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Shuts down by itself

3K views 27 replies 14 participants last post by  Superion 
#1 ·
I built a PC in March 2013. It has an asus m/b F1A55-MLE. It has Win 7 and has worked fine Recently it will shut down without any notice. The CPU temp is well within the max limit, and the fans are running. Is there any other reason it would shut down other than temp? The psu is THERMALTAKE W0070RUC 430W RTL. CPU IS AMD A6-3650 APU
 
#2 ·
Hi there,

Could be a defective PSU. May I ask, do you have a spare working, compatible PSU to test on your computer? When you get a chance, test a spare PSU on your computer and see if the same problem happens.

Hope everything works out well for you and do not hesitate to ask more questions, thank you.
 
#4 ·
Hi there,

"I will wait til it get's worse"...for what? Connect the spare PSU now and test it to see if the same problem happens with the spare PSU connected. Please provide an update when you can, thank you.
 
#5 ·
Your TT PSU is lower quality, possibly underpowered, and has very possibly failed.
We need to know what we're working with to offer effective assistance.
Brand & Model of Mobo-CPU-RAM-Graphics-PSU.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Most Modern PCs require 500+W PSU as a minimal standard. Power supplies fail in two ways: sudden death and slowly over time. When they die suddenly, the computer will not start and the fan in the power supply will not turn on. When power supplies die slowly, bad things begin to happen to the computer intermittently. The computer locks up every once in a while, for example, or it takes two tries before it boots up in the morning. You might get intermittent device failure. Because of Blue Screen of Death in windows can be caused by a lot of things, diagnosing a lockup as a power supply problem is tough. The key is the word intermittent. If you run into phantom problems, switch out the power supply to see if that makes a difference. It is possible to check voltages in BIOS to see if they register 3.3v 12v 5v. In this Comptia book I have it states the voltages supplied by most PC power supplies can safely vary by as much as plus or minus 10% of their stated value. This means that the 12v line can vary roughly 10.9 to 12.9 volts without exceeding the tolerance of the various systems in the PC. The 5.0 and 3.3 volt lines offer similar tolerances. Other than supplying the further specifications we need the question I have is - is this the first time this has happened since 2013?
 
#8 ·
It's quite obvious that the culprit points towards your PSU. First let's consider this, unless you are exceeding wild temperatures, like a CPU burning up because of no coolant system, don't check the temperatures in BIOS. Use Speccy from piriform. With Speccy you can fully utilize your computer and get real-time temperatures. BIOS doesn’t offer accurate temperatures. You can have temps like 50-60c at idle and think you're ok, once you boot, you could have temps ranging from 30c to 90c, uh huh, BiOS isn't that reliable. Also, make sure you're PSU is getting air from its fan. The PSU can be shutting down due to overheating and with the lack of ventilation, this vent (usually on the bottom of your desktop case) can collect a carpet of dust and dirt. If you're convinced your system is dust free (with a can of compressed air) and overheating isn't your problem then there is not much else to consider with your spontaneous shutdown. Your 4 pin CPU power connector should be connected properly. Again, there is not much else to consider. Consider your PSU intermittently bad and or insufficiently bad. Hope this helps.
 
#10 ·
I had the same problem as you and tested everything, memories, CPU, Graphics, PS etc. In the end it turned out to be my motherboard! I had a Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3R and something extremly randomly happend. It could go for days or even weeks but every time I tried to backup my computer using an external USB HD it shut off and rebooted after a couple of hours. My interpretation was that it had something to do with the USB ports or the control of them. (I tried several diffferent USB outlets as well as changing drivers and backup software). Nevertheless, finally I replaced the MB and now it works all the time. I wish you good luck!
 
#11 ·
I had similar problem long ago when components appeared to fail at random, ie: cd drive, memory etc. I finally caught on that it had to be something common, in my case the PSU, changing it cured everything. The mainboard is a possibility as this regulates some voltage. Trial and Error is the only way, start with the cheapest ie: disconnect DVDs etc & change components you have spares of.
 
