My computer has a personality problem!

Hi everyone.

It seem lately I am here quite a lot! So, my problem is no longer the laptop, but now the desktop!

A few days ago my niece was happily playing Sims 3, decided she wanted
to play Sims 2, so shut down S3 and started S2. After about an hour she decided to save her game, as she did the computer just turned itself off.

So, I restarted to find any error messages, it had none and worked fine for from then on.

Today my niece decided to play a different game, after a few minutes, again the computer just turned off, she restarted to no error messages, restarted her game and again a few minutes later the computer turned off.
She left it, with a note for me explaining what happened.

I turned on the computer, for it to reach the XP boot screen and turn off.
again I tried it and same problem.

So I opened her up, cleaned out all the dust bunnies, booted up, same again.
Hit power again and nothing! Several times, nothing.

I went back inside and checked all the cards and wires etc and she booted up fine, I restarted her to install updates and back to square one, XP boot up screen and turned off, since then she has booted to the desk top once or twice only for her to turn of again after a few minutes!

All I can tell you is that she is XP, I would share more if I could get her boot up to check her system stats!

 

Most likely cause is a power failure. Have you had the PSU ('Power Service Unit') a while ?? Once again check for any loose connections/Unhitch Roms and and any USB's you have connected ie. flash drives/printer etc. If it still continues and you have access to another PSU connect that and try then post back with results.

 

Thx for the reply.

I was chatting with a friend last night and we came to the same conclusion.

I got her to boot up again and she has been solid up til now.

Now this is where I will sound dumb...

I've been looking into new PSUs and they all in wattage, mine states volts & amps, I know that whole thing of VxA=W, but I am still pretty 'huh' about it all. So please some just tell me, if I got a 500w or 600w PSU would that be ok?

 

If you haven't got a Huge Rig as I suspect 500/600 Watt will be ample. If money is tight choose a mid range price as a cheapy will be false economy.

 

Thx for this. I'm not sure what a 'rig' is but I am assuming you are referring to my systm specs.

I have found now, that although she turns off, if I can keep turing her back on about 4 times, she will stay on rather than just getting to the login screen.
So I am a little confused about her problem again.

So, if I were looking to upgrade her ram etc (which I was until she decided to gain a personality disorder) what suggestions do you have?

She is the primary computer and runs the network. She is used for everything.
Gaming and work mainly, so the important things! She has always run games really well without problems, games like the Sims 2&3 and CoD. Anyway, she is pretty old now, about 5/6 now but has been upgraded over the years and has always been very reliable. Please don't suggest to just get a new one!

Anyway, got her specs:

DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack Service Pack 3

Motherboard
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4, 3066 MHz (14 x 219)
Motherboard Name Gigabyte GA-8I915PM (2 PCI, 1 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR DIMM, Audio, LAN)
Motherboard Chipset Intel Grantsdale i915P
System Memory 1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award Medallion (08/30/05)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display
Video Adapter Radeon X1550 Series Secondary (512 MB)
Video Adapter Radeon X1550 Series (512 MB)
Monitor Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB] (T7KJ5ABA00477)

Multimedia
Audio Adapter Intel 82801FB ICH6 - High Definition Audio Controller [B-1]

Storage
IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801FB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 2651
SCSI/RAID Controller MagicISO SCSI Host Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive ST3160023AS (160 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA)
Disk Drive WD 5000AAV External USB Device (465 GB, USB)
Optical Drive LITE-ON DVDRW SHW-16H5S
Optical Drive PHILIPS DVDR1628P1
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions
C: (NTFS) 52619 MB (9824 MB free)
D: (NTFS) 99998 MB (66484 MB free)
G: (FAT32) 476813 MB (128675 MB free)
Total Size 614.7 GB (200.2 GB free)

Input
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse HID-compliant mouse

Network
Network Adapter Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC (192.168.1.1)
Modem Smart Link 56K Voice Modem

