Sudden Computer Shut Down

I'm not entirely certain if this is software or hardware, but I feel like it might be the power supply so I'll just put this post in hardware I guess.

Anyway, my computer has two times now suddenly shut off for no apparent reason (it's a Dell Inspirion desktop PC with Windows 10, 64 bit, maybe a year old). It was working totally fine and then just... bam, black screen. It's not like a normal shut down where it actually says "shutting off" either. It just shuts off like the power cord got pulled out. It's happened twice now, each time after about 30 minutes of use.

I don't think it was dust. I opened up the computer and used an air can, and hardly any dust came out. All of the fans are working fine as well (I turned the computer on long enough to see if the fans would spin normally, which they did). I left it on long enough to try a basic website search, and the computer runs very smoothly. No weird sounds, it's fast like normal, etc.

The only odd thing it did was about thirty seconds after I turned it off (after the dusting), it sounded like it turned on randomly. It didn't, the power light was off and the monitor didn't show anything. But the fans turned on for a second and the power supply's light lit up. Then it all shut off again. I've never seen it do that before. It didn't actually turn on the computer, the power just kinda... revved up for a second? I don't know...

Anyway, is it most likely the power supply at this point? That's the only thing I can think of. I'm keeping it off and using my laptop for now.

 

Check all cables to see if you see any burnt marks.

 

You need to get out your paperwork and verify the purchase date NOW! If less than a year, contact Dell before the warranty runs out.

BTW, it sounds like power to me too.

 

@wile e coyote - No burn marks that I can see. I inspected all the cords and ports, as well as inside the PC and it all looks good as new.

@Digerati - Checked the purchase date... 1 year and 1 month -_- Bummer lol. Oh well, money isn't really my concern as much as just knowing what's wrong.

Your comments made me think of something though. A few months ago we had a bad storm, and the power kept flickering on and off. My computer shut off because of it and wouldn't turn back on right away. I left it off for a while and it was perfectly fine after that. Worked like normal for many months, but maybe it actually damaged the power supply?

 

Is/was it connected to a quality surge protector that has a warranty for connected equipment? Or was it simply plugged into a wall socket?

 

Yeah it's plugged into a good surge protector (Belkin 12 outlet 4320 Joules, BP112230-08). My friend has the same one as me, and her house was struck by lightning. Everything connected to it was fine, but all the other electronics in her house were fried.

Maybe my power supply is just cheap, I dunno.

 

Most likely means her house was not properly grounded.

Try turning your system on with out the power surge protector.Or it could all so be the wall outlet causing issues after the power surge.The wall out let you are using could be bad.

Try moving your system to another wall outlet and see if it will turn on and stay on.

 

Does your Surge Protector come with a light indicator Red and Green.

The Red light shows that your system is grounded.Which means it's good.If the red light is not on that means its most likely bad.

Green means you are protected.Lets you know your equipment is secure.

Check and see if you have these lights.If it's the model you posted.

 

I don't have one of those.

I have a surge protector that is a six plug and it directly goes into the wall out let.I have been using it for 6 years and has not failed.Simple stuff.It does not have any fancy lights.It could all so be an issue with the fuse inside the surge protector as well.If the fuse has blown all you probably need to do is open it up and replace the fuse.Most surge protectors come with one fuse or six depending on how fancy the protector is.

 

Power hits will also greatly age electronics. So while it may have survived the hit from several months back, it could still have been affected.

Regardless, since EVERYTHING inside the computer depends on good, clean, stable power, it is best to verify that supply is still good. The best way to do this is by swapping in a known good spare.

Also, while surge and spike protectors are much better than nothing, they really are not much more than fancy and expensive extension cords. For "excessive" surges and spikes, at best they kill power to the connected devices. That is better than passing the destructive voltages along, but suddenly killing power to computers is never good. But also, surge and spike protectors do absolutely nothing for sags (opposites of surges), dips (opposite of spikes), or brownouts (long duration sags). These events (which are very common too) strain (thus age) power supply regulator circuits. And when excessive dips and sags (below 90VAC for 115V in, below 180VAC for 230V in), they can do nothing. So the PSU (as per the ATX form factor standard) can do nothing but cease outputting DC voltages.

A "good" UPS with AVR will compensate for all these small and extreme high and low voltage anomalies by using its AVR (automatic voltage regulation) to adjust (regulate) the voltages. If necessary, it will even use the batteries to boost voltage for low voltage events.

Battery backup in the event of a full power outage is just a minor bonus feature! It is the AVR that makes a "good" UPS with AVR so worthwhile.

Also note all surge and spike protectors wear out normally over time. But also, in some respects they are like motorcycle helmets. After they have protected your noggin from being smashed in by the curb once, you should get a new helmet. A "good" UPS with AVR does not have that problem because the "intelligence" in the monitoring and regulation circuits is constantly adjusting and compensating as needed. The only downside is UPS batteries do need to be replaced every 3 - 5 years but that is typically a pretty easy user-task.

Last, every home and every computer user should have access to a AC Outlet Tester to ensure your outlet is properly wired and grounded. I recommend one with a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupt) indicator as it can be used to test bathroom and kitchen outlets (outlets near water) too. These testers can be found for your type and voltage outlet, foreign or domestic, (like this one for the UK) at most home improvement stores, or even the electrical department at Wal-Mart. Use it to test all the outlets in the home and if a fault is shown, have it fixed by a qualified electrician.

 

Not necessarily. It depends on the protector. There is no standard.

Just looking at a Belkin here, if the Red LED is lit, it means there is a wiring fault - typically an open ground.

 

I was just quoting on what i read from the model listed.

