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UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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#1
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PC problem
I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts
off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. -- *Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off NOW. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#2
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PC problem
In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. What temperatures is it running at? -- Si |
#3
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PC problem
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. Had that recently - oddly enough, seemed to be the graphics card. Remove, reseat. Update drivers. Update firmware (on card and/or BIOS on motherboard). Most complete fix was to switch graphics cards between two identical machines - problem moved with the card but also became much less frequent (once a month instead of several times a day). Other things tried w8ithout success (but might be worth a go) included checking memory using http://www.memtest86.com/, reseating memory, patching Windows, setting graphics acceleration to minimal and all the usual silly things that almost never help. -- Rod |
#4
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PC problem
"Rod" wrote in message Had that recently - oddly enough, seemed to be the graphics card. Remove, reseat. Update drivers. Update firmware (on card and/or BIOS on motherboard). Most complete fix was to switch graphics cards between two identical machines - problem moved with the card but also became much less frequent (once a month instead of several times a day). Other things tried w8ithout success (but might be worth a go) included checking memory using http://www.memtest86.com/, reseating memory, patching Windows, setting graphics acceleration to minimal and all the usual silly things that almost never help. -- Rod Does your graphics card have a fan? |
#5
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PC problem
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. As what? Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. How old is the mobo? Sounds like the bulging capacitor problem that affected many pc's about 5 or 6 years ago, mine included, which reboots itself for no apparent reason every now and then. If the mobo is newer than that then it could just be an intermittent bad connection or dry joint somewhere which will probably be impossible to track down. -- Dave Baker Puma Race Engines |
#6
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PC problem
In article ,
Dave Baker wrote: "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. As what? It doesn't switch off at a particular point in the boot sequence which might point at a software thing. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. How old is the mobo? Just over a year. The whole thing. Sounds like the bulging capacitor problem that affected many pc's about 5 or 6 years ago, mine included, which reboots itself for no apparent reason every now and then. If the mobo is newer than that then it could just be an intermittent bad connection or dry joint somewhere which will probably be impossible to track down. Ok. -- *Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy * Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#7
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PC problem
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... In article , Dave Baker wrote: "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. As what? It doesn't switch off at a particular point in the boot sequence which might point at a software thing. Ah, I see. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. If it only shut down after running AVG then we'd be fairly safe in calling it a software fault but as it also does this during boot up then it's more likely hardware. My first call would be a faulty RAM stick which only manifests when particular sectors get used and also after running memory intensive software such as AVG. Try removing, cleaning and reseating the sticks and also running a RAM checker such as DocMemory. If you have any swap the sticks for known good ones or even just remove one at a time and run the machine with limited RAM until the problem manifests again. -- Dave Baker Puma Race Engines |
#8
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PC problem
"Dave Baker" wrote in message ... As what? It doesn't switch off at a particular point in the boot sequence which might point at a software thing. Ah, I see. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. If it only shut down after running AVG then we'd be fairly safe in calling it a software fault but as it also does this during boot up then it's more likely hardware. My first call would be a faulty RAM stick which only manifests when particular sectors get used and also after running memory intensive software such as AVG. Try removing, cleaning and reseating the sticks and also running a RAM checker such as DocMemory. If you have any swap the sticks for known good ones or even just remove one at a time and run the machine with limited RAM until the problem manifests again. -- Uninstall AVG or disable it at start-up. I've come across this very issue before on another PC. Unfortunately I don't recall exactly what the problem was with AVG but IIRC it was due to an upgraded version. I have no issues with AVG in general - I use it myself on a number of PCs with excellent results - but there is a certain problem identical to yours being manifest on some machines. |
#9
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PC problem
It doesn't switch off at a particular point in the boot sequence which
might point at a software thing. The only other thing I could suggest by way of narrowing it down to software or hardware would be to run a linux live CD to see if it bombed - that way you're avoiding Windows. How old is the mobo? Just over a year. The whole thing. Damn, there goes the capacitor theory... Does memtest throw up any errors ? note that there are two versions, one completely free, and one commercial with a free derivative - one didn't work properly on my mobo and threw up errors immediately although the machine has been solid for 18 months. If one doesn't work, try the other :-} |
