Computer randomly shuts off completely

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Yorkylol

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Jan 21, 2010
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I have a problem that was on this board before, I posted it in there and the post got deleted before I got a reply. :??:

My problem is this, while I am in a game such as Assassin's Creed, BioShock, Counter-Strike Source, and Warcraft III my computer will just turn off completely. As you can see, the games range from intense to even the simplest of games in terms of stress on the rig. At first I thought that my power went out, because that is what it resembles, except my speakers and monitor were still getting constant power, then I thought it was the socket, so I plugged it in somewhere else. I had this problem before and plugging my computer into a different socket solved the problem, but now that's not the case, its back to its old tricks messing with me again. I have also updated my BIOS (just did today actually) and the problem persists. The reason I decided to go with a BIOS update was the BSOD I got, and it was a brief one. Of all the times I have ever gotten this problem, I have never received a BSOD. The BSOD was quick, my computer turned off right after it showed up and started to boot up by itself, which is completely different from what it usually does, which makes me believe that it might be another error entirely.

I am completely confused as to what is going on with my computer, but I am upset with it, and I really just want to fix my problem, so if you have any idea what it is that would help a lot. From the info I got looking around it could be my PSU, I have a 550W Thermaltake which is about 100w more than I need so I don't think I'm stressing any output but I could be wrong.

Also if there are any programs you can provide links for that may run stress tests for my PSU or something, I would love to try them out and give results I just want some help :D
 
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dopkomachine

dopkomachine

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At this point it could be anything. I would first diagnose the hardware before getting into the software arena (Memtest / checking voltages from PSU lines.. Hard disk, etc..) if all is ok then i would check your video card drivers. To be honest it sounds like a bad sector on your hard disk if the computer reboots when certain programs are executed. Try using CHKDSK. Hope all goes well.
 
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Yorkylol

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Here are my system specs, I am still currently running some checks that Dopko recommended

OS: Windows XP Pro 32 bit, Service pack 3
MOBO: MSI K9N6GM series (Piece of crap btw)
CPU: AMD 64 X2 4400+
RAM: Nvidia SLI OCZ ram 2Gig DDR2 http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/memory/oczsli7200/images/OCZ_NV2a.jpg
Sound: Onboard
Video: GeForce 9800 GTX+
PSU: Thermaltake 550W TR2 RX
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue


checking voltages from PSU lines
Click to expand...

How would I be able to do this? :ouch:

As for your program, I think OCCT has some kind of test for that but I'm not sure.
Click to expand...

I was looking around at this program getting people's opinions on it, and apparently it does some things I wouldn't consider desirable. I checked to see if my PSU was one of the PSU's the program supported and I saw under 500w+ it said Thermaltake toughpower but I have a cable management, I do not think I have a toughpower, and I would hate to ruin my PSU if that's not the problem

Do you think I should take the risk? Or should I just wait
 
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dopkomachine

dopkomachine

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I wouldnt worry about what PSU you have. I would check the lines with a volt meter especially +12v and +3.3v. In your BIOS it probally will also have a hardware monitor that you can see on screen for all the voltages. Check there first and if you see them bouncing around to much then you know that it is your PSU. For instance, if +3.3v shows +3.231v and swings back to +3.4v constantly then I would consider that a problem. It will always in most circumstances vary a little but the example i gave above would definetly be something to worry about for all voltage rails. And also if you are worried about your power supply not being powerful enough for the components inside your machine then some voltage rails will be definetly swinging around alot (especially +12v). I am personally running an i7 920 with a GSO 9800 with a 700w power supply and it is working well, if your power supply is working alright then move to memtest. you can download that off the web for free and dont use the memtest that runs under 9x environment use the one that you boot from. Let it run until it finds errors, i would let it run for 24 hours if you dont see any pop up in a good amount of time just to be sure that the ram is alright. If it finds 1 or more errors then that ram is garbage and must be replaced. Once you have determined that the PSU and ram is alright then the most possible cause for this problem would be the hard disk. CHKDSK in most cases can fix that problem.
Cheers! :sol:
 
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jsc

jsc

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If you have a multimeter, you can check all the outputs. Yellow wires should be 12 volts, red 5 volts, orange 3.3 volts, blue wire -12 volts, purple wire is the always on 5 volt standby.The tolerances should be +/- 5%. If not, the PSU is bad.

The gray wire is really important. It sends a control signal called something like "PowerOK" from the PSU to the motherboard. It should go from 0 volts to about 5 volts within a half second of pressing the case power switch. If you do not have this signal, your computer will not boot.
 
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Yorkylol

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Thanks all for the very helpful information and direction.

Unfortunately I had this problem out of the blue just browsing the web, but I was stressing the computer to open a bunch of things at once to see if it would turn off and sure enough it did. Here's the thing though, I'm thinking that it is most likely the RAM (although I am going to run all the tests you have provided Dopko) because when I first built the rig I was having problems similar to this when trying to play World of Warcraft. I was having a RAM error that would shut down my computer completely but right before the instant power off I got a quick BSOD, I replaced the RAM and the problem went away but now its back which may be a MOBO problem, could the ports on the MOBO for the RAM cause this problem? Could this also tie back to PSU problems? Who knows I have a lot of testing to do but I thought I would provide that information for you guys maybe it will help.

This was the first time that it has done it outside of a game application and I did not receive a BSOD
 
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