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31st July 2008, 07:39 AM
|  | TST Enthusiast | | Join Date: Jan 2008, 332 posts. Location: rowley regis Reputation:  | | | [SOLVED] Computer shutting down randomly
AMD 64 X2 4600, Foxcon mobo, 2 x 1gb DDR2, Antec 400watt PSU, Nvidia 7600GT 256mb, Silverstone case.
This computer is having problems. After running perfectly for two months when I was playing a game of Tetris it suddenly shut down, I restarted it and when the bar on the splash page was going across it shut down again.
I restarted it and went into the BIOS and the temperature was 68c, so I changed the HSF(Foxcon standard one) for a Coolermaster one which I used on the previous board.
After running Ok for about an hour I tried Tetris again and after about half an hour of playing it shut down again.
I then reset the BIOS to defaults and no difference, the temperature in the BIOS seems to be about 10c above what Everest & PCWizard say.
I then changed the graphics card from a 7600GT PCI-e to a PCI 32mb card (as it was the only spare I had and it seems to have cured the problem, but the graphics are crap.
I checked for a BIOS update, but seem to have the latest, can anyone shed any light on what might be causing this, as I have no hair left to pull out.
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31st July 2008, 07:47 AM
|  | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 3,366 posts. Reputation: | |
Two possibilities spring to mind.
1: A faulty 7600GT card.
2: A failing psu and that`s why it`s stable when using the old graphics card. Obviously, the old card won`t use anywhere near as much power as the 7600GT.
Regards Howard  |
31st July 2008, 11:15 AM
|  | Community Moderator | | Join Date: Oct 2007, 1,028 posts. Location: Stoke-on-Trent, England Reputation: | | |
I agree with Howard, look into those first. But have a quick look in the BIOS and look at what your shutdown temperature is for your CPU. It could be that your CPU is exceeding the shutdown temperature set in the BIOS, especially when running your game. If this is the case, just set the shutdown temperature to the maximum it will go.
__________________
"People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn't they? People feared coal, they feared gas-powered engines... There will always be ignorance, and ignorance leads to fear. But with time, people will come to accept their silicon masters" - Bill Gates
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31st July 2008, 01:43 PM
|  | TST Expert | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 551 posts. Location: Killadelphia Reputation: | | |
lol Tetris...very graphics intensive game :P
But yeah, there really aren't that many answers for a problem like this. I'd check shutdown temp first then hardware. Good luck with that...I've had plenty of first-hand experiences similar to yours...
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31st July 2008, 02:28 PM
| | Community Moderator | | Join Date: Oct 2007, 1,028 posts. Location: Stoke-on-Trent, England Reputation: | | |
Haha. Well, regardless of what game it is, it's gonna need CPU power, which ultimately increases it's temperature
__________________
"People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn't they? People feared coal, they feared gas-powered engines... There will always be ignorance, and ignorance leads to fear. But with time, people will come to accept their silicon masters" - Bill Gates
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31st July 2008, 06:15 PM
|  | Account Disabled | | Join Date: Jul 2008, 327 posts. Location: Finland Reputation: | |
My computer does the same thing at summers when it's really hot.. When gaming on summer I set big icebites in a plasticbag under my lappy, to cool it down  |
31st July 2008, 09:48 PM
| | TST Enthusiast | | Join Date: Jan 2008, 332 posts. Location: rowley regis Reputation: | | |
The maximum temp setting in the BIOS is 80c and I set it at that and it still happened with the 7600GT in.
The thing I cannot understand is if it was the graphics card or the PSU, why the temp of the PSU would show as 70c when it was restarted.
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31st July 2008, 10:38 PM
|  | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 2,107 posts. Location: England Reputation: | | |
I see your point, but, we need to rule out the psu. 400watts seems rather low these days.
My pc is far lower spec than yours and i use a reasonably good quality 450watt.
Do you have any software that gives you accurate voltages from the psu?
__________________ "If at first you do not succeed, sit down, have a coffee, have a smoke, and think for a bit. If that still doesn't work, post it on TST". |
1st August 2008, 08:02 AM
| | TST Enthusiast | | Join Date: Jan 2008, 332 posts. Location: rowley regis Reputation: | | |
I used an Antec tester on the PSU and it was OK.
I found another 7600GT in my spares box and put that in and so far, no problems , so lets hope that has cured it.
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1st August 2008, 12:32 PM
| | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 2,107 posts. Location: England Reputation: | | |
I will keep my fingers crossed for you.
One thing to remember though, although the tester says your PSU is ok it may not be.
The tester will only test the voltages while the PSU is not under heavy load.
Some components can appear to be working perfectly under light load then malfunction when stressed by a heavy load.
I spent almost 20 years in the electronics trade and have witnessed what i have just described many times.
__________________ "If at first you do not succeed, sit down, have a coffee, have a smoke, and think for a bit. If that still doesn't work, post it on TST". |
1st August 2008, 05:01 PM
| | TST Enthusiast | | Join Date: Jan 2008, 332 posts. Location: rowley regis Reputation: | | |
Thanks for that bit of knowledge Rik, if it occurs again I will try another PSU.
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1st August 2008, 05:36 PM
| | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 2,107 posts. Location: England Reputation: | |
No problem mate.
The PSU is the most commonly overlooked component when problems occur and is quite often the cause.
There are too many people out there that think that because the pc starts up fine the PSU is fine. If a branded pc in particular has been upgraded then the power requirements of all the new hardware can often be more than the poor old basic PSU can handle.
As an example, a friend of a friend of mine had a very old pc that had been chugging away happily for a very long time. He then went out and got himself a cd burner and fitted it in.
Every time he pressed the eject button on the new burner the pc would shut off immediately.
I replaced his miniature 85watt PSU for a 125watt one of the same size and he never had the pc turn off by itself again. He was extremely lucky that I even had a PSU of that size, I had only kept it because it was a working one and would have been the next parts donor for when i needed them.
I know it's a different problem to yours, but i think it illustrates what a PSU can cause.
__________________ "If at first you do not succeed, sit down, have a coffee, have a smoke, and think for a bit. If that still doesn't work, post it on TST". |
3rd August 2008, 04:18 PM
| | TST Enthusiast | | Join Date: Jan 2008, 332 posts. Location: rowley regis Reputation: | | |
As it was running so smoothly, I thought I would give it a go with Prime95, big mistake, eight minutes into running Prime and it shut down again.
So it looks like buying a new PSU.
As I use a Seasonic on my other computer I will get one of those.
If it still shuts down with the new PSU then the Novatech bundle I brought will be going back as it is only two months old.
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3rd August 2008, 05:06 PM
| | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 3,366 posts. Reputation: | |
Yup, it does sound like a possible psu problem.
I hope the new psu solves your problem.
Regards Howard |
5th August 2008, 06:09 PM
| | TST Enthusiast | | Join Date: Jan 2008, 332 posts. Location: rowley regis Reputation: | | |
New PSU, arrived today, I put it in, and ran Prime95 for two hours to stress test it and no problems, so the PSU was the culprit.
Thanks to all for your advice.
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5th August 2008, 06:15 PM
| | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 2,107 posts. Location: England Reputation: | |
Im happy you got the problem sorted.
__________________ "If at first you do not succeed, sit down, have a coffee, have a smoke, and think for a bit. If that still doesn't work, post it on TST". |
5th August 2008, 07:28 PM
| | TST Master | | Join Date: Dec 2007, 3,366 posts. Reputation: | |
That`s great news alan.
Regards Howard | |  Only registered members can participate in forum threads. You must register or log in to contribute.
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