Peripherals
Printer Canon
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
USB1 Controller Intel 82801FB ICH6 - USB Universal Host Controller [B-1]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801FB ICH6 - USB Universal Host Controller [B-1]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801FB ICH6 - USB Universal Host Controller [B-1]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801FB ICH6 - USB Universal Host Controller [B-1]
USB2 Controller Intel 82801FB ICH6 - Enhanced USB2 Controller [B-1]
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device

 

Yes ''RIG'' is the computer lol .. You appear pretty balanced there with your setup but I have one concern .. try running your Computer without the USB Drive connected as this maybe an issue as USB ports can sometimes play up even though your OS is not on there. Also check that you have the latest Drivers installed where necessary. Having reread again your last Post is your START button returning promptly when you have pressed it to start the Rig. ??

 

Aha see, my Rig lol Thx.

My USB drive, as in my external? I have done that when it first began, as I thought the same thing, but it made no difference, I even tried disconnecting all the USBs to no avail. See I do kinda know the basics.

All the drivers are upto date, I did this only a little while back when I was having laptop issues, so I did the entire network.

Oh & yes the start button returns fine. I thought that also, but it doesn't explain the inital 'turn off crashes' or no power up at all. That's when I came here.

I really do appreciate all your suggestions guys.

Oh I think I may mention, yesterday, got her up and running, my neice came over, assumed I had fixed her so started to play Sims2, after about an hour, she saved and shut down with no problem and worked fine for the rest of the day which totally contradicts how the problem started. Yet this morning, she was back to the same problem of just turning off. So some days she happy, other days she not, guess she just no longer a morning Rig! See what I mean with personality disorder?? My partner believes the computer has developed my personality lol

 

Ummm... I wonder if the heatsink fan is malfunctioning ??? This would account for the self shutting down as it is overheating and also account for when it is running succesfully that the fan is behaving itself, ie. it is speeding up when required. Obviously when the motherboard is asked for a load the fan will quicken as desired, so is it the fan or the Mobo?? Check the fan power connector and if need be find another connection to connect it to.

 

Mmmmmm as I recall when the laptop was having issues, it too would stay on for a few minutes then just turn off, I replaced the heatsink fan and had no probs since!

Would it heat up so quickly though from boot up but able to play a game such as Sims? Would the motherboard not notice the simplest of tasks first like boot up and let the fan give up on games??

I ran everest on it earlier and it varied at between 50c and 55c I monitored this for about 30minutes and it didn't really show any changes.

So today, major annoying thing, she ran fine since this morning, then we had a power cut, she decided to run a scandisc, completed and turned off. Re started, same again, this happened about 4 times. It got to the login screen a couple of times and turned off. So I left it an hour and she has booted up fine.

So now, I am thinking Heatsink Fan, mobo, PSU or all?

Not to appear to dumb, but huh?

I think I owe you a couple of beers don't I lol

 

Well full of suprises this Rig, I would go for the cheapest option first and replace the Heatsink Fan, Just the FAN not the whole heatsink assembly as its an ilimination process here. How long has the heatsink been in situ?? as I am thinking on a clean and apply some more thermal paste but I would first commence with another fan and see how it goes. As I said previously if the actual mechanics of the fan is malfunctioning this would account for the scatty behaviour.

 

Okay so just the fan! The heatsink in situ? huh? Has it been replace or taken out to be cleaned, then yes, it's been cleared of dust.

By the way, she booted up on second attempt this morning! :cool

I know this has nothing to do with this, but since the power cut yesterday, one of the laptops network connectivity is reading as limited and will not connect to the net, but the other laptop does no problem....so whats that about?? :confused

Anyway, I shall order a new fan and let you know what happens....oh, I see these super fans on the net (not those stupid led fans) but these ones they call freezer fans, does it make any sense to purchase one of those, if we find the fan is the problem?

 

Okay so I sorted this problem!

 

Thinking of your Purse I would go the cheap route first. :major

 

Okay, so I got a new fan, no difference! Took the fan back and got new heat sink plus fan, no difference! It then decided it wasn't going to boot up at all for over an hour.

