computer shuts down randomly

hi there - hope i'm in the right forum here.

i'm trying to find out why my computer has started shutting down randomly. i'm not too tech savvy so will just give all the info i can and hope some may be of use in getting help.

some specs as far as i can tell:

os - xp pro, version 2002
service pack 3
AMD athlon 64 x 2 dual core processor 5200+
2.27 GHz, 3.37 GB of ram

capacity of C drive 40GB
used: 14.3
free: 25.6
zone alarm (free edition installed and running)
avg (free edition installed and running)

i have a D drive too - supposedly with a lot more space but i don't know how to activate it and would never need more than what i've got on the C drive anyway. (though i do wonder now if having that space available may help this particular problem ... just a thought)

computer is 2 years old - built by some dude who sells them online. used mainly for internet, email and ... farm town. :-D

so as the heading indicates - my comp has started shutting down randomly. turns completely off. this has been happening for about 5 weeks and happens about 2 -3 times in any 24 hr period. sometimes i can get it started again straight away ... sometimes i need to leave it off for a minute or two.

i don't think i have any kind of virus or malware as have run all the scans etc and nothing out of the ordinary comes up. also the comp is running fine bar the shutting down thing. cables and leads all seem fine and secure too.

sooo ... i'm wondering if it's over-heating but don't have the slightest clue how to work out whether it is or not. this use to happen to my old comp but not till it was like 7 years old and that comp was a bottom of the line, worst brand in New Zealand comp. (and it still lived till 9 years old before farm town finally killed it )

i had a look in the 'bios' yesterday but have no idea really what i was looking at. i found a few entries that may or may not be relevant:
cpu tcontrol 91 degrees Celsius / 195 degrees Fahrenheit
cpu fan speed 2789 rpm
cup vcore 1.296v
vdimm 1.888

other random info

when this happened to my old comp - the guy that fixed it said it might just be dust. then he came back and said there was surprisingly very little dust in the tower considering it's age. i couldn't see into that tower but i can this one and i can see a bit of dust ... not tonnes but some.

it's just gone autumn here and it's cold for this time of year. even during summer when this first started happening ... it wasn't very warm.

i use the computer A LOT.

the last time it shut down i had 2 browsers open (chrome and firefox) but can't remember if that was the case in other instances. was also playing farm town at the time. :-o

in the windows task manager processes - chrome and firefox entries seem rather high in memory usage. eg; just one of the many chrome entries is often up around 200, 000 K.

so that's all the info i can think to provide. hope some of it is useful and you can help me figure the problem and/or a fix.

thanks.

 

One way you can check if it is a heat issue is to time the shut downs: if all you're using it for is nets and farmtown and it shuts down consistently (after 1 hour, or after 30 min etc) then its likely a heat problem. Boot it up, run till it shuts down and note the times, then let it sit an hour or half hour and repeat, and note the time.

Other option is a powersupply or RAMM issue, harder to test, so eliminate the heat thing first. There are stress test programs that will severely tax your machine, their point is to see what kind of operating temps it can handle, you could try one of those too, they have them here on MG

 

it shuts down 2-3 times in 24 hrs. i will note the times precisely from now on and report back.

the rest of yr post ... sorry i'm lost?

 

the PSU or power supply unit can go bad, when they do the voltage can fluctuate and spike, which can cause shut downs. It can be tested but doing so requires a tester or another computer with a known good PSU

RAMM, random access memory module (or just memory), can become faulty with age and will drop data, lose it, randomly which can cause shutdowns too. The memory can kinda be tested, but it involves some doing, and memory failures are often completely random (different times, different symptoms, different effects computer kinda goes nuts). your computer has a memory test built into windows, but most memory tests aren't reliable. the other method of testing memory is to change the sticks inside the case, which takes some doing too.

For the moment time the shut downs, then we can move to the next step. Maybe somebody else can think of something i missed too. its good practice to eliminate one thing at a time, keeps you from having to go back and re-do things later.

 

If your reaching that hi of a temp. A few things I'd look at. The fan on top of the CPU, is it snotted up with dust? Fan turning ok when the computer is on? That checks out.

Take off the fan, set it on the side. You will see a metal clip that holds the aluminum finned heat sink to the CPU thats under the fan. U shaped. You can use a thin flat blade screwdriver to pop one side off the bottom. Take the U clip off, take the aluminum heat sink off of the top of the CPU.

Your looking now at the top of the CPU. It will ither have heat sink paste or a heat sink looks like a thick stick on piece. Look for, on the stick on type. A burnt spot. Paste found? Look for a dry spot. Along with paste being put on in ex-cess overflowing to the motherboard. <- That is not good as heat will transfer to the M/B.

If you find with paste. A thin spot where the heat sink top touched the top of the CPU. Just buy some heat sink paste. Clean off all the old from both the heat sink and top of the CPU. Don't over-do it to spill over to the M/B and you should be good to go. A link on this. -> http://en.kioskea.net/faq/2947-cpu-is-overheating-temperature-problem

 

gee i was hoping it wasn't an over-heating problem but the other causes sound even worse and more difficult to fix, lolz.

i have copy n pasted these instructions/posts and also info from the link dave posted. i wont be able to print it out and check inside the casing till monday but just wanted to say thanks for the info so far. will be back in a few days.

oh and just as an aside, comp hasn't shut itself down since i first posted. damn thing is messing with my head. :major

 

If your not shure what CPU you have. Use the free download @ http://majorgeeks.com/Belarc_Advisor_d1385.html

It will tell you more than you want to know about your computer, lol. By the by, need the key codes for any program you have or installed program code. It will let you know. Memory installed on what slot, missing up-dates, ect.

Opens in a browser window you can or should print out. Just to keep the info.

 

sorry i haven't been back in a couple of weeks ... i've been putting off coming in to say the problem isn't happening anymore cuz it'll probably start up again as soon as i hit 'send' on this post. murphy's law n all ...

so be it though ... i'll just have to come back if/when i need to if it starts playing up again. thanks again for your help and info. :wave

 

Know how it goes sometimes on lifes gotta do. I mentioned Belarc. I tryed Speccy and I like it a bit better than Belarc. shows the CPU temp, ect. Try it and I think you'll like it.

-> http://majorgeeks.com/Speccy_d6358.html

 

Yeah, i agree that 91c is pretty warm for the CPU. Just pop the side off the pc and get a can of compressed air and really get in and dust out the components the best you can. If its really dusty in there a good dusting can lower the temps by 10-20c.

 

well the problems did start up again so i got into the HD and gave it a good dusting. i used a soft brush to dislodge the dust and a vacume cleaner to catch the dust as it loosened. i checked the cpu for paste and/or burnt spots but could find nothing that looked wrong.

when i put the comp back together it seemed to boot up as normal but nothing came up on the monitor. i tried a few times but it doesn't make the normal beeps and sounds etc. i think i've really wrecked it now. any suggestions?

 

To add to the previously mentioned. The power supply has a built in fan. Vacume the grill on it too.