They look like AA batteries set on end.) Their bottoms should be bright and shiny. No brown residue or bulging.

    Can you also give us some system specs?
     
    Last edited: 2004/04/03
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  4. 2004/04/04
    spoiledroten

    spoiledroten Inactive Thread Starter

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    No I didn't notice anything like that. I know nothing about the insides of the computer.

    Outside of the operating system being windows xp what else do you need to know.


    Karen

    Please be gentle with me I am a beginner when it comes to this stuff.
     
    spoiledroten,
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  5. 2004/04/04
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Are there any error messages displayed before the computer shuts down or does it just shut down? And when it has shut down can you immediately boot it up again?
     
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  6. 2004/04/04
    Daizy

    Daizy Inactive

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    :) Well, we know, that you know, how to take the cover off. :) So, pop it off again, and have a look inside again. You don't need to touch a thing. Just look.

    As I mentioned.... Capacitors look like AA batteries set on end. You can't miss them. You'll have quite a few. Take a good look at them to make sure the ends of them are flat and shiny.
     
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  7. 2004/04/04
    spoiledroten

    spoiledroten Inactive Thread Starter

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    Just looked and the capacitators are flat and shiny. No, Pete there are no error messages or anything when it shuts down. It just shuts off as if I did a hard shut down and no I cannot turn it right back on I have to wait a bit before it will turn back on.

    Karen
     
    spoiledroten,
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  8. 2004/04/04
    martinr121 Lifetime Subscription

    martinr121 Inactive

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    Hi Karen:

    Do you have System Restore running on your machine? If so, do a restore to a point before the trouble started. Sometimes, not always, that works.

    Start~Help and Support~System Restore~Restore My Computer to a Previous Point.

    See if you can remember when the problem started, and if there is a restore point prior. Select that date and click "restore "

    If this does'nt work, we can try SFC, let us know.

    Good Luck

    Martin

    PS post back results, good or bad.
     
    martinr121,
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  9. 2004/04/04
    spoiledroten

    spoiledroten Inactive Thread Starter

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    Tried system restore to back a week earlier. It was no help.

    Karen
     
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  10. 2004/04/04
    spoiledroten

    spoiledroten Inactive Thread Starter

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    Tried system restore to back a week earlier. It was no help.

    Karen
     
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  11. 2004/04/04
    martinr121 Lifetime Subscription

    martinr121 Inactive

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    Karen: So sorry the Retore did not work.

    you said:

    I'm wondering if this is not an overheating problem or a power supply problem. Symptoms typical of a circuit breaker tripping, then resetting after cool down.

    Your mother board may be set to shut the machine down if the CPU is overheating to prevent damage. That is a good thing.

    When you blew out the machine, did you pay particular attention to the CPU heatsink? They can accumulate a lot of dust between the fins that impede cooling.

    Could be a CPU fan problem or heat sink problem? On reboot right after you can first get machine to run after shutdown, what CPU temperature is your BIOS reporting??

    Does your BIOS have a PC Health reporting function? If so see what temp the CPU is running at.

    Alternative: install Aida32, available for free download:

    http://www.aida32.hu/download/aida32pe_393.exe

    This program, among other things will tell you the CPU temp.

    Lots to investigate here, hopefully some others will chime in.

    Good Luck,

    Martin
     
    martinr121,
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  12. 2004/04/04
    spoiledroten

    spoiledroten Inactive Thread Starter

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    Where do I go to check the bios? (I feel so stupid) lol This thing is due to shut down soon so figured I better find out so I can check.

    Karen
     
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  13. 2004/04/04
    spoiledroten

    spoiledroten Inactive Thread Starter

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    Ok I downloaded the program you gave me. I am not sure if this is what you wanted me to find out but...I went into "computer" then "sensor "..it says


    temperatures

    motherboard...73 degrees f.
    cpu.....115 degrees f.
    aux.....81 degrees f.


    karen
     
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  14. 2004/04/04
    martinr121 Lifetime Subscription

    martinr121 Inactive

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    Gee whiz Karen, those temperature readings are well within the acceptable parameters as far as I know, my CPU runs consitantly at 115-117f.

    Would seem to rule out CPU overheat problem. I wish someone else would chime in here, and I'm sure they will given time.

    Access to BIOS (Basic Input Output System) varies by motherboard manufacturer. Many use the delete key. To try on your machine, boot (or reboot) and as the first screen appears, look on the bottom while the BIOS is detecting your drives. It should tell you what key will get you access. Probably the delete key. May be an F# key. Press the key before the BIOS finishes detecting the drives, you will be in the Basic Input Output System.

    A very interesting and confusing place to be. Don't change any settings, just look around. Use the up and down arrows and the enter and escape keys to navigate. On the bottom of the BIOS screen you should see the keys (methods) to navigate and close the BIOS. Once closed the machine will reboot.

