Random shutdowns

  • Thread starter Thread starter Brian
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Brian

I have a homebuilt amd 1800 in an enlight case
(250 watt ps) that has just started shutting down for no reason. I have to
turn off the surge protector to restart or wait a while and it will start. I
have opened the case and blown out all the dust. ( just did it a month ago)
to see if it's a heat issue. Everything is working and running cool. Does
this sound more like a PS going bad than a motherboard?

Thanks in advance,

Brian in MI
 
Found jar_cache trojan but don't know if that could do it yet. So far no
shutdown today.
 
I have a homebuilt amd 1800 in an enlight case
(250 watt ps) that has just started shutting down for no reason. I have to
turn off the surge protector to restart or wait a while and it will start. I
have opened the case and blown out all the dust. ( just did it a month ago)
to see if it's a heat issue. Everything is working and running cool. Does
this sound more like a PS going bad than a motherboard?

Thanks in advance,

Brian in MI
Click to expand...

How long had it worked properly?
You've inspected the motherboard for signs of failed capacitors?

Considering the power supply, that's the more likely problem. Enlight
power supplies are fairly good (except for the fan) in the 340W and up
range, but not in the 300W and lower ranges. Unless it fell victim to
a power surge, it's most likely the output capacitors have failed.
That's a repair you could do yourself if you have the inclination and
capacitors, soldering iron, etc, but then again a decent ~350W power
supply like Antec or Sparkle isn't very expensive.
 
Sounds like a strained PSU from trying to put out more than its "rated" 250
watts, possibly.
 
kony said:
How long had it worked properly?
You've inspected the motherboard for signs of failed capacitors?

Considering the power supply, that's the more likely problem. Enlight
power supplies are fairly good (except for the fan) in the 340W and up
range, but not in the 300W and lower ranges. Unless it fell victim to
a power surge, it's most likely the output capacitors have failed.
That's a repair you could do yourself if you have the inclination and
capacitors, soldering iron, etc, but then again a decent ~350W power
supply like Antec or Sparkle isn't very expensive.
Click to expand...

I definitely don't recommend tinkering around with the power supply. I
treat it as a "closed box" - i.e. it either works or it doesn't, and if
it doesn't work I get a new one. Unless you are _really_ confident with
your ability to work with electrical circuits and have a full print-out
of the circuits in the power supply (these are from hard to impossible
to obtain), you could seriously risk frying other components in your
system by overloading them due to a bad wiring job. It's not worth the
risk to your processor ($100+), mobo ($60+), memory ($100+), hard drives
($100+), etc., to skimp on a new power supply (~$35).

And I agree with what some of the other people have said: you may be
straining the voltage on the 250W PS. I suggest getting a new one with
at least 400W capacity from a reputable manufacturer.
 
Found jar_cache trojan but don't know if that could do it yet. So far no
shutdown today.
Click to expand...

Do a search for *.tmp files...delete all you find.

Then clean out yer IE temp files.


Have a nice week...

Trent

Follow Joan Rivers' example --- get pre-embalmed!
 
I definitely don't recommend tinkering around with the power supply. I
treat it as a "closed box" - i.e. it either works or it doesn't, and if
it doesn't work I get a new one. Unless you are _really_ confident with
your ability to work with electrical circuits and have a full print-out
of the circuits in the power supply (these are from hard to impossible
to obtain), you could seriously risk frying other components in your
system by overloading them due to a bad wiring job. It's not worth the
risk to your processor ($100+), mobo ($60+), memory ($100+), hard drives
($100+), etc., to skimp on a new power supply (~$35).

And I agree with what some of the other people have said: you may be
straining the voltage on the 250W PS. I suggest getting a new one with
at least 400W capacity from a reputable manufacturer.
Click to expand...

It depends on the problem... we're not talking about redesigning it,
rather replacement of a failed part... More often than not it's quite
easy for anyone practiced in soldering, no schematic is needed. Of
course some people would rather spend the $35, which isn't a bad idea
in this case since it's only a 250W unit, and it's not the kind of job
for someone who doesn't have the sense to check their work or keep it
unplugged from AC, test it before reattaching to system, etc.
 
Found jar_cache trojan but don't know if that could do it yet. So far no
shutdown today.
Click to expand...

Also...what OS are you running?

Some OS are enabled by default to reboot on certain errors.

It may not be a hardware problem...and may not be, from what you've
posted since.


Have a nice week...

Trent

Follow Joan Rivers' example --- get pre-embalmed!
 
Thanks for all the replies. The last two days there has been no further
shutdowns. It seem since I cleared out the jar Trojan it has gone away.
Could it have been the virus? I have ordered a new 400 watt PS anyway.

Thanks,

Brian in MI
 
Thanks for all the replies. The last two days there has been no further
shutdowns. It seem since I cleared out the jar Trojan it has gone away.
Could it have been the virus? I have ordered a new 400 watt PS anyway.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

I had not heard that a virus would turn OFF a pc, rather than an error
which reboots XP, but another possibility is that the virus keeps the
system at higher CPU utilization, higher power consumption and temp,
so is essentially a higher stress on it. You might run a few
stress-tests to see if the problem reappears, like Prime95, CPUBurn,
Folding@home, 3DMark200(n), etc, all easily found with a Google
search.
 
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