Need help to trace computer problem.

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

Hi all,

This morning I started up our desktop computer, which as an ACER 2.6gig unit from DSE originally. Well it ran for about 2 minutes then the monitor went into standby mode and the processor fan went into high gear. The computer ceased to function. The power light was still on though.

I shut it down, then waitied a few seconds then tried again, the processor fan went into high gear again, the CD drive light came on then off again, similar to normal operation. But monitor stayed in standby mode.

I turned it all off again, and left it for a while, when I came back to it it decided to boot up and go into the desktop (indicating to me that the HDD is okay), I thought I had the problem nicked, but it shut off again.

This time I got a blue screen stating windows shut down to stop damage to my computer...

Any ideas?

[h0ughy (David)]

check to see if the processor fan is working, if not it is overheating and shutting the system down. other then that , could be the power supply or motherboard if the video is on board, or the video card. be done with it and put it in the bin and get a new one

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

I am already looking into getting an upgrade for just the computer side, no monitor, mouse, keyboard etc.... any ideas? Need something that has at least 300gb HDD, 1 or 2 gig of ram, USB ports etc.....

[sheeny (Al)]

Andrew,

Your PC symptoms are similar (not exactly the same) to what mine sometimes does with some USB peripherals. For example, if I leave my iPod plugged in when I shutdown, when I start the computer again it is essentially crippled until I unplug it, shutdown and reboot it (sometimes in safe mode first). I have encountered a similar issue with my 6 in 1 card reader which is always plugged in, but occasionally it produces a ver similar problem.

It may not be the same problem, but if you have some new USB devices plugged in, try unplugging them.

Al.

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

I get the same thing as Al when I leave my External USB hard drive connected when starting up.

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

No new USB devices have been installed. I cant get into the safe mode, it wont let me get that far.

[acropolite (Phil)]

I have seen a few motherboards simply go to sleep, although it doesn't seem like that in your case, you could try resetting the CMOS setup by using the onboard hardware jumper. Be aware that the procedure varies depending on the M/B mfg and that getting it wrong could toast the motherboard, so consult your M/B handbook first. Given what you've written, as the others say the CPU may be overheating, or the motherboard or RAM may be faulty. It's also worth checking the power supply, as one voltage may be low or high or not present. If you have a seperate video card it's worth checking that it's correctly seated as many AGP cards only need to move a fraction out of the slot to become non functional. It's also worth removing the peripheral devices, i.e. HDD CDrom and FDD then see it the PC will at least run the POST consistently and attempt to boot. If that's not enough there are also some viruses that can attack the onboard Bios. Happy hunting.

[Dennis]

I once caused what appears to be a similar problem by adding too many hard discs to my old PC, which was in a mini tower case. The additional heat seemed to cause the CPU to overheat and so the automatic temperature cut out switched in, and turned the PC off. I noticed the sensor indicating + 90 deg C.

I replaced the case with a larger case which also had more fans and higher rated power supply and this reduced the temperature to +75 deg C. I then replaced the CPU fan with a more efficient model and the system now runs at 50 deg C. The problem has never re-occurred.

Cheers

Dennis

[Astroman (Andrew Wall)]

I will be going over it on Sunday so hopefully I can sort it out, in any case I might upgrade the HDD as this one is almost to capacity.

[lost_in_space]

Given the age of the system there is a chance the motherboard has one or more of those dodgy capacitors that were produced in Korea iirc from a stolen Japanese design. I seem to recall they had messed up the formula for the electrolyte.
I would examine the motherboard for any swollen or leaking caps, reseat the CPU, memory, data and power cables, and reset the BIOS. If that fails it will probably cost more to recover than to upgrade. Hardware is cheap, and tech service charges are expensive if you don't have the skills yourself. The data loss can be painful though unless it's backed up. You could always mount the old HDD in the new system if it is still serviceable.
Hope this helps.