Emachines W2060 shuts down whenever it wants...

jayjay22 · 10-12-2006, 07:35 AM

Hello, Let me say thanks in advance for any help you can be. I will try to keep this as short as possible. I am dealing with a very annoying issue while trying to fix a friends Emachines W2060. He came to me and said that it kept crashing all the time. When he said it, I thought he meant that windows was freezing and needed to be restarted alot. So all I did was do a clean install of windows. I have since realized that I was misunderstanding what he was saying. He actually meant that the computer would turn itself off at various times. Sometimes it did it 10 times a day. He said that it seemed to do it only when he was performing an intensive task such as updating the songs on his IPOD, burning a cd, surfing a multimedia intensive website, listening to music, etc... Basically, it never does it when it is just sitting there not being used. This led me to believe that it was an issue with the power supply not supplying enough power to run all of the stuff attached to the computer through USB, especially the IPOD. So, I purchased and put into the system a Antec SP-350 SmartPower 350 Watt ATX12V v2.0 PSU Power Supply and had him try to tax the computer enough to get it to shut down by visiting the sites that usually make it crash and syncing his IPOD. Well, the IPOD synced properly, which he said he had been trying to get it to do all week but it would get halfway through and the computer would shut off. So, we were fairly certain that we had the problem fixed. Well, it is still crashing sometimes. Although, he says after replacing the power supply, we have reduced the crashes by 90% since it only does it once a day instead of 10 or so times. Is it possible that it is a Win XP/Emachines issue, and installing Win2000 would possible fix it? If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please let me know. If you need more information, I will provide it ASAP. I am at my wits end. Thanks in advance to anyone who helps me with this. I've never come across anything like it.

Edit: Am I correct to assume it soulds like a hardware issue, not a software issue?

dai · 10-12-2006, 09:20 AM

it may still be underpowered 350w is a very light on power supply for recent computers
put the specs in here and check
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp
add 30% to the end result
the other most likely cause is heat you need to check the tempretures at idle and under load

jayjay22 · 10-12-2006, 10:50 AM

dai, thanks for your quick response. What is the best way of checking the temperature? Would Everest be able to monitor this? Doesn't the computer have to have the functionality built in for this? I know on many computers you can see the operating temperature of the processor through the BIOS, but that won't help me with checking it under load. I suppose the 350 may still be too small for this computer, but i cannot imagine it is, since it is not a very new computer. I do not actually have the computer with me, it is at my friends house, I am going over in the morning to look at it again and try a couple other things. I will look into possibly getting a different power supply anyway, maybe 450w to be safe. Anyone else have any ideas? Thanks again dai for the advice...

Also, is there any software that I can use to basically 'burn in' the computer, like put alot of stress on it at once to see if it is going to crash? I ask because I prefer to not have to sit there and fiddle with it and run programs until it turns off.

dai · 10-12-2006, 05:20 PM

http://www.playtool.com/pages/prime95/prime95.html

jayjay22 · 10-13-2006, 08:51 AM

The computer specs are as follows:
CPU: AMD Athlon™ XP Processor 2000+ (1.667GHz) with QuantiSpeed™ architecture
Operating System: Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition
Monitor Bundle: eMachines® E15T 15" LCD Flat Pannel Monitor
(0.297mm Pixel Pitch, Active Matrix TFT)
Chipset: VIA KM 266
Memory: 256MB DDR (PC2100)
Hard Drive: 60GB HDD
Optical Drive: 40x Max. CD-RW Drive; 3.5" 1.44MB FDD
Video: S3 ProSavage8™ integrated (1 AGP slot available for upgrade)
Sound: AC '97 Audio
Network: 10/100Mbps built-in Ethernet
Modem: 56K ITU v.92-ready Fax/Modem
Peripherals: Premium Multi-Media Keyboard, 2-Button Wheel Mouse, Amplified Speakers
Ports/Other: 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 on front), 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2, Audio In & Out, Mic-In & Head Phone jack on front, 3 PCI slots (2 available)

When all data is entered into the PSU calculator it comes out to 191 Watt, +30% should be around 250 Watts.

jayjay22 · 10-13-2006, 09:02 AM

Thanks everyone for the quick reply. I know that emachines uses crap PSU's, but was hoping that replacing the PSU could be enough to remedy the problem. I am going over there monday to do more troubleshooting. I am going to clean out the entire inside of the PC with canned air. I will try cleaning the memory contacts. Also, I will remove all unnecessary pci cards and try reseating the processor. After this, I will just have to tell him the bad news the it is likely that his emachines computer is shot. I personally will not ever buy an emachines, since I have recently learned many negative things about them... I.E cheap components. What do you expect for under $400?

