Computer Shutting down by itself (then not restarting??)

[Kellian1]

Hi everyone,

The trouble I am having is this, Started up my backup computer today and all was fine for about 2 minutes, I was able to get online with my DSL connection and search some sites. The computer then decided to restart itself. This has been problem has been going on for about a month or so.

It gave me the Amercian Megatrends Bios info, detected the HD and the CD-Rom Drive then the Bios screen went away as if it was loading windows, but I got nothing. I shut it down turnied it back on and this time it didnt even get to the bios screen. All the lights were on, the CPU fan was running but it didnt say anything on my moniter about anything booting. I tried to troubleshoot the problem, disconnecting each component that was connected to the motherboard (Basically anything with an IDE cable) and nothing really helped. Also changed the power connecters around between devices with no results.

Now the strange part about this is when I tried to reboot the machine the CD-ROM light was running, found that very strange, but after I waited about 25 minutes or so and tried turning on the computer again and it booted up just fine. I didnt use it for an extended period (just wanted to see if it would boot then I shut it down). I went into the Bios to see how hot the system was running and the temp went from about 46 Degrees C to about 50 Degrees C on the CPU in about 1 minute.

Question is what is the problem? is it a power supply on its last leg? Motherboard on its last leg?? Not enough cooling on the CPU??

The system is a

AMD Athlon XP 1800+ running windows XP (service pack 1)
K7S5A Motherboard
768 MB Memory PC-2700
40 GB Western Digital 7200 RPM HD
40 GB Seagate 7200 RPM HD
Geforce4 4200-TI 128MB Video Card
Onboard Sound Card

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Kellian1]

Oh and the power supply is a 400-watt Antec (left that out)

 

[mechBgon]

K7S5A's are getting a bit old for an econo-board. Mine failed a while back, after several years of good service. I couldn't get a POST screen at powerup, and the rest of the hardware was ok (good PSU here too, TruePower430). Maybe your K7S5A is getting ready to go on to The Great ATX Case In The Sky too Do check that your CPU fan actually runs and that the heatsink isn't bogged with dust.

If your memory is DDR and not PC133 then take a look at the Shuttle AN35N Ultra. Your 400W Antec has an ATX12V plug, right? The Shuttle is a very reliable budget board that also can overclock pretty well. All you need is DDR and a PSU with the ATX12V cable (and to reinstall Windows to sort out the new board).

 

[gwai lo]

sounds like possible overheating...could it be the psu? i had some who had a dead psu fan and had the samethings happen to them

 

[Kellian1]

The inside of the computer isnt the cleanest place in the world (dust always gets in there). The CPU fan is operational however, opened the case and checked. I checked the board itseld and all the little transistors look ok. Thanks for the tips guys......At first my own intuition was telling me maybe my power supply was on the fritz, but now I think it may be time for a new motherboard.