#10
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PC problem
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. -- *Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off NOW. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. Take a look at the CPU fan and heatsink,if need be take them off and see if they need a clean? fluff and dust build up a lot in this area and clog the fins of the heatsink resulting in random shutdown because of overheating. If this is not the problem load bios defaults. |
#11
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PC problem
In article ,
George wrote: "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. Take a look at the CPU fan and heatsink,if need be take them off and see if they need a clean? fluff and dust build up a lot in this area and clog the fins of the heatsink resulting in random shutdown because of overheating. If this is not the problem load bios defaults. All clear. -- *i souport publik edekashun. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#12
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PC problem
In message , George
writes "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. -- *Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off NOW. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. Take a look at the CPU fan and heatsink,if need be take them off and see if they need a clean? fluff and dust build up a lot in this area and clog the fins of the heatsink resulting in random shutdown because of overheating. If this is not the problem load bios defaults. Or ... I installed the heatsink the wrong way round once, which meant that it wasn't in good contact with the correct part of the processor, causing it to overheat and shut down -- geoff |
#13
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PC problem
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. -- *Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off NOW. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. AVG shutting it down? never heard that one before,run AVG in safe mode and see what it finds? |
#14
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PC problem
In article ,
George wrote: "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. AVG shutting it down? never heard that one before,run AVG in safe mode and see what it finds? I think it is AVG - but could be Spybot. The both run once a day and after disc activity ceases the machine shuts down. I've never been able to find out why. It's not actually as much as problem as you might think as I use this machine for most. Just use the PC for some browsing and handling AV stuff. -- *A bartender is just a pharmacist with a limited inventory. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#15
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PC problem
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message AVG shutting it down? never heard that one before,run AVG in safe mode and see what it finds? I think it is AVG - but could be Spybot. The both run once a day and after disc activity ceases the machine shuts down. I've never been able to find out why. It's not actually as much as problem as you might think as I use this machine for most. Just use the PC for some browsing and handling AV stuff. -- *A bartender is just a pharmacist with a limited inventory. Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. I would put in another HD? with XP installed and run it for a few days and see if its a software problem? then if does the same I would as already been suggested change the Graphics card or if the mobo has a built in graphics,take the GC thats in it? out and run it lie that to see if its the card. do you hear a click when the problem happens? |
#16
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PC problem
On Feb 6, 1:17*pm, "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
I think it is AVG - but could be Spybot. The both run once a day and after disc activity ceases the machine shuts down. I've never been able to find out why. It's not actually as much as problem as you might think as I use this machine for most. Just use the PC for some browsing and handling AV stuff. You've got the "shut down computer after scan" tickbox ticked?? If I've had mine on for a long time and it's getting short of memory it will sponaneously restart itself but not getting past POSTing is something else. Does it boot up into command prompt? (if your OS supports it) It's not an old Asus board from 1976 is it? ;-) |
#17
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PC problem
On Wed, 6 Feb 2008 06:12:25 -0800 (PST), adder1969 wrote:
I think it is AVG - but could be Spybot. The both run once a day and after disc activity ceases the machine shuts down. You've got the "shut down computer after scan" tickbox ticked?? I was going to say that... B-) Even if the box isn't ticked it's not unknown for these things to lie or pick up a setting buried 6 applications, 4 menus and 3 dialogue boxes away from the application that you think you are using. Find the setting change *and* save it *and* close the application. Don't just toggle the setting without saving or not quit the applcation. Restart the machine, check the setting, change it back, save, close the application restart again check the setting... -- Cheers Dave. |
#18
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PC problem
In article et,
Dave Liquorice wrote: I think it is AVG - but could be Spybot. The both run once a day and after disc activity ceases the machine shuts down. You've got the "shut down computer after scan" tickbox ticked?? I was going to say that... B-) It's not ticked and never has been. Even if the box isn't ticked it's not unknown for these things to lie or pick up a setting buried 6 applications, 4 menus and 3 dialogue boxes away from the application that you think you are using. Oh dear. Find the setting change *and* save it *and* close the application. Don't just toggle the setting without saving or not quit the applcation. Restart the machine, check the setting, change it back, save, close the application restart again check the setting... I'll give that a try. It's not the main problem, though. -- *Just give me chocolate and nobody gets hurt Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#19
