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uzzors2k

Tue Feb 21 2006, 11:18AM

Registered Member #95 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 04:57PM
Location: Norway
Posts: 1308

My computer has been shutting down without warning for the last two months. Usually I'm just surfing or something that doesn't crave much performance and *pop* suddenly everything is dead. It seems like the power supply just dies instantly.

Just 5 minutes ago this happened, but this time the computer froze first, then the screen went black.

I think some caps might be bad, as they had to be changed when I first got the motherboard, and some are missing... The power supply is also fairly old.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Alex

Tue Feb 21 2006, 11:36AM

Geometrically Frustrated
Registered Member #6 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 04:18AM
Location: Bowdoin, Maine
Posts: 373

EMI can also cause this. If you don't have adequate shielding, a spike of RF energy can knock out your computer. This used to happen with my caseless G4 whens omeone turned out the fluorescent light in the kitchen (the kicthen cieling is my floor, so the light is about 6 feet away from my computer).

Caps could also be the cause, as you have said. Look for swollen caps, and check into those missing caps. That doesn't sound good.

Pcnerd

Tue Feb 21 2006, 07:17PM

Registered Member #88 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 02:37PM
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 29

Alex wrote ...

EMI can also cause this. If you don't have adequate shielding, a spike of RF energy can knock out your computer. This used to happen with my caseless G4 whens omeone turned out the fluorescent light in the kitchen (the kicthen cieling is my floor, so the light is about 6 feet away from my computer).

Caps could also be the cause, as you have said. Look for swollen caps, and check into those missing caps. That doesn't sound good.

first with pc problems always look at software problems.
have you runned any virusscanners/ad aware removers/etc. ?

Conundrum

Tue Feb 21 2006, 08:10PM

Registered Member #96 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:37PM
Location: CI, Earth
Posts: 4059

Check your mains connector, i once repaired a pc where the connector had gone dodgy at the power supply end and someone had stuffed the pins into it and left it hanging out of the case (!!!)

Dodgy soldering is possible, as is a flaky power supply.

-A

Alex

Tue Feb 21 2006, 08:51PM

Geometrically Frustrated
Registered Member #6 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 04:18AM
Location: Bowdoin, Maine
Posts: 373

Pcnerd wrote ...

first with pc problems always look at software problems.
have you runned any virusscanners/ad aware removers/etc. ?

If it's shutting down immediately and without warning, it's probably not software.

Dave Marshall

Tue Feb 21 2006, 10:24PM

Registered Member #16 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 02:22PM
Location: New Wilmington, PA
Posts: 554

Everyone seems to have missed the obvious suggestion here. I've seen almost identical systems three times, and all three times it was problems with overheating of the power supply. A graphics card overheating can cause similar issues, though its usually more evident that its in the graphics system somewhere.

Get a can of dust-off or other compressed air electronics cleaner. Don't use a vacuum. Get all the dust off the motherboard, all the assorted components, then pull the case off the power supply and blow it off. I'd be willing to bet that you'll find the interior of the power supply caked in dust.

Dave

Carbon_Rod

Tue Feb 21 2006, 10:33PM

Registered Member #65 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:43AM
Location:
Posts: 1155

Too much heat, bad fans etc., and or main line brown-outs.

Edit:
Oops!
fp is Daves

Pcnerd

Wed Feb 22 2006, 05:08PM

Registered Member #88 Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 02:37PM
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 29

You could also check your RAM, great programs for that to find on the internet.
but I don't think it's a hf signal, you'll probably deal with only the pc.
and shutting down without warnings also can be software, he says: first the screen freezes...
look likes software too me, but did you run antivirus software etc?

Alex

Wed Feb 22 2006, 06:36PM

Geometrically Frustrated
Registered Member #6 Joined: Thu Feb 02 2006, 04:18AM
Location: Bowdoin, Maine
Posts: 373

Pcnerd wrote ...

You could also check your RAM, great programs for that to find on the internet.
but I don't think it's a hf signal, you'll probably deal with only the pc.
and shutting down without warnings also can be software, he says: first the screen freezes...
look likes software too me, but did you run antivirus software etc?

Yes, but this "Usually I'm just surfing or something that doesn't crave much performance and *pop* suddenly everything is dead." is definately a hardware problem. Whether or not he has software problems too doesn't really matter yet, that needs to be fixed first. It could be that the freeze/shutdown was a software problem, and the immediate shutdowns are hardware, but I'm willing to bet both of them are hardware problems, they just range in severity.

Bad memory is a good guess too, although the previous cap problem and the fact that some are missing would indicate a capacitor problem. Try Memtest86, it won't hurt to check.

Hazmatt_(The Underdog)

Fri Feb 24 2006, 01:05AM

Registered Member #135 Joined: Sat Feb 11 2006, 12:06AM
Location: Anywhere is fine
Posts: 1735

You're sure its not a performance issue?

I had my 2500+ pushed to 2.02GHz and it always crashed after 2 hrs. no matter how fast the fans were running. Its at 1.98GHz now, and the only crashes I've had since were because my music HD died.

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