PC keeps shutting down

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NoodleTech

Golden Member
Aug 8, 2006
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My friend gave me his computer to take a look at.

It shuts down randomly for no reason during normal usage.

Sometimes it shuts down a few seconds after the computer starts up and boots into desktop.

Other times it shuts down when I try to update Steam.

One time I was using it for a few hours and it was stable.

When it shuts down, the screen goes blank and the fans stop spinning.

If I press any key on the keyboard, it will power back up.

I tested his power supply (Thermaltake PurePower 500W) with my power supply tester and it is 100% working.

I am thinking it's the motherboard? It is an Asus A8N-SLI Premium he recently installed. It was a refurb replacement sent by Asus.

Any ideas as to what's causing the random shut downs?

Edited instead of qouting, don't pay attention to it ;)
MarcVenice -- General Hardware Mod
 
corkyg

corkyg

Elite Member | Peripherals
Super Moderator
Mar 4, 2000
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Such shutdowns are often the result of heat.
 
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Old Hippie

Diamond Member
Oct 8, 2005
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I tested his power supply (Thermaltake PurePower 500W) with my power supply tester and it is 100% working.
Click to expand...

Those standalone PS testers are nice but they can't predict what the PS will do under load.

I would test the PS with a meter while the machine is running and under load, or just swap with another good PS.

Course, maybe that's the kind of test you did.

 
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NoodleTech

Golden Member
Aug 8, 2006
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I will try that. Thanks Old Hippie. So it is unlikely the motherboard is causing the problem?
 
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Old Hippie

Diamond Member
Oct 8, 2005
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Originally posted by: NoodleTech
I will try that. Thanks Old Hippie. So it is unlikely the motherboard is causing the problem?
Click to expand...

I dunno for sure, but with those symptoms the big three likely candidates are heat, PS, or MB.

You told Corkey that heat wasn't a problem, you're working on the PS possibility and the MB would be the last thing on the list.

I'm not sure about the quality of that particular PS, but many TTs don't seem to be held in high regards.

I'm voting PS. :thumbsup:
 
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solid3tate

Junior Member
Oct 15, 2005
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Check out my thread, I had a similar problem, only thing mine used to restart during gaming and not while normal usage. The screen would just go blank and the computer would sometimes restart.

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=27&threadid=2212725

I changed the PSU and everything worked fine. I too thought it could have been heat or something, but the temps looked fine. Also, if you list your system specs it would be more helpful.
 
cusideabelincoln

cusideabelincoln

Diamond Member
Aug 3, 2008
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Originally posted by: NoodleTech
If I press any key on the keyboard, it will power back up.
Click to expand...
So, whenever it randomly shuts down you can press any key and it will turn on? Or did the computer only do this one time?

Did he have this problem before replacing/switching motherboards?

Go into the BIOS and check the Power options. You should try changing the sleep mode settings and make sure the system can only be powered on by tthe power button and not a hot key.
 
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NoodleTech

Golden Member
Aug 8, 2006
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Thanks for the suggestions. I just ordered an Earthwatts 430 from Newegg. Hopefully this will fix it.

I only tried the keyboard key pressing once and by accident.

It's hard to say whether he had this problem before switching motherboards because he first had a dead biostar motherboard. I then replaced it with an Asus A8N-SLI Premium.

I will check the BIOS settings after installing a new PSU.

Here are the system specs off the top of my head if they help at all:
Thermaltake PurePower 500W PSU
AMD X2 4600+ Socket 939 (Cooled by a CRAPPY masscool HSF)
Asus A8N-SLI Premium
Corsair ValueRam PC3200 DDR400 1GB (2x512MB)
XFX 8600GTS
Seagate 300GB SATA II Hard Drive
 
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MarcVenice

Moderator Emeritus <br>
Apr 2, 2007
5,664
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Originally posted by: NoodleTech
My friend gave me his computer to take a look at.

It shuts down randomly for no reason during normal usage.

Sometimes it shuts down a few seconds after the computer starts up and boots into desktop.

Other times it shuts down when I try to update Steam.

One time I was using it for a few hours and it was stable.

When it shuts down, the screen goes blank and the fans stop spinning.

If I press any key on the keyboard, it will power back up.

I tested his power supply (Thermaltake PurePower 500W) with my power supply tester and it is 100% working.

I am thinking it's the motherboard? It is an Asus A8N-SLI Premium he recently installed. It was a refurb replacement sent by Asus.

Any ideas as to what's causing the random shut downs?
Click to expand...

The bolded part, plz elaborate. IF it always comes back to live when pressing one key, there's probably something messed up in the bios. What does shutting down mean btw? It logs off out of windows? Or it just goes POOF, dead? This sounds like a weird problem, and I wouldn't blame it on the PSU just like that. Hopefully a new PSU might fix tihngs, because it's the easy way out, and something 'worse' could be going on. But I doubt the new PSU will do the trick.
 
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NoodleTech

Golden Member
Aug 8, 2006
1,266
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First of all, by shutting down, I mean POOF, dead, black screen. Let's say I'm browsing the web or something. It will just power off. No log off windows or "windows is shutting down dialogue." It just goes poof to a black screen and I hear the fans stop spinning. I still see a green LED on the motherboard indicating the PSU power switch is on.

I don't know if it powers back up everytime I press a key on the keyboard. I just happened to bang my fist on the keyboard in frustration and it booted up again. It did not boot up as if it came back from standby, but it did a cold boot. I will have to hook the PC back up and see for sure... Life sucks without a KVM switch :(
 
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deamer44

Guest
May 25, 2008
168
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Instead of buying a new powersupply you should have used your one in his system, because as other people have said on the thread it could also be your motherboard. My old pc did this and i changed the power supply but could easily be your motherboard.
 
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NoodleTech

Golden Member
Aug 8, 2006
1,266
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just installed the new earthwatts... same thing, in fact it got worse. I would see the windows XP splash screen loading then a blue screen of death with words flickers on the screen really fast, too fast to read it, then the computer restarts.
 
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MarcVenice

Moderator Emeritus <br>
Apr 2, 2007
5,664
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Have you tried different sticks of ram yet? If he has more then 1 stick, remove all, but 1 stick, try booting again, if it doesn't work, try the other stick. The blue screen btw, you can enable an option so it doesn't dissapear instantaniously so you can look at what kind of error it is giving. Perhaps it's videocard related, or driver related, or what not. But erm, I don't remember how to enable that option -_- Google for it, or maybe some1 else knows ...
 
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