Random shut downs and won't power on for a few minutes

[Achapajr]

Okay, this has been driving me crazy.

I have a home built system running Windows 7 32 bit. The computer was built about 5 months ago and I started having issues about 3 weeks ago.

My computer will randomly shut off and won't power on right away. Sometimes it'll be running xbmc and other times I'll just be browsing the internet and it shuts off. Nothing happens if I hit the power button. I have to either wait 5 minutes or I have to switch the power off on the power supply and turn it back on.

Sometimes, it'll turn back on by itself after about 15 minutes and I notice that the system time gets behind by 15 minutes.

The event logs say 'the previous shutdown was unexpected' but I don't see other entries that describe any problems.

I have the power options set to where it doesn't go to sleep automatically.

During idle, the CPU and Motherboard temps are around 40 to 50 degrees celsius.

Under 100% load (using prime95) the temps go to about 75-80 celsius.

I've run Windows memory test and it goes through without any errors.

I've also tried 2 different power supplies and get the same results. Do I have a bad motherboard or is my cpu running too hot?

I've also read that it may be my voltage settings in the Bios that is causing issues.

Here are my computer specs:
nMEDIAPC Black Aluminum / Acrylic / Steel HTPC 5000B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
GIGABYTE GA-H57M-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel H57 HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
Intel Core i3-530 Clarkdale 2.93GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I3530
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

 

[Achapajr]

I'm using the stock fan and paste that the cpu came with. Should I re-apply with new paste? I'm not sure if the temps I'm experiencing are normal.

Also, the computer shuts down down sometimes when it's idle so I'm not sure if the cpu temperature is the culprit.

 

[Achapajr]

Ok, I will go ahead and upgrade the paste and test the temperatures after that.

If I'm still experiencing shut downs with normal temps what would be the next thing to look at?

 

[daship]

To hot.

 

[Achapajr]

Is mx-4 a whole lot better than Arctic Silver 5?

 

[HEXiT]

not really. it will give maybe 1-2 degrees over AC5 to be honest adding any kind of high quality paste to a stock cooler will drop temps by about 5 degrees (avg)...
i would recommend you spend 30 pounds on a 3rd party cooler. it doesnt have to be anything exotic but it would be a worth while investment as it will take 20+ degrees off your load temps something like a thermolabs baram or zalman flex with a 1000-2200 rpm 85cfm+ fan would work wonders and increase the live of your cpu.

there are plenty to choose from in the 20-30 pound budget range that will give you good to great cooling, and are well worth the effort of buying and fitting.

 

[Achapajr]

I bought a cooler master heat sink and fan which seemed to improve my temps.

I was now at about 25-30 Celsius at idle and about 65 on 100% load. I ran prime95 again and the system shut down again within the hour. The computer started on it's own an hour later and now my temps are back to the way they were before the new heatsink. I also noticed the CPU fan is running extremely slow-less than 400 rpm. I'm not sure if that's normal.

Also, I didn't wait too long to run the computer after installing the new heatsink/fan so I don't know if I should've waited for the thermal grease to dry out first.

 

[Achapajr]

I have a feeling it's my motherboard because now the CPU fan won't turn on even when the CPU temp gets up to 40 degrees. The fan just twitches as if it wants to start and doesn't. Could it be that the motherboard is having voltage issues? Like I said it's a brand new CPU heatsink/fan

 

[HEXiT]

also have you checked bios to make sure the temps havent been adjusted...
load the optimized defaults... just to be safe.

 

[Haserath]

80C is not too hot for a processor...it won't shut the comp down like what is happening in his case. I've had mine go over 95C during Prime 95. 80C isn't good for a long term running temp, but it shouldn't damage your proc until a few years down the road.

Today I actually tried turning on an old P4 system with an unbuntu disk. In one of my power sockets the comp worked fine, and then I moved it into a different room so I could get an internet connection. For a minute or two the comp was running fine, then there was a shock and the comp shut down and wouldn't restart; I had to move it again to get it to work in a different power socket.

