My computer keeps abruptly shuting off...

Thanatos

Thanatos

Active Member
... among other things. Sometimes the display will go blank for a few seconds and when it comes back on, computer is unresponsive. Sometimes it freezes randomly and i have to un-plug it. This is getting really annoying. specs:

500w Antec PSU
M4A78-EM Asus MoBo
AMD Athlon x2 250
5 gigs DDR2 RAM
Windows 7 pro x64 bit
VisionTek ATI Radeon HD 6450 w/ 1gig RAM

It will freeze up more often during BFBC2 or Minecraft. However, i get good FPS on these games, like 45 & up. I'm getting fed up with this. I think it is caused by the sheer amount of times I've had to unplug the computer to shut it down.

Any Help???
 
Any good temp monitoring programs you'd recommend? And as for hardware failure, I'd guess not, as most of the parts listed aren't over 1.5 years old.
 
It just crashed again, but this time in a very spectacular fashion. Flashed desktop, black, white bars, static, desktop, firefox window, then Blue screen. The blue screen only stayed for a bit, but it did say something about incompatible drivers.
 
And another question: It says that my CPU is at 700 Mhz. How is that??? I should be easily be getting 3020 mhz.


EDIT: Says that my multiplier is 4x. I guess it rises to 15x when it needs to.
 
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Green dog252 said:
It just crashed again, but this time in a very spectacular fashion. Flashed desktop, black, white bars, static, desktop, firefox window, then Blue screen. The blue screen only stayed for a bit, but it did say something about incompatible drivers.
Click to expand...

If it does it a lot during gaming, it could be an overheating GPU/CPU. How often does it do it during non-gaming and what are you doing when it does it? As john said it could be hardware-related; either failing or something as simple as a GPU not properly fully-seated. Have you checked all your connections (MoBo and cables)?

When did it start and did you make any changes to the system shortly before (New hardware, download any programs/files)?
 
Green dog252 said:
Any good temp monitoring programs you'd recommend? And as for hardware failure, I'd guess not, as most of the parts listed aren't over 1.5 years old.
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter how old the hardware is. Hardware failure can happen at any time. I bought 3 modules of RAM and one module ended up failing after 4 months.

Green dog252 said:
It just crashed again, but this time in a very spectacular fashion. Flashed desktop, black, white bars, static, desktop, firefox window, then Blue screen. The blue screen only stayed for a bit, but it did say something about incompatible drivers.
Click to expand...

Blue Screens usually stay on until you turn the computer off. If it happens again, you should write down the error code, and what it is referencing.

Green dog252 said:
And another question: It says that my CPU is at 700 Mhz. How is that??? I should be easily be getting 3020 mhz.

EDIT: Says that my multiplier is 4x. I guess it rises to 15x when it needs to.
Click to expand...

There is some sort of AMD power saving mode that is enabled in the BIOS to allow for the lower clock when the CPU is not in demand.
 
It'll just freeze up when I'm browsing the internet, listening to music on iTunes, or something similar. Nothing too strenuous. As for the blue screen, it wasn't the typical BSOD. It looked different. I'll check all connections in a moment.
 
all connections were good. I started playing BFBC2 and sure enough it froze. looked over to the temps. GPU: 54C, CPU: 45C.
 
Sounds kinda like a driver or memory problem. Whats your memory speed/timing and voltage set at? And the make and model memory you have.
 
a47v2c.jpg


This all you need?
note:this is one of two. they are exactly the same.
 
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have you tried removing the graphics card, completely and thoroughly removing the drivers, then reinstalling everything, and may as well un and reassemble the comp while your at it to make sure everything is properly seated.
 
jonnyp11 said:
have you tried removing the graphics card, completely and thoroughly removing the drivers, then reinstalling everything, and may as well un and reassemble the comp while your at it to make sure everything is properly seated.
Click to expand...

>>all connections were good.

I'm with Strangle on this; try removing RAM one chip and playing the game. If it happens again, swap with the other chip.
 
well i meant everything, cpu and mobo and all,sometimes just un and replugging something in correctly seems to fix things sometimes.
 
I HAVE found a little fix. opened up my case, stuck a fan in there, and played BF:BC2 for hours. :D :D :D I don't know if this was the thing that fixed it, so I'll take the fan out, close it up, and see what happens.
 
Where was the fan pointed? Which component is it giving air to?

Abruptly shutting off can be a sign of a few things.

If the machine is under high load and it just shuts off, that's a PSU issue. If it reboots, it's overheating. If it freezes, crashes or totally hangs, it could be an unstable overclock, a memory issue, or a GPU issue
 
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