Random Shutdowns....

[randruff]

Hey everyone, this is my first post on this website. Recently I have been having some issues with my computer. For some reason, it seems it will just shut down out of nowhere. When i say this, i do not mean, it will just goto the shutdown screen.....it will literally just shut off. In order to get it to power back on, i have to unplug the power cord for a couple of seconds and then, obviously, plug it back in. At first i was thinking a failing power supply (?) but now im shifting towards maybe my cpu is overheating. After a random shutdown i went into bios and it was running at 59c, which is obviously hot. I built this computer two years ago and have not had any problems until recently. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[randruff]

Just another quick note, this shutdown seems to happen when im playing games (eg. can be cpu intensive)

 

[Tha Killa]

Heat problem? more fans and heatsinks and stuff
Try running virus/spyware checks, reducing background programs, defrag your harddrive.
Get any new hardware/software lately?

 

[randruff]

Well, i have 4 80mm fans blowing correctly.....hds are not fragged.....installed lord of the rings, battle for middle earth.....im almost kind of thinking maybe there is dust or something in my cpu fan simply because my cpu use to run at 42-43c and, like i said, its now up to 59c.....so something is making it overheat.....which im assuming when i hop into a game like lotr the cpu heats up from 59c and hits the shutdown temp.....what do ya think?

 

[Cromewell]

59C isn't the cutoff temp for any chip I know, the p4's may start throttling there though

 

[randruff]

i was saying it is normally "idling" at 59c and im assuming once it starts loading/playing graphically intensive games its being used a little more.....btw i have an amd athalon xp2600+

 

[b3n]

It might be a problem with your power source...my friend has a problem like that at the moment.

 

[[KoG]^wEaZel]

do a full system check over see if everything is plugged in probely. try a new power supply may be

 

[Cromewell]

i was saying it is normally "idling" at 59c and im assuming once it starts loading/playing graphically intensive games its being used a little more.....btw i have an amd athalon xp2600+

ah idle at 59C, underload it will probably be reaching 70-80C at which point it should turn off. Check to see if your heatsink is mounted right and that its fan is running

 

[randruff]

The heatsink is mounted correctly and the fan is running.....i just took the case apart and checked......it is dusty as hell in there though, been about 6 months since i have aired it out.....im gonna spray all of the fans and stuff with condensed air and see if it is just dust in the cpu fan.....hopefully its as easy as that......any more suggestions?

 

[Praetor]

After a random shutdown I went into bios and it was running at 59c

If its CPU heat motivated then the temp was prolly closer to 65C ... hot but not that hot yet .. its worth checking the voltages though (since PSUs are less efficient as temperatures rise)

59C isn't the cutoff temp for any chip I know, the p4's may start throttling there though

I think it starts to throttle at 65C?

i was saying it is normally "idling" at 59c

In that case you got a heat problem.

The heatsink is mounted correctly and the fan is running

Too much thermal paste?