Computer shuts off randomly, makes ambulance sound

[imported_matic]

It started happening about a month ago, and I thought maybe it was a virus and I'd been meaning to reformat and reinstall anyway so I did, but I'm still having the problem.

It seems when my computer is under any real strain, ie playing halflife2, copying songs to my MD player, or even watching dvds sometimes, my computer will shut off and the internal pc speaker will make a two tone siren sound until I flick the off switch on the power supply. Both the fan on the cpu and the power supply work, so I have no idea. I assumed that it was shutting itself off when it was overheating. Should I just replace the power supply?

 

[spherrod]

What motherboard do you have? there should be a utility with it that can let you monitor temps.

 

[helpmeout]

This may not work with whatever moboyou have (some aren't supported) but download and try Motherboard Monitor 5 (MBM 5). This will give you the temps on your mobo and CPU. It's a free program, easy to setup.



Check Google to find the program.

 

[nweaver]

sounds like heat....

MBM 5 is nice, if your mobo works with it.

 

[boomerang]

Make sure the Heatsink/Fan on the Processor is still connected properly. The thing is still latched down. Might be a good idea to take it off, clean it up and put some thermal goo on it.

What happens if you run the computer with the side cover off? Does the same thing still happen?

Get into your BIOS and see if there is a setting to enable an overheat alarm. Even the lowest setting should still be within specs, but check it anyway. Most modern BIOS will give you temps. Nowhere near as handy as looking at them within Windows. You can most likely look at voltages there also.

Somethings changed. The question is what. I'd be looking closely at the Heatsink/Fan.