Try the easiest things first, I would plug it in to a different socket to test first if you haven't yet. Then I would test the memory by using 1 stick of each at a time.

Check your voltages with something like HWmonitor:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

 

[Achapajr]

I applied about a grain of rice sized amount of thermal paste and spread it out evenly.

I applied the Optimized defaults in the BIOS with the same results.

I've also tried plugging into a different power socket and got the same results.

I know it's not the cpu fan or case fan that are having issues because when I plug them in to my other computer, they spin normally without any issues.

I ran a memtest and didn't receive any errors.

Are there any other settings or hardware I should try looing at?

 

[HEXiT]

if the fans running slow off the motherboard it probably means your energy saving is turned on in bios.

 

[Achapajr]

Ok, I turned off the automatic CPU fan speed in the bios and the fan is spinning at around 1000 rpm now. The case fan doesn't start unless I give it a nudge. I was using the computer just now and it shut off while it was at idle. CPU temp was about 32 and the motherboard temp wasn't much higher than that. I don't think it's an overheating issue. I've loaded the latest motherboard bios but it's still having issues. I've read elsewhere it can be the voltage settings but I don't know what to change it to. Any other ideas on what to look for?

 

[Haserath]

Ok, I turned off the automatic CPU fan speed in the bios and the fan is spinning at around 1000 rpm now. The case fan doesn't start unless I give it a nudge. I was using the computer just now and it shut off while it was at idle. CPU temp was about 32 and the motherboard temp wasn't much higher than that. I don't think it's an overheating issue. I've loaded the latest motherboard bios but it's still having issues. I've read elsewhere it can be the voltage settings but I don't know what to change it to. Any other ideas on what to look for?

Have you tried resetting the Bios by unplugging the comp and taking the battery out for >10minutes?

Have you tried a second mobo with all your other hardware? This could just be faulty parts.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

power supply? that would be my bet.

 

[Haserath]

power supply? that would be my bet.

He already tested with two other PSUs.

Are you skimming/reading a little too fast? I almost suggested that until I reread the first post; I missed it the first time.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

He already tested with two other PSUs.

Are you skimming/reading a little too fast? I almost suggested that until I reread the first post; I missed it the first time.

i dont know what your talking about! i clearly read everyth........ohh........2 other power supplies........ Theyre all faulty!

 

[Achapajr]

I also tried resetting the bios by removing the CMOS battery for over 10 minutes. I also used another battery just to make sure.

What's weird is that when it starts back up the system time on the CMOS gets behind by the number of minutes the computer was shut down for.

I don't have another mobo to test out but I am RMAing this one with Gigabyte. Hopefully I'll get another board with no issues.

 

[HEXiT]

if the bios is 10 mins behind when you take out the battery it means you haven't cleared it, a cleared bios and cmos will reset to the default date and time.

on newer boards there is a clear cmos button which doesnt require you to remove any batteries.

to clear the bios and cmos there are 3 other methods, all all use residual current.
1)
on the 2 jumper pin boards just turn off the pc remove the battery. and use a paper clip to short the jumper. for a couple of seconds. try to do it inside 30 seconds to make sure there is enough residual current to do it. the same applies for the following.
2)
on boards with 3 pin jumpers move the jumper block from pins 1 and 2 over to 2 and 3 again using residual current again for a couple of seconds. then move it back.
3)
on boards with no jumper pins, you remove the battery and again with residual current short the positive and negative terminals in the battery holder replace the battery and reboot.

the bios should now be set to the bios chips default date and time.

 

[chansuresh]

I also tried resetting the bios by removing the CMOS battery for over 10 minutes. I also used another battery just to make sure.

What's weird is that when it starts back up the system time on the CMOS gets behind by the number of minutes the computer was shut down for.

I don't have another mobo to test out but I am RMAing this one with Gigabyte. Hopefully I'll get another board with no issues.

so achapajr, how did this end? I am having EXACTLY the same issues you are describing here with the same mobo and a core 13 processor. Please let me know how this was solved.