CPU overheating?

[FixinMyPC]

I had a problem for a while with my computer abruptly shutting down. I don't get a blue screen; it just powers down without any warning, usually after about 10-15 minutes of basic usage (no media). It even shuts down if I leave it in CMOS for a while.

CMOS says my CPU is running at 95 degrees Celsius, practically from startup. (The motherboard temperature is listed as 33 degrees Celsius.) It's been that way for several days now each time I turn it on, and I doubt the CPU is really that hot since I left the computer alone for a while so it could cool to room temperature, but I'm not sure. Regardless, I suspect the reason it shuts down is because either the CPU is actually overheating or the computer mistakenly thinks it's overheating.

How can I fix this? I'd rather avoid purchasing a bunch of expensive parts for it, but it sounds to me like something's broken.

I have an ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel motherboard and a Core 2 Quad Q8200 CPU.

(This issue also caused a crash during startup that corrupted some of my Windows system files...but I guess that's a topic for another thread.)

Thanks much.

[DBCooper]

Hi FixinMyPC,

Open up your desktop and use a compress air can to clean out all of the dust buildup on your computer. Also, check the heatsink area for any dust buildup and make sure to get rid of it as well using the compress air can. Hope everything works out well for you.

[Wrench97]

Also along with dusting the heatsink as dbcooper stated above make sure all 4 legs of the cpu heatsink are tight to the motherboard, Intel heatsinks are known to have 1 or more legs pop up loose and cause lost contact to the cpu.

[FixinMyPC]

Thanks for the advice. I cleaned the computer and secured everything, and I cleaned a little of the CPU thermal paste, which looked pretty cruddy. The computer worked much better after that, but eventually it did shut down again.

I'm ordering some more thermal paste so I can clean off all the old gunk and apply the new stuff. Hopefully that'll do the trick.

Thanks for the help!

[Amd_Man]

Make sure you use isopropyl alcohol with a lint free cloth to clean off the old thermal compound. Coffee filters work well for doing that.