Please Help, Computer been shutting off randomly, cant do my work.

xhybridxhybrid
edited August 2006 in Hardware
Hi, I have been looking through other forums and websites incase that people had the same problem as me. The problem I have is that the Computer monitor shuts off randomly. It normally takes me 2 hours to turn the computer on where it will actually work. This is what happens...When the computer is running, the monitor suddenly turns from a green light to a yellow light, the cpu tower...the cdrom light is on constantly without flashing or anything, its just on, both the green light and cpu light on the tower are on, no flashign or anything, they are just lit. I have had the problem ever since I got the computer, I got the computer for free, since my sisters boss gave up on it and they wanted to throw it away, and I tried to Salvage it.

I have checked the problems from the video card to the monitor... but it keeps on doing it, I unplugged everything and checked for loose connections, ive done this about x10. The computer sometimes has its good days and would run for 10 hours and if im lucky it ran up to 2days straight. Im afraid to turn it off because after I turn it off lets say overnight, itll take me 3 hours to start it up in the morning. When the computer doesnt start in the morning, right when I press the power button the cdrom light is continously lit and so is the green and yellow light on the tower. Basically i have no idea whats going on, and I basicaly keep turning it on and off until it loads up in its "good mood".

I have been playing world of warcraft lately, it has been very difficult, I was actually able to play for 5 hours straight but lately my log sessions have been from about 10 minutes of play and at max 40 mins or so, I have checked if anything is overheating, I even opened the case and put the fans right next to the system.

These are my specs:
Ge Force fx 5200
Amd Athlon 1.40 ghz
512 mb of ram

Comments

  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    it could be a whole mess of stuff... i have no idea what it could definatly be...the best bet..start swapping stuff..it seems like it could be
    mobo
    videocard
    psu
    ram
    it just seems like a comp that was thrown away for a reason to be honest...take out the harddrive..and the videocard....and use it in another system...other than that..i think the comp will just keep giving u problems until u start replacing stuff...cuz something is definatly wrong with it... like i said..if u have the parts..start swapping one by one...id start with the vid card..then psu..then mobo...if u still have this problem...hit us up again
  • xhybridxhybrid
    edited August 2006
    I have switched the video card, used to be an old radeon that couldnt even run starcraft smoothly, I switched it with a Geforce 5200 fx, Now my friend is letting me try his radeon 9800, ill hit you guys back up and see what happens from there.

    When i was trying to fix this my first idea was the mobo, any hints on how to tell if the mobo is broken or defective?

    How do I test the ram, do I just take it out and put it in one of my other comps.

    Also kinda of a stupid question but what is Psu, I just dont know this term at all.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited August 2006
    xhybrid wrote:
    ...When i was trying to fix this my first idea was the mobo, any hints on how to tell if the mobo is broken or defective?
    MB's are a pain to troubleshoot. The only real way to test them is to replace everything and see if the problem goes away.

    As a start, see if the small chipset fan on the MB is working. The fact that it takes you a while to get the computer to turn back on makes me think it might be a heat issue.
    How do I test the ram, do I just take it out and put it in one of my other comps.
    Give it a pass or two of Memtest-86.
    Also kinda of a stupid question but what is Psu, I just dont know this term at all.
    Power Supply Unit. If your power source is shaky you'll get all sorts of weird problems. See if you can find out what the 5V+ and 12V+ rails are actually supplying. You should also look on the PSU itself and tell us what the Amperage rating is for those two items. :)
  • xhybridxhybrid
    edited August 2006
    At first I thought it was a heat issue, I am wondering, does the heat issue still count even after I turned the computer off the whole night and when I come back in the morning and turn it on everything runs (all the fans) but the monitor light stays brown, the cdrom light is lit all the time and both green light and brown light on the cpu are on.

    I think this is very weird, I have left the computer on and it has been on for about 14 hours now. The computer mainly shuts off during when I play games, but it happens occasionally when I am browsing the internet or just chatting on aim. I wonder if that can clue any of you guys in on whats happening.

    The Psu (sry I am not very good with computers), how do I find out the AMperage and all that other stuff. I see a label on my Psu that has volts and stuff but I dont wna be writing useless stuff thats not needed.

