PC weird shut down error

[nytz]

Hello there, my pc can start up, enter windows and function completely normal until it randomly shuts down. It started out not so often, mostly while playing demanding games etc, sometimes i could go on for 5 hours other time it would take 1 hour or less. It's not heat atleast, i've checked the temps and it always running below 50C. When the PC shuts down it goes black for a few seconds until it automaticly restarts til the second boots screen where i just freezes, at this time the power on/off button doesn't work which it does before the shutdown. So i have to either pull the plug or the power button behind the case. After i do so the PC doesnt respond so i can't turn in back on. Here's the weird part, i just have to keep switching between two power cables, switch between on and off until it works, sometimes it takes 1 min other times i can take up to 5. Most of my PC is less than 4 months old

System:
Windows XP professional
4gb RAM
400gb Western Digital Harddrive
8800GT 512 mb Graphic Card
Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H Motherboard
Tagan 500W Power Supply

The thing is that exams are comming up and i don't have a PC so im screwed if i dont get it working.
I then tried to reinstall Windows today, but now when i start the installation the pc shuts down after only a few minuts, so now i can't install windows or anything.

Appreciate any help PS. sorry for the wall of text

Thanks - Nytz

 

[Reynod]

Switch the PSU with another comparable unit ... that's what I would do first.

Sounds like the PSU is tripping out ....

 

[nytz]

kk i'll try that, i have another PSU somewhere in my house. It's just weird that the PSU already is dead after only 2 months

 

[baggman]

I recently had a similar glitch......I cleaned all the crap off the fans and the heat sink, but the machine would just shut down as if i had pulled the plug.
I too thought at first, psu, but I had just purchased the unit months before. Also, no extreme heat readings. Removing the heat sink from the cpu revealed that the thermal compound, though intact, appeared baked and in some spots none at all.
I removed what I saw and replaced with new. Hope this cheap fix (cost 7.00 U.S)
will get you up and keep you going.

 

[nytz]

I recently had a similar glitch......I cleaned all the crap off the fans and the heat sink, but the machine would just shut down as if i had pulled the plug.
I too thought at first, psu, but I had just purchased the unit months before. Also, no extreme heat readings. Removing the heat sink from the cpu revealed that the thermal compound, though intact, appeared baked and in some spots none at all.
I removed what I saw and replaced with new. Hope this cheap fix (cost 7.00 U.S)
will get you up and keep you going.

Okay mate thanks a lot, i'll try that.

 

[nytz]

I fixed the shut down error by removing one of my ram blocks at the time so i was able to get windows installed, but now when i power on the pc and get to the Windows Loading screen i get a BSOD with "Unmountable_Boot_Volume" error, and i still have to keep pulling out the cord and turning the switch on and pff until it will start but it doesnt shut down without error anymore

 

[nytz]

Okay, removing them RAM didn't help as i thought. I was just lucky that the installation didn't shut down on me until i got windows installed. Now when i boot up and gets to the windows logo screen the pc shuts down after a few seconds. I've tried to run repair but the PC shuts down as soon as i enter the console recovery screen.

Thanks to everyone who are helping me out, the big school project is tommorow and i'm screwed if i don't get it up and working.

 

[curnel_D]

At this point, when your grades depend on it, it's time to bite the bullet and take it to a professonal. Have them pull the data from your hard drive, and put it on disk for you, so you can take it to someone elses laptop or a computer lab to finish whats important, and worry about the computer later.

At this point, you'd have to go though and test each component individually until you pinpoint the problem, since what your experiencing could have a wide variety of causes.

 

[nytz]

kk thanks a lot m8, i'll try that