What can you do after this?[quick shutdowns and and freezes]

str33tl0rd · Post by **str33tl0rd** » 08 Oct 2008, 00:51

hello all,
last week when i was browsing through the net and drinking juice, suddenly the computer turned off. Well, i was very surprised but i was even more surprised after what i saw when i turned the computer back on:
after the boot up, the windows loading thing comes and it shutdowns again, next time i turn it on, it won't even get to that stage of loading windows and shuts down.
-i tried installing a new windows, but when i insert the cd in to boot it, it freezes while its loading up the windows cd.
-safe mode also freezes
what can i do?
bio

Post by **Lundis** » 08 Oct 2008, 01:36

That sounds just like my stationary computer! I can get it running if I unplug the cords and leave it for ~1h. Plug them in again and it usually starts.

Try getting a new power supply and check if that helps

Still_Learning · Post by **Still_Learning** » 08 Oct 2008, 04:04

Lundis wrote:
Try getting a new power supply and check if that helps

or check to make sure your current power supply is giving out the correct output of voltage on the little switch on the back of your computer

Post by **bad_brain** » 08 Oct 2008, 04:07

hmmm....hard to say because it can be anything from faulty boot sector to hardware damage. try to boot from a Linux live CD and see if it works, this will help us to cut down the possible reasons a little.

str33tl0rd · Post by **str33tl0rd** » 08 Oct 2008, 04:17

it won't boot any cd b-b, it will freeze and shutdown

Post by **bad_brain** » 08 Oct 2008, 04:36

hm, any beep codes from the mainboard?
the best way to find the reason would be to press F8 on the start of the boot procedure, a boot log will be created then and stored under C:\NTBTLOG.TXT
you would have to connect the HDD to another compy to access it then.

of course you can also start to replace hardware, I would start with taking out all RAM modules and try to boot by using only one RAM module...if it don't works try the next one. if all fails the next suspect would be the PSU.

Post by **computathug** » 08 Oct 2008, 04:45

As b_b said, this could be a number of things. If the live cd isnt booting then you can forget the hdd so we can narrow it down to hardware rather than software. Now you must try and run through as many possibilities and start problem solving. Looking at the options i would suggest doing some bench tests and see if you can narrow it down to a component, The worst scenario for me would it being the motherboard as this is the last component that you can narrow it down to.

I have repaired computers with the same problem before but this doesn't necessarily mean it is the same problem every time.

Clean out the fans inside the tower and blow out as much dust as you possibly can. Carefully remove the heat sink fan and replace the thermal paste or tape that's present. (most likely paste) Also be careful when handling computer parts and protect them from static electricity. you can do this by either wearing a static strap, leaving the pc plugged in but don't forget to turn the power off at the socket.

You can also use a radiator to earth yourself

Next I would be looking at the power supply as this may also be faulty and after that then its down to testing the main board. There may also be a problem with you ram module as it maybe starting as not to give any beeps on start up but may be corrupted. try using only one module of memory and changing the channel it is using at the mo.

Good luck and please post back on how you get on

b_b beats me to the post again

Post by **Lundis** » 08 Oct 2008, 05:58

itzm3 wrote:
Lundis wrote:
Try getting a new power supply and check if that helps
or check to make sure your current power supply is giving out the correct output of voltage on the little switch on the back of your computer

The 110/230 volts switch?

Anyway, for me it even crashes when I'm in BIOS

(and I know for sure that it's not the HDD or RAM)

The thing is, I had the same problem last year, but I bought a new PSU and everything was fine, until this spring. After that it has just gotten worse and worse, which makes me think "could the MB or CPU kill a power supply?"

Still_Learning · Post by **Still_Learning** » 08 Oct 2008, 06:04

Lundis wrote:
itzm3 wrote:
Lundis wrote:
Try getting a new power supply and check if that helps
or check to make sure your current power supply is giving out the correct output of voltage on the little switch on the back of your computer
The 110/230 volts switch?

Anyway, for me it even crashes when I'm in BIOS (and I know for sure that it's not the HDD or RAM)

The thing is, I had the same problem last year, but I bought a new PSU and everything was fine, until this spring. After that it has just gotten worse and worse, which makes me think "could the MB or CPU kill a power supply?"

yes the volt switch is what i was speaking about. I guess it depends on your PC usage, if you leave your computer on 365 days a year / 24 hours a day then power supply unit will go bad faster then a person which maybe uses a pc 4 to 8 hours a day

i would do like thy said above and listen for system beep codes and change parts out to try to figure what part is bad and just hope its not the motherboard , if that is the case then you maybe better of just buying a new pc

and wow... i am amazed how quickly and how many response this thread got so quickly

Post by **DNR** » 08 Oct 2008, 10:00

yea, the responses show you how many people use windows

You could also have a bad mobo', it sounds like a intermitten problem that has gotten worst.

The only real thing you have left to do now is swap out the componets and try to get it running with the barest of devices. Once you have swapped out all the other components, with only the mobo left as the culprit, then you know. Sorry for the bad news.

Yea, what was the result of the POST?

DNR

Nerdz · Post by **Nerdz** » 08 Oct 2008, 11:16

Hmmm it's seems like it's overheat to me. try to get a heat monitor or check in the bios.

This would explain why sudently you can't get to the windows screen... I had similar issue with an old amd thunderbird... Changed to Pentium due to their problem with cooling.

If it never happened before, check if all the fans are still working. You might want to change the cpu fan.

Also, check if the "condensor?" are bufed. There is a little K on them and make sure they are good.

str33tl0rd · Post by **str33tl0rd** » 09 Oct 2008, 00:10

well firstly thank you for the guides

hm, any beep codes from the mainboard?

Yer thats the thing, if the beep sound is heard, it starts but still freezes, sometimes you don't ever hear the beep sound therefore i don't even get the windows image.

I get the concept of what you guys are trying to tell me, so im gonna try out a few things. But i think its the motherboard

Post by **bad_brain** » 09 Oct 2008, 03:39

is the beep code the same one it always been or is it a different one? because beep codes are the way the mainboard announces hardware failures...

str33tl0rd · Post by **str33tl0rd** » 09 Oct 2008, 04:20

its the normal one

Post by **bad_brain** » 09 Oct 2008, 08:58

hmmm....ok, so it points to either the mainboard, the CPU or the PSU.
but when the system don't even starts when it was down for some hours it shouldn't be a cooling problem with the CPU, and the fact that it sometimes displays the boot screen is also a sign that it's not a broken CPU.

so if it don't works with a replacement PSU it really looks like a broken mainboard. but in this case you can try to flash the BIOS and update it to the newest version...just as last chance.