power won't stay on

paleo · 05-04-2009, 12:33 AM

when i press the power on button on my computer the light comes on and the computer starts to power up,then in about 10-15 seconds it shuts back down,whats the most probable cause?

Tumbleweed36 · 05-04-2009, 05:26 AM

Likely either the power supply is not doing the job for you, or else the thermal paste between the CPU/Heatsink is letting the computer get too hot to stay on.

You can test this by blowing a house fan directly on the CPU when you start it up and see if it stays on a little longer. If it does, then you need to think about changing the thermal paste.

To do this, clean off the old Artic silver and reapply the Artic Silver and be sure to follow these directions exactly:

Applying Artic Silver Thermal Paste

Normally, if it is the Thermal Paste, the computer will restart, so if it doesn't restart after cooling a bit, then you will have to look at the power supply.

If it does not appear to be the Artic Silver (thermal paste), then see if you can borrow another power supply to try in there.

BTW, we need the specs of your rig including video card and brand name and watts of your power supply, so we know if it is getting enough power to stay on.

05-04-2009, 12:33 AM	#1 (permalink)
paleo Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 1 OS: windows xp	power won't stay on when i press the power on button on my computer the light comes on and the computer starts to power up,then in about 10-15 seconds it shuts back down,whats the most probable cause?

05-04-2009, 05:26 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,642 OS: XP Professional	Re: power won't stay on Likely either the power supply is not doing the job for you, or else the thermal paste between the CPU/Heatsink is letting the computer get too hot to stay on. You can test this by blowing a house fan directly on the CPU when you start it up and see if it stays on a little longer. If it does, then you need to think about changing the thermal paste. To do this, clean off the old Artic silver and reapply the Artic Silver and be sure to follow these directions exactly: Applying Artic Silver Thermal Paste Normally, if it is the Thermal Paste, the computer will restart, so if it doesn't restart after cooling a bit, then you will have to look at the power supply. If it does not appear to be the Artic Silver (thermal paste), then see if you can borrow another power supply to try in there. BTW, we need the specs of your rig including video card and brand name and watts of your power supply, so we know if it is getting enough power to stay on. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread. Last edited by Tumbleweed36; 05-04-2009 at 05:30 AM.