PC stops working but fans running

My motherboard is an ATX Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H Socket AM2.
Chip is AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core Processor 4800+ 2.5GHz Socket AM2
XP Pro SP3


:cryFor over a year I have been suffering my PC just stopping. The fans keep running but everything else stops and the pc is technically dead (no Caps Lock / Num Lock light switching when pressed). This happens several times a week.

I have posted here a few times and tried a few things. The best effort was to use a single dedicated power point for the PC which seemed to fix it for a while but then the issue returned. I have swapped my power supply and thought that was the answer for a short while but alas no.

However the problem keeps coming back and it drops out at the most inopportune moments – including downloading a film overnight so I have had enough and must solve this problem. I sometimes here a slight dip in the fan noise first just before she goes to sleep but I pften hear the same dips without it going to sleep.

The easiest way is to build a new PC using my hard drives but that is daft really.

So whether I have some intermittent power surges or not I have never had this problem with any other PCs.

Therefore the problem must be either:

1. Motherboard (temp related / on board video related)
2. Memory
3. Software (drivers)

To be honest the PC is needed by all the family so it is daft to have it a bit sick and letting us down. Consequently I don’t mind buying and changing things out speculatively if this is the quickest way forwards.

Should I buy a separate graphics card and try that first or should I change the mobo out and be dammed?

I have tried a few things on the memory front but to no avail.
Not a lot to help me in the Event Log. I tried the Gigabyte one but it was a bit problematic with an error each time on start up.

Any bright ideas of hope?

Can you suggest a graphics card (I do not game) or a replacement ATX mobo?

Cheers for getting to the end of this and reading it.

macker6464

 

Just out of curiosity Have you checked the PSU with a volt meter? because sounds like you have some dirty or wrong power running through the PC.
If your PC came prebuilt with a PSU in it and its not a reputable brand then I would go that route first a PSU Is the one thing you never want to skimp on.

reputable brands:
Corsair
Thermaltake
OCZ
just to name a few... I find corsair is the best

 

Hi paradoxdream, cheers for responding.
I built the pc myself and to be honest I think I have ALWAYS had this problem since I built it. I didn't buy any cheap products as I wanted it to be reliable which apart from this problem is true.
My original PS was an AKASA Silent 12cm 400W and cost lots more than the cheapos. I bought another PS (average quality but not the cheapest) and swapped it out which seemed to help but obviously not as the problem started again.
So no, not done any voltage tests as I just swapped the PS out recently. I think the problem lies in the way the mobo controls the PS and lets it,,,well for want of a better expression, stall like an engine. There is enough juice to run the fans but the system flakes out. Pretty annoying not being able to fix it when I would happily buy new components if it fixed it.
Cheers again
macker6464

 

Dam that sucks... atleast if it was a PSU it would be an easy fix...
Now when you say it stalls out are you just losing the picture or is the whole system down except fans?
And have you stress tested it out side the OS? (like memtest for 24 hours from a boot disk)
Have you Updated your BIOS?
Also Take off the fan/heat-sink to the CPU and clean off the thermal paste and reapply it.
To be honest this looks like a trial and error is going to have to be done.(but Its sounds like hardware NOT the OS or Maybe a bios)
The thing that scares me is that when you change the PSU the prob stops for a while and the PSU's are still good.

If possiable what I would do is take the parts from the down PC and put them in a stable PC then stress the hell out of them this way you can narrow down whats going on hear.
The 3 Big ones I would try one at a time are
1.PSU (you did already)
2.Memory (memtest boot disk 24hours)
3. Video Card ( 3d mark allot of times in a row or ATI Toll Etc.)

If all these pass then its the mobo for sure (Bios or Hardware)

 

Sorry just noticed you said on board video in place of #3 try a Known Working video card
and stress it in the down PC(3d mark stresses not only video but other components pretty hard as well)
Hope these suggestions help

 

Just a quick close out note. I gave in and built a new pc however my Dad took the problem on and got a great PC in the end for free! The problem seemed to get worse.

We bought an identical mobo and put that in without any need to reinstall Windows and that had the same failure mode.

Eventually my Dad changed the hard drive and reinstalled the OS - perfect - no probs for months. Wonderful.

(he first tried reinstalling the OS but the problem persisted so it must have been the hard drive)

Cheers

macker6464