Started to boot up as far as login and that was it. So I was getting a little Pee'd, so i decided to start it in safe mode and it worked first time! I'm totally confused now

I am spending more time trying to boot it up than work I am getting done! The network is still working so we still have the laptops, all my work is kept on the external, so we'll just have to work without the large monitor and do without playing games til it can be replaced I guess! :cry

 

Hey Kat, when you say it is shutting itself off... is it just *blink* and it's off like the plug has been pulled or is it making any attempt at trying to "shutdown" properly?
I only ask i had a problem similar to this [working fine for extended periods, then playing up every five minutes other days] anyhoo after plenty of messing about i discovered i had a tiny lil crack in the PC power cord, and every so often when my feet/any other crap that is under desk knocked the cord in just the right way it would cut the power, and the PC would just shut off [ofc]
but it was incredibly hard to make it do it, even once i discovered it hence all the messing about, trying every other possible cause under the sun.

Tis worth a look if you havn't already.

1337

(edit: typo)

 

Oh thanks everso for your suggestion, though I wish it were that simple, I had checked all the power cables/fuses/etc. But just did it again, as you never know!

It does just turn off, no attempt to shutdown. The power cord is kept behind the desk back panel so there's noway of kicking it, plus I don't have crap back there as it is just to hide wires.

Plus, its a dual cable to the rig and the monitor and there is no problem with power to the monitor.

But, hey I appreciate your suggestion!

 

This makes me think it is unlikely to be heat related, from my experience over heating tends to cause more eratic behaviour and freeze ups rather than just switching off, that is unless it is a safety feature cutting the power before it overheats, but this would be easy to detect as it would be the same temp that it would shut off every time, i would guess that this is gonna be a compnoent of the power delivery system needs to be replaced, if your lucky, and new MB if your not.

Also Ya could try booting a linux live CD just to rule out any MS crappiness.

1337

 

That puts the fan out of the running now since you renewed,So it runs Ok in safe mode.. Continue with that using Safe Mode with Networking and reboot several times as poss and finally if you could leave it on as long as poss surfing/downloading at the same time and post back. As Q said have you tried a different Power lead ?? and we haven't eliminated the PSU yet. Do you have another spare to try out ??

 

Yes safe mode runs, but it doesn't always boot to screen where I can select safe mode, plus I rebooted from safe mode and began the process again without the screen to select safe mode.

Since changing things yesterday it hasn't managed to stay on at all, only got into safe mode once.

I tried a PSU, no change.

As the power lead is a dual one, wouldn't it affect the monitor too? Oh I have a USB that has a led and lights up when powered and that stays on even when the rig turns off, so its being powered somehow!

Anyhow, I have to go to work now and look busy for a couple of hours.:-D

Thx again guys

 

Theoretically the Y Power Cable should function for both without fault but using the illimination process try seperate power leads to Monitor and Computer and if this fails it is leading us to where we dont want to go ie. Motherboard :-o

'Oh I have a USB that has a led and lights up when powered and that stays on even when the rig turns off'... has this a seperate power lead or does it get its power from the computer ?? Like I have a small laptop USB HD 120 Gig that only requires power from computer and another 300 Gig in a case that requires its own power lead. ??

 

So when your in safe mode it does not turn itself off at all?

If it is staying on and working properly when in safe mode, how long have you left it runnning in safe mode to test?

If it definitely working properly in safe-mode then it will almost certainly be a re-install of windows that is gonna fix it.


If it aint working properly in safe mode then you want to run a live CD which will rule out any HDD or OS prob's and it will also give your CPU a good lil spanking and might reveal any issues ther.

If you havnt already got one DL an Ubuntu CD [or any live cd]
http://www.ubuntu.com/GetUbuntu/download

And have a good play around with it, maybe leave it running for a few hours [it's quite simple to use btw] and see how it goes from ther.

Q

 

Okay I shall try separate power cables and let you know how I get on!
The LED USB is to the printer so takes power from rig I assume as its lit when the printer is off.

 

It no longer makes it to the screen where I can select safe mode & network.

I shall download your suggestion and try it out!