My PC automatically shuts down

nVidea · Dec 28, 2014

My PC auto shuts down. My pc is 3 years old and it has never shuts down like this before. Blue screen, yes. but not like this.
It started yesterday morning. My PC shut down after 2~3 minutes of opening up first time in the morning. After that it shut down automatically. I pressed the turn on button on my case and it never opened. I turned off my UPS and opened it again, then it opened. After 2~3 minutes, it shut down again. After that, same thing happened 4 times, about 2~3 minutes of opening, it shut down automatically. since aftr the first shutdown, i just needed to press the "turn on" button on my pc.

Now this gets interesting on 4th shutdown. When it shutdown for the 4th time, after 1 minute of leaving it alone, it automatically turned on! I didn't press any button on the case nor in the UPS.

(one little detail: on 3rd power on, during boot, my system cannot recognize my USB keyboard, so I could not press the safe mode, normal mode, etc during boot)

Since that, my pc never auto shuts down, we played light only gaming for 12 straight hours (we've been doing that for a year now, it never auto shut down, just this morning) without the pc shutting down until 1am in the next day (from 8am - 1am next day)

Today it auto shuts down again 4 times. and it auto open on 2nd shut down.

What do you think is the cause?

1. CPU cooler - I'm checking it. But it never turns off before the "auto shutdown".
2. PSU - possible. since my PC is not fully shutdown as i noticed that it automatically open once a day.
3. System - I ran a CC cleaner and found this: http://s9.postimg.org/3tdy3s2lr/image.jpg I cleaned the registry using it, and I'm stuck if I'm to clean the "Windows" and "Applications" tabs. Do i need to reformat my pc?

Thank you for the help!

ingtar33 · Dec 28, 2014

clean the inside of the case with a can of compressed air. clean all the fans and heatsinks as well.

download hwmonitor and get it running, "shutting down randomly" is usually the result of 1 of 2 problems
1) power issues (short, grounding out, or dying power supply)
2) overheating issues

So we'll clean the inside of your case, all the heatsinks and fans
next you're going to leave the side of your case off, stick a room fan into the openning, turn it on high, see if the problem goes away. if it does you DEFINATELY have a heat issue.

If you have a heat issue you'll need to test the fans
each fan in your case, flick it with your finger. it should spin freely and silently, at the end of the spin watch it closely, a healthy fan should bounce backwards 1/4 to 1/2 a turn at the end of the spin. if it doesn't do one of those two things the fan is dying. i'd focus on your cpu, gpu and psu fans (you might need a screwdriver to reach the psu fan)

if the problem persists even though you are blasting air into the case, put your hand on the psu. see if it's almost too hot to touch or not. if it's hot the psu fan probably died (psus are about the only part that will not be cured by this fan method. and the psu will need to be replaced

THAT SAID, your symptoms also could be an electrical short or dying psu.

if you still have no answers, unplug everything from your motherboard, take the motherboard out of the case, take the psu out of the case.
carefully examin the motherboard for signs of burning, blown caps or stains from liquids. unplug the pci cards, do the same with them
-if there is stains, you can clean them with 90%-100% rubbing alcohol and cuetips.

assuming everything is good with the motherboard examin the plugs from the power supply
check them to make sure they're solid, they shouldn't twist or wiggle at the plug connection point. loose wires can cause these issues
examine all the plugs for sign of damage (i had a temperamental system once and i discovered the 4pin cpu plug was MELTED from an electrical burn. not sure how i didn't kill the motherboard when that happened but it scared the hell out of me. needless to say that psu went straight into the trash)

if nothing is wrong with the plugs, rest the motherboard on wood or cardboard, plug the psu into the motherboard, make sure none of the pci cards are plugged in (you can plug in the graphics card if your system doesn't have onboard graphics), plug in one hard drive, and nothing else. power the system on outside of the case. see if the issue goes away
-power it on with a screwdriver, NOT the case's power switch

if the issue goes away there is a short somewhere in your case. maybe the power switch, maybe one of the other drives maybe one of the fans in the case. you'll have to eliminate the suspects one at a time until you figure it out.

if the problem persists even when outside of the case you probably have a dying psu. test this by trying another psu. if another psu doesn't work then the last possible suspect is your motherboard. you probably missed signs of the motherboard burning and will need to replace the motherboard.

nVidea · Dec 28, 2014

Thanks for your quick reply, I'm replying from my 7nch tab since I cannot reply in my unstable PC.. I will do the cleaning first. My question is: can I use a paintbrush on cleaning my PC? The one used for construction. But the small one. It has small metal plating on it..

