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Thread ID: 64809 2005-12-29 03:57:00 Turning off and crashing problem. Mantis (3703) Press F1
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416376 2005-12-29 03:57:00 A family members computer is having major problems at the moment.

It randomly crash's to a blue screen and lists different error messages, or completly turns itself off, by itself.

At first to eliminate any chance of it being software related, we formated and reinstalled back to the original settings.

But after doing all of that on Tuesday, it again started to crash on Wednesday night.

Before we reinstalled, I couldn;t even boot into safe mode without it crashing.

I've searched and read a few posts with people having similar problems, and found that it may be a overheating issue? Maybe the cpu fan has come loose?

When it is overheating that is the problem and wndows shuts down automatically to save itself, does it go throught the usual shut down procedure or just crash?

I'm a little stumped on how to find the problem and would appreciate any help or suggestions.

Many thanks.

M.

P.S. PC = Athlon 1.7, 256mem, windows xp home sp2. Brought from the PC Company a few years back. 		Mantis (3703)
416377 2005-12-29 04:09:00 Newer PC's will beep loudly and/or shut themselves off when they overheat. Sometimes fan failures, usually the CPU, will cause the PC to turn itself off.

I've seen weirdness if a USB drive is installed while the PC boots; sometimes it confuses the BIOS.

If you just rebuilt the PC, then a trojan horse causing the problem is unlikely.

How Windows XP reacts to a system failure is here:

Right-click "My computer"
Properties
"Advanced" tab
"Startup and Recovery" tab, "Setting" button

You may want to check your event log

Right-click "My computer"
Manage
"Event Viewer" tree
System

You might find it easier to clear the event viewer, and reboot your PC. Generally you want the first error messages, which are actually at the bottom of the list. The reason: subsequent errors are sometimes caused by earlier errors. 		kingdragonfly (309)
416378 2005-12-29 04:10:00 PC Company?

Hate to say it, but could be the Motherboard. Have had to replace quite a few of them from that era. (in PC Company systems that is) 		Metla (12)
416379 2005-12-29 04:11:00 What do the error messages say?

Have you opened the case to check all the fans are spinning OK?

Does this happen after X amount of time, or at random times? Is it associated with any particular program or task you are doing at the time? 		Jen (38)
416380 2005-12-29 04:20:00 PC Company?

Hate to say it, but could be the Motherboard. Have had to replace quite a few of them from that era. (in PC Company systems that is)
ditto, done 1/2 a dozen this year 		bartsdadhomer (80)
416381 2005-12-29 04:49:00 Your PC Company mobo lasted this long, you should pat yourself on the back :D

I think mine lasted a few months before it had blue screens, was sent back a few times; lasted another 9 months (till just out of warranty) before it died (diagnosed by another tech).

Back then I knew squat about comps 		Myth (110)
416382 2005-12-29 05:01:00 What do the error messages say?

Have you opened the case to check all the fans are spinning OK?

Does this happen after X amount of time, or at random times? Is it associated with any particular program or task you are doing at the time?

The error messages are differnet each time.

I havn't yet opened the case to see if all the fans are working properly.

It happens randomly with no warning, and is not related to any software or event that I have noticed.

If I do need to replace the mobo, will the recovery disk's still work? or will they try and install the drivers for the original mobo after a fresh install?

Any recomendations on a cheapish or reasonably priced replacement mobo?

Is there a way to determine if the mobo is infact the problem?

I also noticed that the psu was only 230/240watt. Could there be any chance that the psu is not enough for the system? It has one hdd, one cd writer and no extra unpowered usb devices attached.

Thanks again for al the help.

M. 		Mantis (3703)
416383 2005-12-29 05:12:00 Hi Mantis - a new higher powered PSU would be worth a try - and would be relatively cheap to try - less than $100 [ eg Thermaltake 420w unit] - and wouldn't hurt , even if in the end you have to replace the mobo. I presume that the CPU is an Athlon 1.7 socket 462? KatiMike (242)
416384 2005-12-29 05:15:00 Hi Mantis - a new higher powered PSU would be worth a try - and would be relatively cheap to try - less than $100 [ eg Thermaltake 420w unit] - and wouldn't hurt , even if in the end you have to replace the mobo. I presume that the CPU is an Athlon 1.7 socket 462?

I don't have the PC in front of me, but from memory it was an Athlon 1.7, and the mobo had onboad graphics and sound. I'm sorry but I don't quite know what you mean by socket 462?

Thanks again.

M. 		Mantis (3703)
416385 2005-12-29 05:22:00 The socket type will help you select the best replacement mobo - if you need one . There is a neat programme called CPU-Z that is a small download and tells you this info [ and lots else ] - well worth a google - there is a field on the first page called " package " that tells you what socket the processor is

Mike 		KatiMike (242)
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