    I am going to go over my friends house later to test my ram sticks on his computer to see if their working.

    Btw guys thanks for the quick reply, I really appreciate you guys trying to help me.
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    wuggaroo with the bump and profdlp with the SPIKE! thank u for answering his questions
  • xhybridxhybrid
    edited August 2006
    Also I forgot to mention, which might be critical to solving this, is sometimes when I remove the plug from the power supply and put it back on, the computer will start with the cdrom light lit all the way and the yellow light lit all the way but the green light on the cpu wont light, this is another problem I have, This only happens though when I remove the power cord from the Psu.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited August 2006
    xhybrid wrote:
    At first I thought it was a heat issue, I am wondering, does the heat issue still count even after I turned the computer off the whole night and when I come back in the morning and turn it on everything runs...
    Your reasoning is sound. I was under the impression that after it had the chance to cool down it would be OK for a while.
    ...how do I find out the AMperage and all that other stuff. I see a label on my Psu that has volts and stuff but I dont wna be writing useless stuff thats not needed.
    See the areas I marked in the attached picture. The 12V+ and 5V+ Amperages are the most critical.

    I'm definitely leaning toward a PSU problem here. See what the voltages read in the BIOS. If you can get a program like Motherboard Monitor 5 or SpeedFan installed, you'll be able to monitor the voltages in Windows, too.
    I am going to go over my friends house later to test my ram sticks on his computer to see if their working.
    The program I linked to earlier runs from a bootable floppy disk. (There is a cdrom version available, too). If your memory passes in your friends machine you'll still need to test it in your own computer. (Some RAM doesn't agree with some systems, but runs fine in others.)

    The plus side is, by running it off a boot disk you'll be eliminating any potential factors like a Windows glitch or a driver problem. If it stays on for hours and hours under those conditions it might help narrow down the problem.
    Btw guys thanks for the quick reply, I really appreciate you guys trying to help me.
    It's our pleasure. :)
  • xhybridxhybrid
    edited August 2006
    This is what I see on the PSU +5v- 30a, +12v-9a.

    I installed speedfan in and this are the readings, +5v is 5.05v and then +12v is 11.56v
  • madmatmadmat
    edited August 2006
    The 3.3V is pretty critical too since it powers the RAM.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    11.56 is.. well, pretty low.

    This all sounds like a bad power supply.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    I second what Thrax wrote. 11.56 is low enough that hardware instability can begin.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited August 2006
    ...and 9A on the 12V+ rail is about half of what you need. Even at full-tilt boogie, that PSU would have trouble.
  • xhybridxhybrid
    edited August 2006
    guys i ran the mem test and got up to around 830 percent and nothing was wrong with it so i stopped it, i ran it basically for 2 hours. So its the Psu and is this for sure?

    The power for the 3.3v is 3.23 v
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    Go to CompUSA. Buy one. Put it in. I bet it works, if it doesn't, take it back for your money back. Done.
  • xhybridxhybrid
    edited August 2006
    So I guess it is the power supply. Just a few questions I got. Could you guys suggest an affordable yet reliable power supply? Another questions I have is, with all this chaos that has been going on with the power supply, has it cost any significant damage to any of the hardware?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    Question #1: Affordable/reliable PSU

    Question #2: Possibly.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    Aha, I see that my search for an inexpensive, good PSU has not gone unnoticed.
  • xhybridxhybrid
    edited August 2006
    Thank you so much guys, you have no idea how much I appreciate it, and in a very quick manner. Ty guys, ill post back up after a few days once I get the power supply I ordered.
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    is this like ur primary rig now..cuz u said a boss threw i out...if u have a better comp in your house i wouldnt other to spend the money...its better off to go and get an uopgrade
  • xhybridxhybrid
    edited August 2006
    Yea it is, I have two other really crappy comps, and yea all the good computers are with my brothers and sisters. I dont really have the money to buy a decent comp. If a 58 dollar psu can make a diff then ill go for it. But after i get the psu, Im gna test the thing out for a week, and if it shuts off then ill prolly give up on it.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    The new PSU won't be a waste for an old system. If your current computer is not stable enough for you to continue using, the PSU will be good enough to transplant to another system. It's a long term part.
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