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PC problem
On 6 Feb, 09:37, "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. The electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard can go. You can spot the knackered ones as the metallic top rises up in a domed fashion. You can change these knackered caps to repair, but watch how much heat you apply to the board as you can easily lift tracks/pads and ruin it. If it was something overheating it would more likely crash than switch itself off,. Same goes for memory faults. |
#20
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PC problem
Jon wrote:
If it was something overheating it would more likely crash than switch itself off,. Same goes for memory faults. In my experience, a sudden switch-off is quite common with processor over-heating so don't rule it out. Tim |
#21
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PC problem
On 6 Feb, 12:25, "Tim Downie"
wrote: Jon wrote: If it was something overheating it would more likely crash than switch itself off,. Same goes for memory faults. In my experience, a sudden switch-off is quite common with processor over-heating so don't rule it out. Tim Fairy nuff. But I'd bet a pint that the capacitors have dried up on the mobo. |
#22
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PC problem
In article
, Jon wrote: On 6 Feb, 12:25, "Tim Downie" wrote: Jon wrote: If it was something overheating it would more likely crash than switch itself off,. Same goes for memory faults. In my experience, a sudden switch-off is quite common with processor over-heating so don't rule it out. Tim Fairy nuff. But I'd bet a pint that the capacitors have dried up on the mobo. Nothing looks amiss - and it's a bit new for capacitor failure given those caps ain't exactly stressed. -- *People want trepanners like they want a hole in the head* Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#23
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PC problem
In message
, Jon writes On 6 Feb, 12:25, "Tim Downie" wrote: Jon wrote: If it was something overheating it would more likely crash than switch itself off,. Same goes for memory faults. In my experience, a sudden switch-off is quite common with processor over-heating so don't rule it out. Tim Fairy nuff. But I'd bet a pint that the capacitors have dried up on the mobo. I'll take you up on that, it's not been a problem for a good few years now -- geoff |
#24
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PC problem
In message , geoff
writes I'll take you up on that, it's not been a problem for a good few years now Want to take me up on it as well? I could do with a pint right now. Seriously though, it's still a huge problem despite what you may have heard. -- Clint Sharp |
#25
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PC problem
Fairy nuff. But I'd bet a pint that the capacitors have dried up on
the mobo. I'll take you up on that, it's not been a problem for a good few years now My previous machine died of this with the same characteristics to the ops' back in March (?) last year. A colleague also had a machine fail in July last year of the same thing, although their board was toast in the process (mine was just unstable and deteriorating due to what looked like a single faulty cap). So I hate to say, but I beg to differ - there are plenty of machines in circulation still that may suffer from this, although most failed quickly (in 12-24 months from manufacture). IIRC Dell still have a motherboard replacement policy in force on some of their GX range due to the same thing. |
#26
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PC problem
Tim Downie wrote:
Jon wrote: If it was something overheating it would more likely crash than switch itself off,. Same goes for memory faults. In my experience, a sudden switch-off is quite common with processor over-heating so don't rule it out. Tim I think we've found another use for the ubiquitous Maplin IR thermometer. -- LSR |
#27
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PC problem
In article ,
Tim Downie wrote: If it was something overheating it would more likely crash than switch itself off,. Same goes for memory faults. In my experience, a sudden switch-off is quite common with processor over-heating so don't rule it out. It can happen seconds after a cold start. And the machine is well cooled, with the correct fan on the processor which is working normally. Thing is sometimes the PC is in use all day without problems. -- Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#28
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PC problem
In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes Thing is sometimes the PC is in use all day without problems. Microsoft -- Si |
#29
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PC problem
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article , Tim Downie wrote: If it was something overheating it would more likely crash than switch itself off,. Same goes for memory faults. In my experience, a sudden switch-off is quite common with processor over-heating so don't rule it out. It can happen seconds after a cold start. And the machine is well cooled, with the correct fan on the processor which is working normally. Thing is sometimes the PC is in use all day without problems. Dave, Perhaps a silly question. Is the PC 'hidden' away in a cupboard under the desk - or enclosed in some other way. Reason for the question: My other half has her computer in a side cupboard under her desk and she was having exactly the same problems for around 6 months giving all the classic signs of overheating and shutting down. I tried reseating everything in on the motherboard - including using paste on the processor and moved all the cables out of the way of the airflow etc to no avail. (A higher output PSU had also been fitted). It turned out that the air from the fan was hitting the back of the cupboard and was 'bouncing' around and being recirculated through the computer case causing the processor to overheat rather quickly - some very drastic surgery to the board at the back of the cupboard allowed the air to escape into a large void and the problem was solved - no unexplained shut-downs now for almost a year. This may not be your problem, but the cause may be just as improbable :-) HTH BRG |
