shut herself off - won't stay on for long

[anfrey]

i think my psu might be dying, but i'm not sure.... i was just using my box as always and all of a sudden she turns herself off... WTF?! no clue wtf is going on.. i flipped the switch on my psu... flipped it back on again... powered her up.... same thing, shut herself after POST.

asus a7n8x-e deluxe
2600+ barton
2x512mb pc-3200 ddr geil golden dragon

11.5x 166mhz external freq (stock)
all settings stock (system performance set to optimal, memory frequency set to auto)....

no idea why it's doing this... i left her off for 20 mins while i took a shower, she stayed on for maybe 2 minutes will i frantically tried to lowr my freq to 133 and memory to SPD in an attempt to keep her running. no such luck. she was running perfectly fine for weeks on end before this.

the power supply is a "turbolink" 350w (model LC-A350atx) that came with my case... i've been informed this is a cheapie, however my box had been running fine for 10 months straights (being on 24/7)

list of stuff hooked up to the psu:
- a7n8x-e deluxe mobo
- 2 eide hdds
- 6 80x80 casefans (3 intake, 3 exhaust. i have unhooked two intake fans, leaving 2 rear exhaust, 1 blowhole, 1 window intake)
- sony dvd burner
- atapi zip drive

cooling my cpu is the zalman all-copper hsf. i have tried reseating everything on the motherboard, i checked all connections, even tried a new power cable. temperatures hold steady... for idle: 48c cpu / 28c motherboard. this is an amd, after all.

right now she's staying up, but i have no clue for how much longer. she cannot handle a prime95 torturetest/stresstest. won't even make it past the first phase.

i was thinking about reapplying arctic silver thermal compound just in case. oh, btw.. the mb's keyboard plug has been not detecting my keyb every once in a while... but i attribute that to the sudden power loss. do i need a new and more powerful psu? is my mobo dying?

any and all help is greatly accepted.

please please please help me out. i need her running reliably as soon as possible. thank you all in advance.

[MediaMan]

An immediate power shutdown is typically triggered by a BIOS setting in the motherboard. Check your BIOS to confirm that health status settings are set correctly.

If the CPU shutdown temperature is set too low then this will trigger the motherboard to shut down.

If the FAN speed monitor has been set to power down if no rotation is detected...and you've got a dying fan...that will trigger the shutdown.

First confirm if any of these features are enabled/disabled.

You may choose to install motherboard monitor and run it at 1-5 second monitoring stages to detect and record if there is a temperature spike or a fall in any of the monitored FAN RPMs.

Possible culprits are based on what settings you have. In the event that your PSU is suddenly packing it in a sudden voltage drop would typically cause a reboot sequence opposed to a complete shutdown.

[anfrey]

thank you very much for your extremely prompt response.

- cpu threshhold is set to 72c. i'm nowhere near that.
- fan speed monitor is disabled. i have my zalman running at maximum speed.
- i have asus probe installed, shows everything stable, including voltages. can i get a link to this motherboard monitor please?

when the box shuts itself down, the motherpower power light remains on, as does the power light on my chassis/case frontpanel. this requires me to flip the switch on my psu.. .. . *sigh*



offtopic: how did u guys get vbulletin to show smilies on the right side of quickreply?

[edcentric]

You can uses MBM to find out what is causing the trip. Then we can work on fixing it.
Check visually, is your PSU fan running? If not replace the power supply, not just the fan. I don't like power supplies that have overheated.

[anfrey]

hi edcentric, thanks for replying and your willingness to help.

my psu fan runs and the psu itself doesn't feel hot when i put my hand to it, even when it's running (side panel is open right now).

where can i obtain this MBM

[MediaMan]

Motherboard Monitor is available right on our downloads section (http://www.short-media.com/download.php?dc=47)

[anfrey]

thank you mediaman. i shall download this right now and give it a shot

[anfrey]

here's an update:

she's been running fine since mid-day yesterday... well, that is to say, she's not been showing any apparent issues. i do have a feeling that if i put her under stress (using say, prime95) the same thing will happen. i do need to get a new PSU, though i'm not sure whether i should stay with a 350w or purchase a 400w. does the 400w psu draw 400 watts of power constantly? or is that merely a maximum rating and it will draw as much as necessary? i'm still not sure where the source of the problem is, i'm hoping it is this and not the motherboard. a couple friends of mine work at best buy, so they might be able to obtain a psu at a decent price with their employee discount. i have yet to run MBM, i've been too busy lately. it's already downloaded so i wiill be installing it and running it shortly. i'll keep you guys updated.

again, thank you all very much for your help and insight. kindest forum ever, thank you so much for taking time from your own personal lives to help a fellow in distress (i'm no damsel!). i greatly appreciate it.

[Access_Denied]

no problem dude.. told ya this was a cool forum :D

[anfrey]

thanks bro. i put u down as my referral too..


edit: mbm is installed, but i haven't restarted my machine yet. will do so later tonight

[anfrey]

omg i'm sorry guys, i have been too busy with midterms lately to post updates... currently she has not shut down unexpectly or anything... i have left my side panel open and temperatures are A LOT lower than before, though she was never running too hot... average of 53C at the cpu.

here are screenshots of my MBM..

please advise :thumbsup:



i've been haivng other issues with my machine lately too. i wll make threads in the appropiate forums. again, thank you all for your aid. thanks to u guys she will get better :)