Computer is shutting off on startup (searched)

i HAVE AN ASUS P5P43TD Mobo, Intel Quad core processor, Nvidia GeForce GT220 graphics card. 8gb RAM. 2 500gb hard drives.

When i start my computer up, it just shuts off after a random amount of time. sometimes 30 seconds, sometimes 5 seconds. Weird thing is, it was doing it last night, but i checked all my connections, made sure everything was intact and it worked fine. it ran all last night, all day, and tonight i used it for 5 mins and it shut off and wont boot up again.

All connections are good. Wont boot from the CD. Tried taking a stick of ram out, tried different ram slots, tried a bunch of things. Computer is brand new, no programs on it other than firefox. And some music ripped from cd's.



Any idea what is going on? I am thinking the power supply... but why did it work all last night and all of today without shutting off....

 

I built it. I'm trying to figure out what part to return haha

 

If you have a multimeter (or have the money to invest in one... they're handy for everything that uses electricity) you can test the outputs of the power supply. You didn't mention what power supply you have... that information would be helpful.

My best guess is that the power supply is BARELY adequate (read "less than adequate") for the hardware in your PC, and depending on what your PC does when it boots up, overloads the power supply causing a shutdown.

An important note about power supplies... watts are NOT the only thing to concern yourself with, but also the amps delivered (especially the +12V). I would say with that build you'd want at least a 650W PSU, but I'd recommend a 750W PSU (leaving room for future upgrades, etc.)... something like (same amps as) this. That COULD be slight overkill for your build, but keep in mind that the more your computer maxes out the capability of a power supply, the harder it is on the power supply, etc.

Another thing... with power supplies, you get what you pay for. Almost everyone here will say that the best power supply brands are Corsair or Antec.

I'm by no means a power supply expert, there's others on this forum that know much more than me, but I'd like to think I've learned a fair bit with my experience and research on them.

You also might want to check out the below link (and put in slightly higher values than your build, and add at least 50-100 watts to the total to be "safe"):

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

I agree with mcsmc. Brand new computer, brand new parts, random but fast shutoffs well before software - it really sounds like a power issue. Also double check the CPU and graphics card doesn't have a power connector you haven't neglected to plug in.

If you have the Watts and everything is plugged in, then you're either looking at faulty hardware, a short, or heat. Did you use thermal paste when attaching your heatsink to your CPU (if applicable) and are fans spinning? Could anything be causing a short?

These are the hardware whose faults would match what you're experiencing:

• RAM
• CPU
• Motherboard
• Hard drive
• PSU

If it will literally crash after 5 seconds sometimes, then it's not the hard drive.

 

The above posts are great; the only thing i would add to see if it is a faulty PSU or a barely inadequate PSU would be to remove as much as possible ie graphics card, all but 1 RAM, unplug DVD drive, etc. See if it starts; if so, prob not enough power; if it doesnt; maybe a bad PSU.
*EQL*

 

I solved this a few days after my post and completely forgot I posted on here. But my solution was the CPU. I took it out, put new grease on, reinstalled and it worked perfectly. Couldn't believe it was something so simple!

 

Good job fixing your problem, and thank you for posting back with the solution! It helps us all learn from your experiences, and closes the issue.