#30
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PC problem
It can happen seconds after a cold start. And the machine is well cooled,
with the correct fan on the processor which is working normally. Thing is sometimes the PC is in use all day without problems. Per my other reply, similar experience to my own. Mine was a single faulty cap (not leaking, just an ever so slightly rounded top) |
#31
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PC problem
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. Dave, What make/output is the power supply? What is the consumption of the PC? How many hard drives, how much memory, any extra cards etc? I had a very similar problem with my wife's PC about a year ago. Tried all sorts of things including a number of power supplies. It wasn't until I fitted a good quality 700watt power supply that the problem went away. Seemed like total overkill for the PC but it's been very stable ever since. You should be able to find out what temperature the CPU is running at. Have you done this? The mobo manufacturer usually supply some sort of monitor program. One program that might help identify the problem is Passmark Burnin Test. It's a very good stability test program. http://www.passmark.com/products/bit.htm Best of luck, Roy |
#32
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PC problem
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. -- I assume that you have checked the event viewer to see if it is a software issue Tony |
#33
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PC problem
In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. Take a look at; http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=5 Buy a new motherboard if you have this problem, it's a good excuse for an upgrade. Make sure all the fans are running and up to speed (including northbridge and graphics card fan), make sure the CPU heatsink hasn't lifted and was installed correctly in the first place. Remove any expansion cards and then add them back one at a time if this makes the system stable. Try swapping the RAM with another machine. Run Memtest86+ with all peripherals that aren't needed to boot Memtest disconnected (boot from flash drive or floppy) and see if the machine is stable. Again, add back one at a time. Run the manufacturer's hard disk diagnostics and run the full test, it might take a few hours but it should show up problems with the HDD if there are any. -- Clint Sharp |
#34
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PC problem
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. This is slightly less usual than one that reboots at random. The dodgy cap problem I have seen many times - but this is often a random reboot cause. Overheating processor is often a reboot or more likely a lockup or blue screen. Dodgy reset circuitry is a possibility - but only slim. I would suggest downloading a copy of the "ultimate boot CD" iso image and booting from that. Then leave memtest 86 running for a good few hours and see what happens. If that is ok then grab a copy of Prime95, and leave it running the torture test - that is very good at shaking out subtle memory and processor timing issues and faults. Check your power saving options as well - make sure you have not got some unusual trigger set up for powering the machine off. -- Cheers, John. /================================================== ===============\ | Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk | |-----------------------------------------------------------------| | John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk | \================================================= ================/ |
#35
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PC problem
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... I've got a home assembled PC based around an Asus motherboard. Which shuts off at random. Not a controlled shut down - it just dies. Thinking PS problems I've replaced it. Same thing. Sometimes it will boot up ok and continue for as long as I want. Sometimes it switches off half way through the boot sequence - but never at the same time. Any guesses? I've got AVG free installed and that shuts it down after doing its tests. That sequence always works ok. Something I've just found out about AVG Free Edition. My pc used to report a Commit Charge (memory being used basically) in Task Manager of about 133mb after a clean reboot and would go back down to that if I closed all open applications. I noticed the other day that it was running at nearly twice that but with nothing apparent to account for it in the Processes section of Task Manager. I'd recently installed AVG after picking up a virus and that turned out to be the culprit. Even with it shut down there was over 100mb of something or other memory resident. I uninstalled it and things are back to normal. In future I'll just install it for the occasional disk check and then take it out again or try something else. Most viruses I pick up I can deal with manually anyway by hunting them down and deleting the files and registry entries. I actually quite enjoy that rather than letting a prog do it. AVG didn't fully deal with what I'd picked up anyway. The virus had created a couple of hidden directory entries starting with a ? and I had to remove those in safe mode after AVG missed them. My old machine only has 512mb installed so this extra 100mb was causing it to max out a lot faster with other apps running and start using pagefile which then drastically slows things down. Might be part of your problem too if you have a dodgy memory stick which would be getting fully utilised faster. -- Dave Baker Puma Race Engines |
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Diverter valve problem fixed but now another problem. | UK diy | |||
Roof Problem - Major or Minor Problem? | Home Repair | |||
Septic system problem-pump out or drain field problem? | Home Repair | |||
groundhog problem(?) [Was: Skunk Problem] | Home Repair |