PC Shuts Off! Please Help 1

[livesfreely]

My computer shuts down completely. All the lights including the monitor light go off. I have win98 se with 256MB RAM. I haven't installed any new programs recently. I changed the RAM a couple of months ago. Then, I turn off the surge protector button and turn the pc on again immediately and it works fine. It happens once or twice in a week, now.

1) The last time it happened and i immediately tried to turn it on again. All the lights including the one for hard disk turned on and then the pc turned itself off again after a second or so. Then, I tried it once again and it works with no problems at all.

2) Once I was working with a couple of files and the screen went black except for the small green lines on the top of the monitor as shown(lllllll). I pushed ctl+alt+del and the computer restarted.

3) I have a dial-up connection from Juno. Sometimes when I try to connect to the internet the computer freezes. I feel that these two problems are not related though I could be wrong.

Could anyone help please?

 

[edfair]

Sounds like a heat problem. Or an overheat shutdown if the board does that.
Check your CPU fan first. Then general box temperature. And the power supply fan.

Ed Fair
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[Rob2806]

Also make sure that your AV is up-to-date and do a virus scan. Also run ad-aware and Spybot.

 

[FAM]

It sounds very much like a heat problem with the processor, i have just had a similar problem with a Sony XP Pro laptop, as the dc fan had become disconnected. After reconnecting the Fan and replacing the Processor and Thermal Sheet the unit works fine again.

 

[livesfreely]

I forgot to mention I checked the fans and they are fine. I also ran virus scan, ad-aware and spybot. They found nothing.

 

[edfair]

You may have power that is giving up.

Ed Fair
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[livesfreely]

What does it mean that 'power is giving up'? Is there a way to make sure that this is the actual reason? How do I go about fixing this problem? Could you explain more clearly, please?

 

[edfair]

Meaning that the power supply is shutting down. There are protection circuits in the poser supply that will cause it to turn everything off ir it thinks that there is a problem.
Diagnosis is difficult. The usual step is parts swap to see if a new power supply resolves it. And M/B swap for possible bad M/B.
You have some mixed symptoms. If the monitor lamp started flashing for no signal we would suspect the M/B or P/S. But with the monitor cold it sounds more like the AC input goes away for a while.
Unfortunately power problems are a vexation because there are no diagnostics. They work, or they don't.

Ed Fair
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[livesfreely]

thanks edfair.

 

[bazzert]

When checking the processor fan take a good look at the heat sink as they opten become blocked with fluff etc. and eben though your fan is spinning correctly its impossible to get the correct air flow

 

[Rob2806]

Also check that the fan is going at high speed as the bearing may be failing causing it to turn at a lower speed.

 

[livesfreely]

thanks, will check these things and report back

 

[ANFPS26]

Have you plugged it directly into the wall to eliminate the surge suppressor strip? Sounds like you are losing A/C input.

Jim

 

[livesfreely]

If it is the A/C input going bad, how can I fix it?

 

[ANFPS26]

For starters try a different surge protector strip or plug the PC into a different power outlet at the wall.

Jim

 

[livesfreely]

The last time the computer turned off by itself and then I truned on the monitor the 'check battery' line was on on the surge protector (Belkin F5F500). Does it mean that I should change the battery for surge strip? Could that be causing this problem?

 

[ANFPS26]

This sounds like a UPS battery back-up instead of just a surge suppressor. Unplug your PC and monitor from this thing. Unplug the strip from the wall and put it aside. Then plug your PC and monitor directly into the wall. If this fixes your problem either buy a new battery for your UPS or buy a new unit.

Jim

 

[livesfreely]

will try that...thanks