Problem with my PC

[The Astroman]

Yesterday, for no reason, after 4-5 hours of non-stop use, my PC started to shut down with no warning. This morning, it booted up, but when it started to get "hot" (load), it shut down. I suspect my little 350W PSU not being powerful enough for all my equipment. Could my suspition be correct? Should I get a new one? Now, I can't even log into my Win XP account. I click on my name, and then it shuts down. PSU problem?

 

[abacus_cn]

may be

 

[OS Dragon]

may be

What the hell . If you think that that can be considered as a real post then you are dearly mistaken.

To "The Astroman": I believe many other problems such as yours is also a cause of too little power (PSU) or it could be that you systems has overheated to the max. I would certainly check out your BIOS for any further clues to what the problem might be.

 

[The Astroman]

Thanks for the response OS Dragon. My internal temps are low, CPU 25 and case 30... It shuts down after 5 minutes now. It can't be the temps... Should I buy a new PSU? I'm getting the CM Stacker, it has dual PSU slots. I could get a 550 W PSU and add to that 350W = 900 W!!! That should be enough!

BTW Os dragon, is your name "ALI" ??

 

[The Astroman]

Do I need a new PSU yes or no? Could it be a problem with Windows which could have messed up? Can I test it to see if it is? Could a re-format help? Temps , according to MBM5, are low and stable... CPU @ 25°C and case@ 32°C... I'm on it right now, but I don't know for how long, seeing as it could shut down any second!

 

[Charlie7940]

I would try a new PSU. Your current one is most likely dead. 900W is not necessary, and what good what it do to combine a dead PSU? I would reccommend at least 400W, however I am not sure as we don't know what hardware you are running. Posting your system specs would help

 

[Charlie7940]

Wow! Maybe I should read your sig first! Lol my bad...yeah I would at least get 400W maybe 450W

 

[OS Dragon]

and what good what it do to combine a dead PSU?

I definately agree. If I were you, I get a new PSU, make it a heavy duty PSU to prevent this from happening again.

YES!!!

 

[The Astroman]

So, you really sure it's a PSU thing! You know, in my garden, there aren't any PSU-trees YET! And I''m not a rich man ! So if you say I need one, I get one. BTW, I ran the Microsoft Windows memory check, and turned out flawlessly!

 

[The Astroman]

Also, every time my PC mysteriously shuts down (without my AGREEMENT ) and I turn it on again, the little annoying box appears from Windows telling me that the system has recovered from a serious error, and that I can send them the error report... So you still think it's a PSU problem?

 

[Yeti]

350W should be enough for your system. Add a few more hard drives and a high end gfx card and something more might be needed. But it is possible that your PSU is dying. Can you see the voltage rails before it restarts?

I'm getting the CM Stacker, it has dual PSU slots. I could get a 550 W PSU and add to that 350W = 900 W!!! That should be enough!

Not at all necessary, and imo a waste (aslo have to mess around with switching).

Temps , according to MBM5, are low and stable... CPU @ 25°C and case@ 32°C

I think/hope that you have those reversed.

If I were you, I get a new PSU, make it a heavy duty PSU

Not necessary... though I guess it depends on your def of heavy duty (for me its something like this)

 

[OS Dragon]

hum...something like that yeah, only if The Astroman is into gaming on his system . Thats where the extra power will come in handy

 

[The Astroman]

350W should be enough for your system. Add a few more hard drives and a high end gfx card and something more might be needed. But it is possible that your PSU is dying. Can you see the voltage rails before it

What are voltage rails??? How can I see them? How can my PSU be dying?

 

[The Astroman]

I took a "hi-res" picture of the side of my PSU. I think on the picture you can see the "voltage rails". I hope this will help you find the problem. Reply ASAP please!

 

[The Astroman]

Also, on the index of www.computerforum.com , it's someones birthday today!

 

[OS Dragon]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

The problem: In my definate opinion, the problem seems to be from the PSU. I was once gonna buy a 250-300W PSU but my friend warned me not to go for something so low. It can't possibly be the mobo or the cpu because another friend of mine keep his pc on for three days and nothing happened.

 

[Blue]

Just a thought, i must admit i skimmed allot ;-)... As soon as this started to happen you did some regular maintenance to see if the problem went away right? check for viruses and spy ware? physically clean the computer inside.

It certainly could be the PSU so I argue with no one . It's just that you really should consider other possibility also. Computers unfortunately need allot of trouble shooting in situations like these, would not want to see you replace a PSU and the problem still persist.

Edit:

Happy B-day The Astroman

 

[Yeti]

I took a "hi-res" picture of the side of my PSU. I think on the picture you can see the "voltage rails". I hope this will help you find the problem. Reply ASAP please!

There should be some software that came with your motherboard or can be downloaded from the Asus's website. I forget what Asus calls it. It should monitor fan speeds, temps, and voltage rails - the actual voltage coming from each of the 12V, 5V, 3.3V etc rails. If they look unstable/jumpy it could be the PSU, but like Blue said, I'd look at other things before buying a new one unless you have the money to spend.

Oh, and happy birthday Astroman

 

[The Astroman]

Oh, and happy birthday Astroman

Happy B-day The Astroman

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Thank you all! So, you say I should software-check the comp before checking harware problems? I got this weird grey window today when I booted and I clicked my username, I think it said something like "This session cannot be loaded because the memory section is not valid", I don't remember it well. I did the Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic tool, the basic tests, and went up to pass 28, flawlessly, as I have said previously...

 

[Blue]

I really do think that you should check the software side of things first. If that all turns out to be flawless then onto the hardware.