DEAD computer

I am not a computer expert by any means but I know enough to get by. So here is my problem. I have a computer that keeps dying. I thought it was the power supply because when I unplugged it from the back of the computer and then plugged it back in it would start back up. Eventually I changed out the power supply and it worked for about a month and then blew out again.

One thing though that has to be known is that this originally started happening when I was playing a game. My graphics card was very hot, I know but it was getting cooled enough I thought, but maybe not. Anyway, I replaced the power supply and it did it again. Then I went out and got a very much better, higher wattage one and that one lasted one day and I hadn't even started any games, it just went out while I was on the Internet or in email or something like that.

So I am wondering if maybe my motherboard is going bad or what. I cleaned things up and dusted it all off and still it dies. It stays on for about 5 or 10 minutes and then it shuts off. HELP! I don't want to buy new parts I don't need. Any ideas?

 

Can we get some PC specs to start with? Also, are you plugging the computer into a 2 prong or 3 prong outlet?

 

I will have to get the specs when I can get the computer running long enough to get them. I will do that as soon as I can. And I am plugging into a surge protector plugged into a three pronged outlet in the wall. And I don't think it is the power source because we recently moved to an entirely different city and it is doing it in both houses

 

Oh ok, well i just wanted to rule out the easiest to fix problem.

Besides that, make sure the fan on the processor is mounted correctly. If it's off just by a little bit the motherboard will cut power to the system and shut it down immediately. Easiest way to fix this is to take the fan and heatsink off the processor, reseat the processor, then reassemble everything. If your good with computer's i suggest finding help from a friend who's done this before.

Also, unplug every cable in the system, and reattach them. Sometimes loose cables do very bad things to the system. I had a hard drive back in the day cause failures of the rest of the system because it kept shorting out to the case. It eventually cause the failure of the power supply. In short, the hard drive is in a land fill somewhere.

Also, another technique used by us computer repairmen, something we usualyl do first, is to unplug everything except the video card, memory, processor and keyboard. Obviously keep the mother board powered by the power supply. Unplug all hard drives, cd roms, pci cards, mouse, usb devices, printers, everything.

One by one plug the hard drive in first, then the cd roms. Do each device one at a time. If your computer crashes after you lets say install the sound card. Then you know what the problem is.

 

Thank you! I will try these things and see what happens.

 

Try the last technique i posted first, the processor one can be complicated for a first timer.

 

When I had a power supply fail the computer came up with an uncontroled shutdown message, and wanted to check the files on the hard drive.

When I had an overtemp problem on the CPU it also shut down, but would power up as if nothing had ever happened.

 

Neither of those are really relevant to the problems he's having. He definitely has a hardware problem here, more than likely a peripheral shorting out.

 

Depends, if it is an overheating problem with the CPU it may not be obvious. Which is why I mentioned the boot up difference as a possible diagnostic. A perfectly good CPU can overheat and shut down due to several problems, a heatsink filled with dust or fan not working properly to name two. I've never had the problem with a video card overheating, so I can't be much help there. But how a computer comes back after shutting down can tell a few things.

BTW, for the sake of arguement lets say it is a temp problem. You can test for this by leaving the side of the computer off, to allow for more ventilation. I wouldn't leave the machine like this, but if the problem goes away then start looking at fans.

 

Oh SNAP! Sorry it's late, I misunderstood before. Forget my last post :zzz

But yeah, exactly what i meant before tho, hence telling him to reseat the HSF.

 

I started by taking the side of the computer off and that did help for a long time. However I made the mistake of leaving it off and a LOT of dust got in there but the computer worked for a year without shutting down. Then it started the shutting down thing and kept doing it until now where it will only stay on for 5 or 10 minutes at the most.

Thanks for all the help you guys, I appreciate it a lot. And by the way, I am a she....not a he. :cool