philz
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Bizarre pc problem
Well, I've never seen one like this before. It's happened about 4 times in the past week under a variety of scenarios. The pc just shuts down completely... no BSOD, no warning, nothing... it just totally powers down like someone pulled the plug. I can restart it immediately, and it's just like nothing happened (no scandisk, no safe mode or message that Windows was improperly shut down). Then it runs fine 'til the next shutdown.
Both the cpu and my dual monitors are plugged into a UPS, but I know that's not the problem because the monitors don't shut down. I'm thinking it must be the power supply (Corsair 650W, approx. 2 1/2 years old), as I can't imagine what other component could cause an instant power off like that. Any other ideas, anyone, or confirmation that the power supply is the likely culprit?
Thanks,
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Beagle
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Re:Bizarre pc problem
2011/06/21 13:11:32
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☄ Helpful
2 possible problems
1) power supply. your power supply could be going bad, or could even just be overheating and shutting down or reducing current to the motherboard.
2) cpu heat. do you have a monitor on the cpu temp? if not, download one and verify the temperature.
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Rhino55
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Re:Bizarre pc problem
2011/06/21 13:35:50
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Check to see if you have a Dead Fan in your Case, Power Supply, or CPU. I have had this happen when I loose a fan
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philz
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Re:Bizarre pc problem
2011/06/21 13:39:30
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Beagle
2 possible problems
1) power supply. your power supply could be going bad, or could even just be overheating and shutting down or reducing current to the motherboard.
2) cpu heat. do you have a monitor on the cpu temp? if not, download one and verify the temperature.
Thanks, Reece. I have a cpu temp monitor as part of the mobo (Gigabyte) software. CPU temp is running between 68 and 77 C (F scale it's reading around 165). That seems hot, but all my fans and the cpu fan are working.
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Guitarhacker
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Re:Bizarre pc problem
2011/06/21 13:48:26
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☄ Helpful
Get a can of compressed air and blow air backwards and forwards through the vents & fins. Open the case to do this getting as close to the heatsink/fins as you can.
I do service work on some specialized computers in security systems. The places that these computers are installed can be very dusty. Depending on the computer, even a small accumulation of dust in the heat sink fins can cause "unexplained" crashes. Cleaning out the dust will let the CPU cool properly and run like it should.
I blew one out that had been installed for 9 months at a hospital nurse station in a maternity ward. You would think that, of all places, would be a clean environment. NOT! I blew out a bunch of dust bunnies...and the system ran smoothly. I told maint to clean the dust on a 6 month schedule and they would not have any more problems with crashes.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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Beagle
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Re:Bizarre pc problem
2011/06/21 14:13:49
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philz
Beagle
2 possible problems
1) power supply. your power supply could be going bad, or could even just be overheating and shutting down or reducing current to the motherboard.
2) cpu heat. do you have a monitor on the cpu temp? if not, download one and verify the temperature.
Thanks, Reece. I have a cpu temp monitor as part of the mobo (Gigabyte) software. CPU temp is running between 68 and 77 C (F scale it's reading around 165). That seems hot, but all my fans and the cpu fan are working.
that's not too hot depending on your CPU. my money's on the power supply. I've had numerous power supplies go south. sometimes they go out in different ways. you probably don't need 650W unless you have an upper end video card, but you should get the best made power supply you can afford for the wattage you need - which, for most general DAW usage is no more than 400W to 500W.
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philz
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Re:Bizarre pc problem
2011/06/21 14:59:00
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Thanks again Reece, Herb, Rhino... sage advice from all, and it's much appreciated. I work from home mostly, so this box is my link to our LAN's and 50,000 other employees. I routinely vacuum or blow out the box. When ambitious, I disconnect it, take it out to the garage and light up my compressor for a major blow out. That, of course, is sort of a pain, so in between I'll hit with the compressed air can or give it a bit of a vacuuming. I guess I must have been remiss, preoccupied with moving preparations or something because when I pulled the side cover off and gave the cpu cooler a blast, I was greeted with a plume of dust in my face  . Since then both system and cpu temp are reading a good 10-15 degrees lower. BTW- The cpu is an INTC Q9550 quad on a Gigabyte EP45-UD3P mobo. The cooler is the stock INTC fan that came with the cpu (I don't overclock). Anyway, thanks again guys. I'm hoping that was the problem, and if not I'll go get myself a new psu.
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craigb
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Re:Bizarre pc problem
2011/06/21 15:10:32
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Another possibility. Sometimes the reboot button doesn't pop out completely and the slightest jarring can cause the PC to reboot as if it was pressed.
One more. I've had an issue where just pulling out a thumbdrive sometimes turns the PC off - no idea why though...
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
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