Anyway, I don't believe its overheating issue since my rig has 2 working fans on right side, and 2 more fans in front. CPU fan perfectly works.. But will still test it though. And my case is partially open so more air will enter

. Got to be the PSU since my friend told me that my PSU is a low end one. Cooler master 500 watts.

nVidea · Dec 29, 2014

I think i found the problem. when I turned on my PC, the cpu fan and the side fans opened, and the entire pc turned on, system boots, etc. BUT the fan inside the power supply didn't turn on. It's already 1 minute and 30 seconds since I turned the PC on and the fan in the power supply is still not running.

Hmm. so the PSU is the problem and needs replacing.

Can you advise me of a stable, durable power supply not over USD 100? or I can add little bucks if it's worth it. I'm thinking of Corsair (expensive though) or Thermaltake 730W.

Planning to buy MSI mobo, intel i3 4160, R9 270x or R9 265 in the future.

I'll buy PSU first then.

ingtar33 · Dec 29, 2014

nVidea :

sure.

I'm glad you hunted it down. Sounded like a temp issue so a fan not working in the psu would definitely cause it. you really only need a 400W psu for that planned setup.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $26.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-29 02:25 EST-0500

while that's a solid deal, this is a better psu.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($56.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $56.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-29 02:27 EST-0500

nVidea · Dec 29, 2014

Really?? I'm amazed that 400 watts can handle the i3 4160 and r9 265. I thought 265 requires 500 watts of PSU.. I'm thinking of buying Season if 620 watts.. I'm double thinking about thermal take since I've read bad reviews of them here in forum.

nVidea · Dec 29, 2014

In here:http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2149137/evga-thermaltake-corsair-psu.html#14921427

A person has stronger CPU and GPU than mine. But he chose the 520 watts Seasonic. 520 is really enough for those specs?? I'd like to buy the most reliable, but cheap, and higher watts PSU for my future build. Is the 520w really enough for that persons specs and my future build?? I think he has amd fx series and r9 290 or 270..

ingtar33 · Dec 29, 2014

nVidea :

the r7-265 is a 115W gpu, your cpu is a 65W cpu... the rest of your system won't draw more then 80W = ~250-300W full load.

nVidea · Dec 29, 2014

But it says here http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm 265 needs 450w.. Wait, does it mean 450W is enough to handle all of my current build, and my future build? And 500W is more than enough?

Thermal take SE 630w and 730w are available here, together with Seasonic 620w... Is the seasonic better than the thermal take SE 730w even though its watts is lesser than thermal take??

ingtar33 · Dec 30, 2014

yes. seasonic makes very nice high quality psus. it's worth the price.

nVidea · Dec 30, 2014

Hello. I forgot i have neighbor expert technician.

He said we have to isolate first the problem. So I have to observe first, take the UPS first out, try plugging the rig into the wall socket..

By the way, I turned my PC on this afternoon (night now) and it turned on. After a few minutes, my PSU's fan turned on.. it's functional now..

It's now plugged into the wall socket. Not yet shutting down until now.. I'm to observe this for a few days. if it doesn't auto shut down every morning, i'll have to conclude that UPS is the suspect.

nVidea · Dec 30, 2014

Update:

This morning, during the boot something appeared. "Startup Repair"

Your computer was unable to start.
----> Startup repair is checking your system for problems...

Then another box appeared.
Startup repair (title tab)
Do you want to restore your computer using System Restore? (I think this was colored red)

I restored it and after a few minutes, it started up. I'm running now a full MS Essential scan.

A virus maybe? Or the shutdowns damaged the systems, caused some errors.

ingtar33 · Dec 30, 2014

nVidea :

startup repair can trigger if your bootsector was damaged.

lots of things can cause this... from power outages to viruses to dying hard drives. Or it could be just dumb bad luck. that happens sometimes too.

nVidea · Dec 30, 2014

Well, it's not shutting down this morning. Also this morning, I heard a loud sound from the fan, i think it was from the PSU. But it's gone after like 15 seconds.

