Mysterious Shutdown Problem

[ProfK]

I'm trying to diagnose a problem on a friend's PC that randomly shuts down every few hours. I suspected bad cooling, so I started with cleaning the CPU heatsink and adding a rear extractor fan on the case. This doesn't seem to have helped. In my old age, I have become a complete hardware noob again, so I would love some advice on where to start, and where to go, in diagnosing this issue.

 

[|tera|]

Won't hurt reading the FAQ here:

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?t=111188

 

[sn3rd]

Also, have you checked system temperatures immediately after a random shut down? Are you getting a blue screen or a hard reboot?

 

[rvanwyk]

any RPC message popping up?

 

[HavocXphere]

If heat is eliminated as a culprit, then a static build-up might be the next place to look. Double check spacing between mobo and case.

And if you have a spare PSU, then swap it out and see if that helps.

 

[Tun@]

Had similiar once, it was faulty ram

If you've tryed cleaning the contacts with a soft rubber + reseating them + still getting the problem
i think it was this program i used to confirm it was the ram itself
http://www.memtest.org/
Downloads toward the btm of the page.

 

[Sapphiron]

FYI for all you guys who regularly troubleshoot problems. You can now for about R150 pickup a PSU tester that checks the voltages of a PSU. I found it to conclusively resolve about 90% of failed PSU's.

 

[ernstn]

First of all, if the computer fails and restarts without an error message, change the settings in the advanced tab of System Properties under startup and recovery to have no tick mark next to "Automatically restart".

Normally you computer will then stop with a blue screen of death giving you a diagnostic message that you can sometimes google for