 

Doh! Sorry. I missed where the model was listed. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

No problem.

 

Does your model accept an ATX power supply? It would be easier to swap for a known good one if it does.

 

Sorry for the late response. I've been in Seattle for Pax West these past five days, and then I got really sick as soon as I came back home.

Anyway, my surge protector does have the lights you guys described. The green light is lit up, as well as the red light. I looked up the exact model I have, and the red light means it's properly grounded, while the green light means it's secured from surges. So both lights should be lit (which they are). I'm just not entirely certain that the surge protector actually protected my PC during that outage or not. My computer wouldn't turn on for a while afterward, which doesn't feel like something that should happen if it was actually protected from a surge.

I will admit, the wiring in the house that we're (thankfully) renting has proven itself to be quite terrible. We've already had to have an electrician come out twice now to fix some stupid wiring mistake in the house. I went ahead and bought one of those AC Outlet Testers that you mentioned. It should arrive in a couple days and I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm not certain about the ATX question. Is that a brand of power supply?

 

It's a specification.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_supply_unit_(computer)#ATX_standard

 

Hmmm I've got no idea if my model accepts ATX or not, but I'll attach a picture of the information sticker on the side of the power supply in case that says one way or another. Unfortunately my computer's tower is very small, and there's not much space for the power supply.

 

From what i can tell in the picture.There are no burnt marks from what i see.But i could be wrong.

Have you tried taking out the cmos battery and see if that is causing the problem.You might need to replace it.Some times the cmos battery can prevent the system from starting if the battery goes bad.

 

I'm gonna try out the AC Outlet Tester that @Digerati suggested once it comes in the mail (should be one or two more days). If the wall outlet is fine then yeah, I guess I'll just have to take it in somewhere. Seems to be almost certainly the power supply at this point. Thanks for all your suggestions!

I've heard that RE-PC does repairs and also has recycled parts, so I might be able to find a cheap power supply there. I don't need anything too powerful I don't think. Just one that's good enough to play Dragon Age Inquisition lol.

 

Going forward, we'll help you build something standard. No offense, but a Dell like yours is "disposable" unfortunately.

For 15% more, or perhaps less you can invest in a case and just gut it from time to time...

 

As nice as that sounds, I'm a total novice with computers... Building my own PC would be a massive learning curve, and a lot of money that I don't have right now. I really don't need anything fancy, I just need the one I have to stay on longer than 30 minutes.

 

Well I used the AC Outlet Tester just now, and both the wall outlet, and the outlets on the power strip all checked out fine. So I guess it's just the power supply. I can't find anything else wrong with it... Anyway, thanks for all your suggestions! I don't know if I want to try replacing it myself or take it in to get repaired yet, but we'll see.

 

Here is a video how to build a computer.It's a pretty easy.Just double check for parts with us.If plan on going this route.It will cost around 1,000 for a decent computer.This is acutely close to what i bought.But the difference was i bought a ryzen 7.

 

Don't help propagate the stereotype! Some of the best electronics technicians I've had the pleasure to work with over the last 45+ years have been females!

 

Well... I'm only hesitant because I have a learning disability, and I wouldn't want to buy all those parts and not be able to do it. I do A LOT BETTER with videos though, because I can pause them and process the information at my own pace instead of at someone else's, so that's a big plus here. Financially it will be a while before I'll have the money, but I'll bookmark the video! Maybe after the holidays this year, I could at least give it a try. For now I'll see about replacing this power supply =)

 

I sure appreciate your openness. But generally assembling a computer is not near as hard as it sounds. For me, the hardest part is just being able to see what I am doing. I either don't have enough light for my aging eyes, or my own hands block my view. Other than that, almost everything really only goes in one way, unless you really use excessive force to force it. Almost everything is labeled and/or keyed.

Having said that, there is no shame in taking it to a professional. The advantage there is they are responsible for any collateral damage!

 

I have Asperger it does not stop me.

In fact i drive school buses with kids that have worse disability's then me.I know how you feel.There are a lot of people out there that have some type of disability,But they seem to learn about computers and tech better then some.

Not trying to get off topic.

 

Make sure you get plenty of Zip ties.

 

Sorry if this seems to be going backwards as far as the progress on your issue... I say this because I only skimmed through the responses, but paid close attention to your original post. From the description you're giving, system shuts down, no warning, no nothing... as if the power strip's switch were flipped off or the power cord unplugged... and the occurrences happening close to the same time increments, it sounds a hell of a lot like the CPU is overheating.

Yes, I know you eliminated 'dust' as the culprit, and used compressed air to clean out the interior, but should it be an issue with too little thermal paste between the CPU and heat sink, a whole can of air won't make any difference. If I've overlooked something in this thread where you've already confirmed that this isn't the issue, then I apologize, but if you have not... its a simple task to verify whether your CPU is running dangerously hot, ultimately causing the system to shut down as a safety measure.

Check out one of the sites I've linked below and perhaps download one of the programs that appears simple and easy to use for you... and verify that your CPU isn't overheating. I suppose you could disregard this altogether and just run a resource intensive game... something that will push the system closer to it's maximum threshold... somewhere near its limit... but that would be ill advised as it puts your system at a much greater risk. However, in the event that you may have already experienced this, while doing something like I've described, you would find your computer hitting that black screen much sooner than 30 minutes. Has that ever happened?

At any rate, here are the websites with links to apps that monitor your CPU temperature, though :

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3253340/components-processors/how-to-check-your-cpu-temperature.html
https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/core_temp.html
https://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

[EDIT]
Should this turn out to be the issue, steps to determine the cause for overheating can be taken, but you want to verify whether this is actually the problem, first... obviously