#12 ·
Make sure you use a surge protector, my mains jumps up/down by 5-10volts constantly without one, I have also read of up to 140v in the USA and this would not be a surge!
You can check PSU outputs out of interest but that is no guarantee of stability, Google "how to test a power supply".
 
#13 ·
Make sure you use a surge protector, my mains jumps up/down by 5-10volts constantly without one, I have also read of up to 140v in the USA and this would not be a surge!
A surge protector is not going to protect against minor voltage variations such as this. Most PC supplies are multi-voltage and accept 90-250VAC.

Your surge suppressor will prevent a voltage spike in the 1000's of volts, from such things as an electric motor turning on/off or a nearby (not a direct hit) lightning strike.
 
#14 · (Edited)
@skramsi Your PC shutdown while trying to use an USB port? Unless your USB port looks similar to this below than I don't see why it would shut your computer down. If you were using the (bad)USB port with a bootable device, that's a different story which could cause a boot loop. My best guess is that your motherboard was being shorted randomly.
 

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#18 ·
@ Deweylovem you have been suggested to switch out your old PSU for a know good one, which you have one. No need to try anything else before, in order for us to give you effective advice on any further problems. If you have tried anything already it would be nice to know. Update please.
 
#19 ·
I have installed 'Speccy" and the temps are all well below the max. I have a PSU but it is just a little less wattage output. I am going to wait to see what happens, if anything. I can use this spare PSU while I am getting a new one. My main question for posting was " Is there anything other than hi temps that would cause a shutdown". You have answered my question by mentioning the PSU as a possible culprit. I appreciate all your input! It has been very helpful!
 
#20 ·
You have answered my question by mentioning the PSU as a possible culprit. I appreciate all your input! It has been very helpful!
Yes, PSU is one culprit. And so is most every other part in that computer. A recommendation started with "It could be". That means it is wild speculation - almost useless especially since most everything else could also cause a power controller to shut off power.

One summarized two types of failures - sudden and the slowly gets worse. Consider the second. Normal is for a defective PSU to still boot and run a computer. Then months or a year later, a defect gets worse causing a computer to fail maybe once every two weeks or a month. Even swapping parts will not provide a useful answer - one that is definitive and without the expression "It could be".

Your questions and concerns can be answered immediately and without doubt. But only if you first provide useful numeric facts. For example, you said BIOS voltages are good. Therefore divorsed assistance from the fewer who really know this stuff. Posted was a conclusion based only in speculation and without numbers. Many may think BIOS numbers are good when numbers are actually reporting a defect. Because spec numbers must also include facts on how a BIOS voltage meter makes those measurements.

How to have a complete answer means requesting instructions, get a meter, and one full minute of labor. Posting those numbers then means a reply without doubts. Relevant components in a power system (which is more than a PSU) will be suspect or will be exonerated. Without speculation.

Two choices (assuming you choose to address the defect). Either start replacing good parts until something appears to work (since most every computer part can create your symptoms). Or use one minute of labor to post numbers from requested instructions; to identify what is defective immediately and without doubt.
 
#23 ·
Please do as the folks here have asked more than once and post the voltages and temps this can be useful for that HWMonitor CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting and posting a screenshot here will let the folks see what you see, they may even notice something or agree with you either way it will help them look to the next step. As without info they would be just guessing which is not a good way to troubleshoot.
 
#24 ·
What errors are you seeing in the event log? I was getting event 41, Kernel power error and it turned out to be my PSU, even though it was a SeaSonic that was only 6 months old. the PSU passed the paper clip test but was still bad, causing intermittent power downs. SeaSonic replaced the unit under warranty.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I am baffled regarding a pc shutting down due to a hardware failure...especially a PSU issue. I know personally about freezing, crashing and BSODs but never actual shut downs (the actual process of the OS closing and turning the system off). Aside from malware or virus infection, I find that hard to believe...maybe because I haven't come across such an issue or that all the issues I have come across synonymous to this, have never been a result of such as pointed to be the reason here...everyday is a new day I guess.
 
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