Power flicker problems

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gil
  • Start date Start date
G

Gil

My PC, about 6 months old, has developed a strange fault. It has been
progressive. I tend to leave the PC on all the time, switching off
only the monitors, and I was finding that when I came to the PC, it
often seemed to often have rebooted since I last used it. Then this
weekend it started to reboot as little as 15 minutes between
occurrences, so I sat and watched it. It appeared that the power just
dropped and reconnected in less than a second. At first I suspected
XP, then I saw it happen during the boot-up sequence, so I suspect the
little device that enables the computer switch its own power off is
malfunctioning. Where is this component? Where else should I look for
the problem? Are there any other tests I can apply? Is there a
circumvention that takes the auto actuator out of circuit?

TIA

Gil
 
I should add that I noticed some other articles here that implied
there may be a BIOS option to restart the machine when power is
restored. I'll check that out, because it could explain why the PC
reboots instead of just dying as I would have expected.

If true, it could mean that it's just a bad connection to the mains.
How embarrassing.

Gil
 
Well, I checked the BIOS power options, and it was set to "When AC
returns, do nothing" which should mean that if the power was
interrupted, it would not reboot.

So, in turn, this means it was either a voluntary reboot, prompted by
some CPU/BIOS decision-making process, or a hardware error in the
PC-controllable actual power switch mechanism...

Thanks, Steve, it has been rather hot here recently - it's possible
the CPU is in trouble, or its cooling fan has packed up - I'll check.
Someone has recommended I test the RAM, which I'll also do tonight.

Malfunctioning PC ... it's like having a sick pet.

Any other ideas welcome.

TIA

Gil
 
Well, ran a memory test on the PC last night, and got thousands of
errors. So, I'll send back the RAM and get it replaced.
 
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