Computer Randomly Shuts Down

[kylewright87]

Hi,

A few weeks ago I was having abit of a clean. I needed to get behind the computer desk so I disconnected everything and rested it all on my bed... long story short, the computer fell off the bed. I didn't think it would be too much of a problem because it was a relativly short drop. Also, I suppose I should mention that the computer worked flawlessy before this incident.

Right, onto the problem. After it dropped, I immediatly set it all back up again and switched it on. It booted up... Log In screen, windows loads, everything is running fine. Until a couple of hours later, while I was gaming, it randomly shut down, without any warning. I booted up again, started the game up again, half an hour later it randomly shuts down again. This has been happening consistently (well, every time i've bothered to try and use it in the last month).

I am not at home at the moment so I can't list the total hardware spec... if it's needed, I will reply from home later.

It will also be important to mention that everything on the computer runs as normal. There are no boot up anomolies, no beep sequences, no error messages, its doing nothing that it wasnt doing before... except shutting down without warning.

After a few attempts at using it in this state, I have noticed it seems to shut down when it is in heavy useage. For example, one night I was gaming and listening to music and I couldn't keep it alive for more than half an hour. Another time I booted it up just to test my theory... I left it alone and it stayed on for 2 days straight... thinking the problem was solved I started to use it... 20 minutes later it shuts down. I am thinking, because of this that it may be the RAM? But I should also note that once or twice (usually after a random shut down) I try to boot up and it hasn't even got to the log in screen before it shuts down.

I also thought I may have damaged the power supply when it dropped... but I think the issues above have happened far too consistently to just be a coincidence.

Anyway, if anybody has had a similar problem or knows of any solutions, it would be greatly appreciated. Tomorrow is payday and I would really like to be able to go and buy the parts I need and get it back up and running.

Thanks for reading

 

[LawnBoy]

You may have knocked a heat-sink loose when you dropped it. Check to make sure all heatsinks are still rigidly mounted.


"We must fall back upon the old axiom that when all other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." - Sherlock Holmes

 

[wahnula]

Heatsink path is a good one...your PC definitely shows signs of either thermal or power problems. For example, one of the caps could have broken in the PSU, and might not get noticed until under strain. One quick test for heat is to remove the door(s) from your case, aim a room fan at it, and game away. See if it's any different.

There might also be an intermittent connection; place the PC somewhere safe, (not the bed!) like the kitchen table, and remove everything except the CPU. Check the cpu for a good tight fit...one of the screws or clips might have broken. If any doubt, take the PC outside, blow it off with air, return to kitchen table, and re-seat CPU. Remove PSU, open case, short caps to ground, then check integrity.

Carefully examine all cards, especially video card(s), for broken, missing or loose heatsinks. Do the same for the Mainboard. Reassemble and see what happens. If it continues, you can remover the PSU from the equation by trying another one. Best of luck.

Tony