Computer Suddenly powerdowns itself

[mystudio]

Both my laptop and desktop have the same problem recently.
The labtop is most likely caused by overheating. I place a fan beside it and so far so good.
For desktop, its due to the power supply. I replace the power supply and don't see the problem anymore

 

[pisduck]

3 year old? Auto shut down?

The last desktop I had with the same issue was diagnosed as power supply fault. Try to get it repaired and stop trying to use it. Its very damaging to your hard disk from the sudden power shut downs. My last hard disk got damaged because of this.

yup. if the desktop is old and start giving problems usually it is the PSU dying. Overheating should not occur suddenly right? unless you change the computer placement or you added new stuff inside the enclosure.

fixed both my and my FIL PC with same problem. sudden power down. both PSU problem

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

If it is due to CPU overheating, maybe can replace the thermal paste..
Thermal paste is the stuff that goes between the heatsink and the CPU. It is supposed to enhance the transfer of heat from CPU to the heatsink, so that the heat can be dissipated. I guess it is possible that the thermal paste might need replacement..

Search for and download this utilty known as OCCT. If you run it, it might help diagnose the problem - temperature, PSU stability

actually before replacing the thermal paste... should take a vacumn cleaner to suck out the dust from the heatsink's grooves and the fan... most of the time is that its infested with dust so the heat cannot dissipate out effectively.

 

[vince123123]

3. I had a faulty HDD and there was no BSOD, straight away reboot/shut down.

Whether you have BSOD or reboot/shut down depends on the error setting in Windows XP. Hence it is not "confirm BSOD wont shutdown".

1. Possible
2. Depends, normally BSOD
3. Confirm BSOD won't shutdown.

what i do think is probably it overheated... but not a Dell user, so wonder if it have a temperature indicator software in the package. If have do check the CPU temp or MB temp to see if its overheating.

other than that... probably a worm in action.

 

[ricohflex]

this is a long shot.

ask your PC technician to check whether your Power Supply unit is too weak to handle all the stuff in your PC.

 

[Nisa]

the last version sucks thou... the new 2009 version is a hell lot better...

The stupid virus scan kept shutting down my computer.

On another note, U want the lic? I got 3 lics. I decide to go back to my old virus scan company.

 

[contaxable]

I once troubleshoot and diy repaired a pc. In the end, i changed almost everything except the motherboard and the casing. I could have bought a new PC for the price of diy parts.

So, weigh the cost of repair and ask the technician what really is the problem.

There are softwares that helps you troubleshoot the hardwares in the PC and monitor. It will test hdd, ram, connections, etc. But if you have a faulty PSU or motherboard, it can be rather difficult to detect.

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

The stupid virus scan kept shutting down my computer.

On another note, U want the lic? I got 3 lics. I decide to go back to my old virus scan company.

nah, i dun need to lick... lol... i have 12 of it... or something like that... :bsmilie:

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

3. I had a faulty HDD and there was no BSOD, straight away reboot/shut down.

Whether you have BSOD or reboot/shut down depends on the error setting in Windows XP. Hence it is not "confirm BSOD wont shutdown".

haiz... u from bad sector now say is hardware fault... i let u win... dun wanna waste my bandwidth.

 

[vince123123]

Lol, the faulty HDD I was referring to is a bad sector fault.

Let what you wish Quite obvious you don't know abt the error report setting

haiz... u from bad sector now say is hardware fault... i let u win... dun wanna waste my bandwidth.