    Each category and sub category of settings is opened with the "enter" key and closed with the "escape "

    Have fun

    Martin
     
    martinr121,
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  15. 2004/04/04
    spoiledroten

    spoiledroten Inactive Thread Starter

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    I went ahead and shut off the computer a bit ago before you posted your last thread because the cpu had gotten up to 120 degrees and I didn't know if that was bad or what. What would the power supply problem be? (and mean)

    I thought for awhile maybe I had gotten some sort of virus that was causing this but I ran my Norton and Trend Micro and both came up clean.


    Karen
     
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  16. 2004/04/05
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    I'm with Martin on this - could well be temperature related or a failing power supply.

    Martin Always happy to chip in - as you know - but we Brits are up to 8 hrs ahead of you and need our sleep :D

    spoiledroten This may be difficult to resolve, but a few things you can do ......

    The power supply unit (PSU) is the large silver (probably) box right at the top of the tower with a host of red/yellow/black .... cables coming from it which are attached to the drives, motherboard, etc. Looking on the back of the case you should see a grille - at the top of the case, behind which is the PSU fan. Shine a torch (flashlight) through the grill and see if the fan is running - when the PC is powered up.

    Run the PC with the case sides removed and see if this affects the frequency of shut down - would be a good idea to set a fan to blow into the case if you have one.

    Post back with the results.

    Monitor the temperature of the PSU by touching it - quite safe :) - is it warm or very hot and does it get really hot just prior to shut down?

    Go back to Aida32 > Computer > Sensor and let us know the speed of the CPU fan and the voltage readings.

    Then go to Motherboard > CPU and post the CPU type

    Then go to Motherboard > Motherboard and post the motherboard name.

    And for completeness Motherboard > Memory and post Physical Memory - total.

    Post back with the results - good luck!!
     
    PeteC,
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  17. 2004/04/05
    Johanna

    Johanna Inactive Alumni

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    MotherBoard Monitor is great for "keeping an eye on" possible heat issues. The temps are displayed in the notification area of your toolbar. You can see then, if there is a spike.

    The fact that you are not getting a BSOD makes me suspect a heat issue or power supply problem, too. PeteC had some good suggestions. Have you got any lightning protection? Power surge protection? Is your whole computer plugged into one outlet? Is it possible to free up that outlet to bare bones, or move the computer to another physical location?

    A few weeks ago, I worked on a computer that spontaneously shut off everytime the microwave oven was used- took the owner a few days to put the two occurences together. A UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) levels out power fluctuations. If you are using a plain surge protecter, try replacing it. They can get flaky, too.
    HTH

    Johanna
     
    Johanna,
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  18. 2004/04/05
    spoiledroten

    spoiledroten Inactive Thread Starter

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    Just turned it on today and it says....


    cooling fans>cpu>4561 rpm

    voltage values are>cpu core...0.01v
    +2.5v is 0.01v
    +3.3v is 3.31v
    +5v is 3.15v
    +12v is 7.62v

    motherboard>cpu type is AMD Athlon-PECM, 1300 Mhz (6.5 x 200 )

    motherboard name is Asus A7V-ML

    motherboard memory>total physical is 479 MB
     
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  19. 2004/04/05
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    If those voltages are correct I cannot see how the computer is running at all!

    Please re-check the values in Aida and post back.

    As a cross check please look in the BIOS .......

    Shut down the computer

    Reboot and keep tapping the Del key - Setup (the BIOS) should open.

    As you have an Asus board the BIOS is probably similar to mine (Asus A7N8X-E mobo).

    On that basis use the horizontal arrow key on your keyboard '->' to move across the top menu to Monitor.

    Note the voltages there, please.

    Then use the '->' key to move to Exit

    Use the down arrow key on the keyboard to select Exit and Discard Changes and hit Enter

    Quit without saving - enter 'y' and hit Enter.

    Then post the voltages here.

    I think you may have a PSU problem, but let's see the BIOS values for voltage first.
     
    PeteC,
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  20. 2004/04/05
    martinr121 Lifetime Subscription

    martinr121 Inactive

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    Pete: If those voltage readings are correct, that's probably why Spoiedrotten hasn't posted back, that computer cannot be running on those voltages. Is it possible the voltage reports are erroneous? How could that be??

    Martin
     
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  21. 2004/04/05
    Johanna

    Johanna Inactive Alumni

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    Martin- it is possible the mobo is not reporting the voltages correctly to AIDA, which is why PeteC suggested checking the actual BIOS. I would still like to know how the comp is plugged in- I like to start with the simple things, first. This could be a matter of your sister plugging in her curling iron on the same circuit, for example.

    Johanna
    whose toaster oven keeps taking out the cordless phones in the kitchen. sigh. Old house, bad wiring.
     
    Johanna,
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