PC Problems

[iorkca]

Hey all was wondering if anyone might be able to help me with a problem. This week my PC has shut itself off on 2 different occasions. The computer shuts right down then will not turn back on for several mins or more but on both occasions it does eventually turn back on and runs as far as i can tell normally for 1-2 days, thats been the time between the 2 occasions. What im trying to find out if anyone might know what it is. I was thinking a bad power supply but the power supple does not smell funny it was a little warm above where the power supply is on the case though. Another thing is the on board light that shows power is going to the motherboard has not turned off at all so that should indicate that power is still going to the machine. Everytime the computer has shut off i was playing World of Warcraft. Any ideas would be great i don't wanna buy a new PSU and it not be the issue. The computer is 2 years old specs are AMD Atholon 64 X2 4600, 2gigs of ram, radeon HD 4670 video card a 250 and a 1T hard drive the power supply is 500w. What im wondering also is if the CPU is overheating would it cause my pc to just shut down then not turn back on. I don't have alot of money and can't afford to buy parts that aren't the problem.

[xcorvis]

If the computer shut off while you're playing WoW (ie under a system load) but is fine otherwise, it probably means the power supply is not powerful enough for your system. Did you recently upgrade your graphics card or add something new? It might also be a sign that your PS is going bad.

[tokenuser]

If the computer shut off while you're playing WoW (ie under a system load) but is fine otherwise, it probably means the power supply is not powerful enough for your system. Did you recently upgrade your graphics card or add something new? It might also be a sign that your PS is going bad.

I actually think that the under load part is important - but not for power, for heat. Blow out the dust bunnies. Make sure the CPU heat sink is in place properly. Make sure that the case has enough ventilation and isn't sitting on carpet.

Because the machine runs well at other times, I doubt WoW would stress it too much.

[iorkca]

first off thanks for the replies

I went through the motions, dusted out the whole case, took out the power supply opened it and dusted it as well, looked at the CPU it looked fine, am thinking of getting some thermal paste and putting a new bead down. I ran a cpu monitor and from what i can tell the cpu never got hotter than 55 C while playing wow in an intense battle with lots of stuff going on. The only things in my PC that did not come with it are a 1T hard drive as me second drive and a HD radeon 4670 video card. The hard drive is 6+ months old while the video card is like 9months+ old.

I thought maybe it might be a power switch short just cause when the computer shut off the main power switch wont turn it back on. The first time it shut off about say 20mins later i was able to turn it back on and play wow for like 2 hours before going to bed then i was able to use/play all the next day then the next day it shut off again while playing wow, also both times it shut down the PC had been on all day and being my relax days i had spent a good part of the day gaming in WoW, RoM and SC 2. The second time it shut down it would not tur back on even after sitting for an hour, i fliped the switch on the PSU itself a couple time removed and put the cord back in then it turned on for like 10secs and shut back off. The next day i was able to turn it on again it lasted about 3hours then went dead again.

[davmoo]

This isn't really going to narrow it down much, but...

The fact that some time has to pass before you can turn it back on makes me say its a thermal problem and not an underpowered power supply problem. Something is over heating, and its taking time for it to cool down and reset.

I'd start with your idea of new thermal paste.

[tokenuser]

This isn't really going to narrow it down much, but...

The fact that some time has to pass before you can turn it back on makes me say its a thermal problem and not an underpowered power supply problem. Something is over heating, and its taking time for it to cool down and reset.

I'd start with your idea of new thermal paste.I suggested thermal issues earlier, but an often overlooked thermal issue is actually the PSU.

Thermal paste is the first place to look (and a smear, not a bead ... it needs to be wafer thin, not plastered on).

[gta_bmx]

You can get a decent good name brand aftermarket PS for about $50. You have nice parts, so it'd be a shame to fry them out due to a cheap/stock power supply.

[iorkca]

Ok so got a nice 550w power supply today and gonna start testing it out. Plus im gonna bring my old one in to the shop on the weekend and have them test it for me.

[computoman]

People used to take cans of compressed air for cleaning and cooling parts to see which ones were possibly faulty. Since the cans are usually just, c02 you could cool the ps down while un-plugged and see if that does the trick. then go to the mother board where the power plugs in and work your way back to every chip.

Make sure the socket where you plug everything in is wired properly (most hardware stores have a cheap adapter to check this) and has adequate power to support all the products. I have seen something happen like what you describe in older homes and apartments.