There was no power outages. Hmm. but the PSU/USP failures to supply power, is it also included in the definition of "power outages"?
What's the symptoms of a dying hard drives?

pctech2005 · Dec 30, 2014

SMART error meesages at boot, long boot times, lock ups, reboots, files go missing even if you did not delete them, missing or no os message, no active partition found message, clicking noises, smoke from the hdd (in extreme and rare circumstance), and pure agony if you did not backup your files before the drive died.

nVidea · Dec 30, 2014

If i'm to reformat the PC, can I copy the online game installed on one of the folders in my C (not the installer, but the folder where the game is installed) ? and paste it onto my computer after the reformat? Because my game here has so many online patches and updates, i dont want to download them again. You think it will work if I just paste it?

nVidea · Dec 30, 2014

pctech2005 :

No long boot times, No lockups, no files go missing, No "missing or no os message" and no "no active partition found message", no clicking sounds. It's not the hard drive then.

pctech2005 · Dec 30, 2014

rather than wiping the drive, try running a scan with malwarebytes, and get avg free edition for your antivirus. MSE is ok but not the best free anti virus

pctech2005 · Dec 30, 2014

apps, typically cannot typically be just copied and pasted, they must be installed. now if you have all the updates and patches downloaded you should be able to back them up and then reinstall them after a clean load of windows and your app.

nVidea · Jan 2, 2015

UPDATE:

My pc is okay now.. No reformat needed, no motherboard replacement, no UPS replacement..
BUT I successfully found 2 stores (out of 15 or more) and bought this:

http://postimg.org/image/6krsiuj6r/

haha thanks for the help, tips and advices! My PC is now working, new PSU, but still i need to observe it.

My next target would be heatsink/video card... my cousin has this super big heatsink able to suck off the heat from his entire case. even though he plays 12 hours straight, no heat can be felt by touching the case.. I'd like that. I think his heatsink is not a high-end because its price is only less than 20 USD. Oh well just gonna create new thread for that.

nVidea · Jan 2, 2015

New problem:

My system is running. BUT there's a problem. I have 4 fans, a,b,c and d. A and B are installed in the side of the case while C and D are in front.

1. I plugged the 4 pins into A and B and they run silently. I connected C and D to each others and connected D to my psu's 4 pins. And my PC was slightly shaking.

2. I disconnected C and D from 4 pins power supply and connected them to A and B, which are already being supplied by 4 pins. My case is still shaking.

3. I Disconnected all C and D and from Power supply and left them unsupplied, but A and B are still connected and well supplied. my pc is not shaking anymore.

Clearly, its the problem of Fans C and D. Now my question is what problem is it? Over voltaged?

My PSU is 620watts.

nVidea · Jan 3, 2015

Ohh my god... -.- I played an game this morning for about 3 hours.
Then I adjusted the position of my case, removed its side cover, and faced its opened side to a stand fan so it won't overheat, after that when my girlfriend play this online game I was playing for 3 hours (no hot surface felt) my PC suddenly shut down anfter 2-3 minutes!

I then removed the UPS because its one of the suspects, plugged the PSU`s cord directly to the wall socket (I did this 4 days ago, and it was stable for a few hours), BUT when I turned the PC on, after 2-3 minutes of playing that medium online game, it still shuts down!

One thing I noticed is that there is no display in my monitor (VGA) AND NO Display in my 32 inch TV (HDMI), BUT I can still see the motherboard still running, CPU fans still running, PSU fan still running, side cover fans still running.

Hmm I think... It may be the ... video card :0

What the hell is happening too my PC?!

ingtar33 · Jan 3, 2015

did you ever follow the troubleshooting steps i outlined in my first post.

I outlined them because it would help narrow down what's happening. if you keep the side of your case off and stick a room fan in the opening do you have any more crashing issues?

nVidea · Jan 4, 2015

My techie cousin already inspected the motherboard, no abnormal capacitors had been detected.

4pin plugs - no problem. New PSU. But one of my side fan's pin was somehow removed from the cap, but it still works after 1 year.

Pci cards - last night when the shutdowns happened. I turned my pc off and think of something. First I noticed that both displays (monitor via vga and tv via dvi hdmi) were black. But the motherboard was still running. PSU was running. Cpu fan, side fans fine running. I realized there must be something wrong wih the GPU.

(Everytime we run online game, after 2 mins of that, the display shuts down.)

So i removed my gt 430, and plugged the vga to the onboard videocard on the motherboard. I turned it on. I opened the online game and played a few minutes, no shutdowns happened. (My online game was significantly slowed down because of onboard gpu haha). Anyway, that's where i realized, the gpu must be the problem.

So i picked up my gt 430, cleaned its fan with cotton tips, cleaned th GPU board with tip, and the gold pins (which connects the gpu to pcie slot) then I installed it.

I switched it on (the side covering of my case is removed, a stand fan is blowing air into it until now) and played the game. Then the shutdowns never happened again until now.

ingtar33 · Jan 4, 2015

good!

My PC automatically shuts down

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