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Random power downs! What could cause this?

HookeyStreet

Eat, sleep, game!
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A friend of mines PC keeps powering down randomly and then it wont switch back on for upto 20 mins later :confused: I thought the PSU could possibly be on its last legs but surely it would just powerdown and never come back on if this was the case :confused:

Her PC specs are as follows:

CPU: Intel Celeron D 335 2.8GHz
MoBo: GigaByte 8S661FXM-RZ
RAM: 256MB GeIL DDR400
HDD: 40GB Maxtor
GPU: ATi Radeon 7000 64MB
Case: Antler Supercase PC-115BL
PSU: Generic 350W (called Premier, freebie with case)
OS: Windows XP Home Edition SP2
BIOS: Latest F10 version

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions :D
 
Last edited:
Joined
Sep 27, 2005
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Generic PSUs are always a headache. I wouldn't even bother to ever use one since it can fry parts easily. Also, take a look and make sure that the CPU isnt overheating. Make sure the heatsink is on properly.
 

zekrahminator

McLovin
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Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane @ 2.8GHz (224x12.5, 1.425V)
Motherboard Gigabyte sumthin-or-another, it's got an nForce 430
Cooling Dual 120mm case fans front/rear, Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro, Zalman VF-900 on GPU
Memory 2GB G.Skill DDR2 800
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Software XP Home SP2, can't wait for Vista SP1.
yeah, thermal protection COULD be kicking in, go into BIOS and check temperatures of running components. If anything alarms you, a heatsink is either loose or too small for the job. If everything looks normal, go get yourself a nice PSU :p http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153023 should suit your needs.
 

HookeyStreet

Eat, sleep, game!
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Cheers guys, Im going to remove the heatsink and fan, clean the CPU, put on a fresh layer of Arctic Silver 5 and then install my unused P4 3.2 heatsink & fan. Hopefully this will help the temp problem and possibly the switching off one :) If not I will tell her she needs a new PSU :(
 

HookeyStreet

Eat, sleep, game!
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I did the above and the temp is now @ 35-38c from standstill now :) So hopefull problem solved :)
 
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