Another PC shutting off randomly :(

[PrasVT]

Mkay...I started the day wondering what kind of video card to buy, and now my computer is in a coma. So I need some help before I start buying various pieces of hardware ...

First, the hardware specs:

Coolmax 350W PS
Shuttle AN35Ultra 333/400 fsb nforce2 ultra mobo
512 x 2 PC2700
Athlon XP-M 2800+ @333mhz fsb
M-Audio Revo 7.1
Gainward Ti4200 128mb AGP 8x
ATI TV Wonder PCI
Promise UltraTX2 ATA100 card
Samsung 160gb HD
WD 80gb HD
Seagate 30gb HD
Seage 20gb HD
NEC 3520A DVD burner
Hi-Val 16x DVD-ROM
4 80mm case fans + 120mm cpu fan


Alright...so, I was playin San Andreas for about 8 hours straight yesterday. I had just finished the game, exited and the machine totally shut off. The CPU,PS,mobo, HD, and RAM are barely 1 year old. Today, it shut down while I was surfin the web. Then, when I turned it back on it shut off again after loading XP. Okay. Next time, it never made it into windows...got an error message saying some System file was missing. Fine, clean installed XP again .... never shut down throughout the process (in fact, installed twice b/c I used the *ahem* wrong XP cd) ... finally, when XP installed shut off right after loading. It's getting progressively worse as the day wears on. Soon, it would shut off right after posting. NOw, the fans/drives spin on and BAM ... off again.

Things to consider:

1 - I leave the machine on 24/7
2 - Ran memtest86 on either RAM chip, then again together - no errors.
3 - CPU is a mobile chip (ie unlocked, lower power requirement), so it's been OC'd by 200 Mhz most of the time to about 2250 or 2350 ... temps rarely go over 45 C.
4 - Flashed my Ti4200 to a 4400 about 2 months ago ... so + 25 core, + 60 memory
5 - Turned on the machine with all drives disconnected, ATA card removed, TV Card removed ... still shut off.
6 - Lastly, the PS has a 120mm fan facing down, no outside rear fan .. and my case door remains open.

Alright people...so any ideas? Is it a simple case of my Power Supply dying? Is my RAM bad? One thing I will say about the RAM, ... alone, each chip booted into Windows successfully. I installed service pack 2, and the machine didn't shut off.

Anyway..sorry about being long-winded. Just wanted to give you guys a complete picture. Any suggestions would be appreciated it. I'll probably try everything I can and you can think of before I give up ...

Thanks.

 

[PrasVT]

Update ...

I just realized that the power supply fan isn't moving. Whenever I turn the PS off and then back on .. and hit the power switch, the case fans spin a few secs and they shut off. The PS fan tries to move but doesn't ... so I'm guessing it's a safe bet that the PS is dead?

Update 2....

Jumped pins 13,14 on the power supply, and the PS fan turned on ..also one of the case fans that was still connected came on ..

So, I guess it's a motherboard problem.

Any agreement or disagreeements? Because I need this thing fixed ASAP.

 

[mechBgon]

Sounds like the PSU can't hack the load. Coolmax is not exactly a premium brand either. I'd get a quality brand, and it wouldn't hurt to go up around the 450W+ range if you ever want to upgrade later. One nominee is this beefy Enermax 460W. 33 amps on the 12V rail, company has a good reputation overall.

 

[PrasVT]

Yeah you're probably right. I'm not sure why I didn't just buy a 400W+ PS last year. Anyway, yah so now the PS wont work when I short the pins again. I tried taking out the motherboard and hooking up the PS to it. Then I shorted the "power on" pins ...same result as before and same result as just trying to get the PS fan to turn on.

My old 300W power supply is in my roommate's computer. Maybe I'll take that out try it. At least that'll help narrow thngs down.

Worst case, I think I can scratch up enough money for an Athlon64, mobo, and some DDR400 ...6800GT will have to wait for 2 months...

 

[PrasVT]

Alright..last update for the night. I tried my old 300W power supply and it seems to power up ... i'll probably hook it up to my machine and make sure everything starts. But yah ..so I guess I should get a new PS. Good call.

 

[blodhi74]

mechBgon makes a lot of good calls

 

[superfly27]

OK, I think you already know that overclocking increases the power supply requirements.
But also, that thing about the one fan in the psu makes me worry. Maybe you have damage to your processor you can't see.
A couple of cheap solutions, either a Duron 1.8 GHz at Tigerdirect or even a motherboard + Athlon XP 2900+ combo at Tigerdirect.
Those chips are kind of odd in a way. The Duron 1.8 GHz is apparently an Athlon 2200+ with less cache. The Athlon XP 2900+ is an OEM chip. It does officially exist on an AMD document somewhere but I haven't seen it on benchmarks anywhere.