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[mberan42]

I can't give you too many details as I only had a chance to troubleshoot it for 10 minutes last night, but I'll tell you what I know.

My computer randomly powers off, and I don't know why. I turn it on, it starts to boot up, sometimes makes it to the login screen, but mostly just powers down a few seconds into the Windows logo with the scrolling bar.

Specs: (if they matter)
Shuttle case - couldn't tell you the mobo off the top of my head
Stock Shuttle Bare Bones kit w/ a 220w power supply
P4 2.4ghz
1 gb ram
other normal stuff

I popped open the case last night and didn't notice any loose or frayed cables connected to the power supply. I'm going to take a closer look at it tonight, though.

Anyways, any recommendations? What the hell can cause a computer to randomly shut down? I really can't afford to buy a new computer, nor, really, very many replacement parts...

Thanks.

[TheFuriousWombat]

my computer did that a while back. turned out one of the RAM slots had somehow been corrupted. if a stick of ram was in it, the computer shut down. look into that maybe, by trying different configurations of your RAM. also, make sure all fans are in working order and there isn't too much dust blocking them up or anything like that. also, even if there's no frayed cable to the PS, it could still be faltering. not sure how to check this but i think there are ways to monitor internal temperature. my best guess is that it is actually a PS problem of some sort, but i'm not the person to ask how to fix that.

[Entilzah]

A possiblilty is the processor fan is not working and the board is shutting the computer down as soon as it reaches temp to keep it from over heating. Check to see if the fan starts when you turn the computer on, if not get a new one and install. real simple!


EDIT: a new fan and heat sink are very low price, somewhere around $20 if that turns out to be your problem

[dennis]

Yeah, it sounds like an overheating issue.

Possibly, the shutdown temperature of the CPU is set too low in BIOS. There's a thermistor built into most modern processors that measures the temperature of the die and reports it to BIOS, which in turn tells the chip to slow down or shut off altogether to prevent permanent damage.

Some power supplies also have shutdown circuits in them.

Possibly, like Entilzah says, the fan or heatsink is broken somehow, which would cause the processor to reach the shutdown temperature very quickly.
---

Open the bitch up and check to make sure all the fans are working and unobstructed, especially the proc and power supply fans.

If the fans are working, go to the BIOS menu and see what the temperature monitor says.

You can try leaving the case open and blowing cold air over the mobo to keep it cool, and see if you get any farther in booting up. Considering the weather in Chicago right now, you could probably just take it outside.

[mberan42]

Yeah, I think it was a BIOS issue.

I tinkered around with it a lot last night and finally got it to boot up and stay up and not be ten-million degrees of hot.

Windows said a bunch of things were automatically fixed and restored (sys. registry, BIOS, etc.) and automatically opened up an Intel webpage with a bunch of info on it. I downloaded a BIOS check thing from that page and it helped explain stuff. Turns out, I have a P4 3.2ghz processor, but it's only running at 2.8ghz. I wonder why.

Anyways, thanks for the tips. If it bombs out again, I'll let you know.

[nihilist]

If it runs slower than spec, it is one of two things: SpeedStep (throttles automatically when not in use), or it is too hot, and downclocking itself so that it runs.

I have a similar problem with my older Shuttle.  The fans aren't running fast enough, so everything is sitting at 70c in the damn case.  It's hot to the touch.  I should do something about that...

[dennis]

You might have the mobile version of the processor, which is almost indistinguishable from the desktop version. The problem arises when you're using the mobile version in a mobo that isn't designed for it--it automatically downclocks and stays there. This is exactly the problem my roommate has, who accidentally bought the M version.