URGENT: PC Turns itself OFF

[MorbidX]

Ok this is becoming a real annoyance now.


On Thursday i think (3/5/07) my pc had been running from 11pm 2/5/07- 2pm 3/5/07 so 15 hours and this tends to be a daily occurance.
I turned it off via the power button cos i was in a hurry and didnt have enough time to shutdown properly and went to work.

I came back at 11pm as usual that night

turned my pc on.. booted up normally.. started to load teamspeak which i use with the game Entropia Universe.. BANG screen black.. PC had turned itself off.. EXACTLY like a powercut, keyboard lights on but my pc itself lifeless.

I press the power button and boot up.. bang again.


Now this has been going on since thursday night.

now i kept powering it up when it turned itself off and thursday night i got into my game and everything and it was on and running for the usual 15 hrs.. no problems. Turn it off friday morning goto work. Firdya night same again!!

It varies too.. sometimes it turns off in boot, sometimes it turns off form 1-5 mins on desktop.. sometimes 15 mins. then lastnight i watched a 2hr 30min movie on my pc, logged into my game then 3 hrs into the game turned itself off. I had the side off my case, and the case thermo on the floor and reading 23degree air temp.
On one occasion after a poweroff i went into the BIOS and checked the temp MOBO@ 39degrees C
Processor@ 42 degrees C

this was straight after the poweroff.

the systems 1 yr old

amd 64 3200
1gb crucial memory (lifetime warrenty)
radeon x700s 256mb
soundblaster audigy2
westerndigital i think 78gb hd
nec dvd-rw +/- dual layer
500w psu
cant remember the mobo manufacturer

I think this may be a temperature issue. i do need to clean all the fans in my case.
i have only psu with 2 fans, and 2 case fans, did have 3 but one broke.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

I beleive my gfx card fan is a bit funny as a while ago it was making a sound but that i think has gone. Also if it was gfx cooling i wouldnt be able to play the game for 3-4 hrs straight at ANY point without it crashing?


I Think my PSU is making a whining sound, like a ungreased spindle as an example. but its not always a constant sound, it "pulsates in sound" like a house alarm. But i have noticed when my PC DOESNT turn itself off the noise seems less/ gone most fo the time.

The PSU is running fairly hot to touch after 30 mins to 1 hr.

Im suspecting my PSU as my problem as i seem to remember someone telling 0me once a noisey psu = a bad one.

Suggestions and idea?

I need to get this working so i can do my university work

 

[Dwarfer]

Im suspecting my PSU as my problem as i seem to remember someone telling 0me once a noisey psu = a bad one.

im glad you talked about your psu coz i would agree totally, the few reasons why a pc would turn itself off like this is
1. cpu overheating (check it JUST BEFORE it goes off, it may be spiking (ie, heatsink or fan trouble)
2. psu.. delivering too much or too little power to the 12v snake-like cable
3. possible motherboard internal fault
4. the off-switch wires or the switch itself are faulty


firstly if i had the patients i would watch the temp and the MB voltage untill it goes off, systems allow a 10% threshold rise or fall in voltage before it shuts down... next i would swap power supplies. failing that i would completely disconnect the power switch from the motherboard.

if all them fail it has to be a MB problem

good luck

ps, more than likely your PSU

 

[donkey42]

2. psu.. delivering too much or too little power

a PSU will only output to the max if all the power is being used

ps, more than likely your PSU

yeah, it's more likely to be the PSU, can you borrow a powerful one to test ?

BTW: with your spec i'd recommend at least a decent branded 350W PSU for that spec

BTW to find the best PSUs at B's PSU Sticky here