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Tom's Hardware > Forum > Systems > Homebuilt > [Solved] Random System Shutdown

[Solved] Random System Shutdown

Forum Systems : Homebuilt [Solved] Random System Shutdown

Best answer from tsnor.

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I have a 3 year old system that has recently started shutting down randomly. It shuts off immediately with no warning signs on screen. No reboot.

Behavior:
- Full shutdown without warning.
- Frequency is currently at about once per 8 hours of use, when OC it was about 60-90 minutes per shutdown.
- No automatic reboot.
- When I manually restart the machine after a shutdown it will tend to not load the BIOS. Some combination of power supply on/off, cable reconnection, memory stick swapping, mobo CMOS clearing, & waiting till the next day usually gets the BIOS to load.
- One time after a shutdown when I got it to come back up it reported the Q6600 as having two cores. System ran well (gamed slower which confirmed only 2 cores used). Next reboot had all 4 cores reporting & working.


I know it isn't a:
- Software Issue: I dual boot an old HDD with Vista and a SSD with Win7. Happens on both drives
- Overclocking Issue: I used to OC my q6600 to ~3.1Ghz with no issues. Since the shutdown I've run everything stock clocks. I never had success OCing the memory so it is stock.
- Electric Company issue: Nothing else in the house shuts down. Monitors don't lose power.

I doubt it is:
- Temps: Aftermarket CPU cooler, new case with extra fans (Raven 3), I boltmodded my motherboard 6 months ago (more pressure on heatsinks for northbridge & southbridge). Under load my CPU temps don't go over 60C. And then there are times when the PC is idling and it will shut down.
- Power Supply: I put in a new Corsair HX750 3 months ago. Been working fine until a couple weeks ago with the shutdowns. I do have my old TX550 that I can put back in but I don't want to do unnecessary things.
- Memory: I used to run 4 sticks of 1 GB. This required a voltage bump from auto (1.8) to 1.95 or so for stability. Since then I am now running just 2 sticks in an attempt for max stability at mobo stock settings.
- Graphics Card: I put in my old 8800GT and it didn't seem to help. The 5850 is back in at stock clocks.

I suspect it is:
- Mobo: When running OC I had to bump up voltage by 16%. Perhaps that did damage?
- CPU: The one time it reported 2 cores. Could all be mobo issues though.

When I OCed:
- CPU max load temps were typically 72C, I never let it go above 74C.
- 5850. I mined Bitcoins this summer. I had the fan up pretty high with a high OC on the card. Temps never exceeded 85C. Normal load was 79C. I ran it this way for about 6 weeks straight. No artifacts in games since then.

Relevant Parts:
Q6600 G0 Stepping Processor
MSI P6N Platinum Motherboard (boltmodded)
2x1GB DDR2-800 G-Skill RAM (with the red heatspreaders)
HD 5850 Sapphire
HX750W Corsair Power supply
Hyper TX2 Cooler
Raven 3 case with extra fans

I wouldn't mind upgrading in anticipation of BF3, but I am afraid I would be a fool not to wait for Bulldozer to possibly impact prices. If I could get this fixed I really would like to wait for Ivy Bridge (3D transistors FTW).

Any recommendations?

Reply to Katsushiro
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I figure I'll put the TX550 power supply back in tonight.

Reply to Katsushiro

That's what I would try first. Especially since you removed any overclocks or extra power usages. I have seen issues from other posters about the corsair 750.

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Read & Follow this Thread "System won't boot" and "no video output" checklist
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform
Reply to suteck
Best answer

Agree re power supply, then would run CPU tests to see if MB/CPU hurt by the overclock.

I'd pull one memory stick then the other. ("Since then I am now running just 2 sticks in an attempt for max stability at mobo stock settings. " ) Did you swap which pair you used?

I would have guessed temps were the problem, but you've looked hard at that. Any chance your MB is covered with dust on parts that don't have a temp monitor? ("Some combination of power supply on/off, cable reconnection, memory stick swapping, mobo CMOS clearing, & waiting till the next day usually gets the BIOS to load." could be temps, maybe in PSU, maybe MB ??)

Reply to tsnor

Dead mobo. Well, not dead, but failing. The battery could be crap, or it could be a short in the power supply,or somewhere in the mobo. Try a few different power supplies. If the problem persists, then it is the mobo.

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Reply to jrwizbang

Looks like its the PSU. I put the old one back in. Then, for the hell of it, put all four sticks of RAM in and OC'd to try to entice a failure more quickly.

System ran clean all night.

Thanks everyone.

Reply to Katsushiro
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