emachines!

jayjay22 · 10-23-2006, 08:40 AM

Well, sorry it has been so long since my last post. I just went over there and checked the temperature with motherboard monitor as was suggested, and wow was I surprised to see that the cpu was operating at 76C (168F)! This was about 10 minutes after it had rebooted itself twice (started rebooting, never finished rebooting and rebooted again) because he was trying to rip a cd into his itunes. So the temperature was actually probably up to 80C. when it crashed. So, I opened it up and checked some stuff. First of all, the heatsing was almost completely encrusted with dust up top just under the fan, basically blocking all airflow from the fan from cooling the heatsync. I cleaned that off. Also, the thermal paste was almost totally worn down to nothing in the spot where the CPU makes contact with the heatsync. I cleaned the old stuff off and reapplied some arctic silver paste from compusa. I also installed a 90mm fan in the back of the case pushing air inward. Possibly I should have made it exhaust air out? In any event, I am almost certain the problem is solved, I am just awaiting him to repost back to me after he gives it a workout and then lets it run all night. Thanks very much to all who helped me, I never thought of it being a heat issue, since this is the first time I have come across this kind of thing. Thanks again, and any additional comments or thoughts are appreciated :)

dai · 10-23-2006, 09:42 AM

just change the back fan to exhaust

10-12-2006, 07:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
jayjay22 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 19 OS: WinXP	Emachines W2060 shuts down whenever it wants... Hello, Let me say thanks in advance for any help you can be. I will try to keep this as short as possible. I am dealing with a very annoying issue while trying to fix a friends Emachines W2060. He came to me and said that it kept crashing all the time. When he said it, I thought he meant that windows was freezing and needed to be restarted alot. So all I did was do a clean install of windows. I have since realized that I was misunderstanding what he was saying. He actually meant that the computer would turn itself off at various times. Sometimes it did it 10 times a day. He said that it seemed to do it only when he was performing an intensive task such as updating the songs on his IPOD, burning a cd, surfing a multimedia intensive website, listening to music, etc... Basically, it never does it when it is just sitting there not being used. This led me to believe that it was an issue with the power supply not supplying enough power to run all of the stuff attached to the computer through USB, especially the IPOD. So, I purchased and put into the system a Antec SP-350 SmartPower 350 Watt ATX12V v2.0 PSU Power Supply and had him try to tax the computer enough to get it to shut down by visiting the sites that usually make it crash and syncing his IPOD. Well, the IPOD synced properly, which he said he had been trying to get it to do all week but it would get halfway through and the computer would shut off. So, we were fairly certain that we had the problem fixed. Well, it is still crashing sometimes. Although, he says after replacing the power supply, we have reduced the crashes by 90% since it only does it once a day instead of 10 or so times. Is it possible that it is a Win XP/Emachines issue, and installing Win2000 would possible fix it? If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please let me know. If you need more information, I will provide it ASAP. I am at my wits end. Thanks in advance to anyone who helps me with this. I've never come across anything like it. Edit: Am I correct to assume it soulds like a hardware issue, not a software issue? Last edited by jayjay22 : 10-12-2006 at 07:41 AM.

10-12-2006, 09:20 AM	#2 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 38,560 OS: vista 32x ultimate retail	it may still be underpowered 350w is a very light on power supply for recent computers put the specs in here and check http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp add 30% to the end result the other most likely cause is heat you need to check the tempretures at idle and under load __________________

10-12-2006, 05:20 PM	#4 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 38,560 OS: vista 32x ultimate retail	http://www.playtool.com/pages/prime95/prime95.html __________________

10-23-2006, 08:40 AM	#7 (permalink)
jayjay22 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 19 OS: WinXP	Updated Status Well, sorry it has been so long since my last post. I just went over there and checked the temperature with motherboard monitor as was suggested, and wow was I surprised to see that the cpu was operating at 76C (168F)! This was about 10 minutes after it had rebooted itself twice (started rebooting, never finished rebooting and rebooted again) because he was trying to rip a cd into his itunes. So the temperature was actually probably up to 80C. when it crashed. So, I opened it up and checked some stuff. First of all, the heatsing was almost completely encrusted with dust up top just under the fan, basically blocking all airflow from the fan from cooling the heatsync. I cleaned that off. Also, the thermal paste was almost totally worn down to nothing in the spot where the CPU makes contact with the heatsync. I cleaned the old stuff off and reapplied some arctic silver paste from compusa. I also installed a 90mm fan in the back of the case pushing air inward. Possibly I should have made it exhaust air out? In any event, I am almost certain the problem is solved, I am just awaiting him to repost back to me after he gives it a workout and then lets it run all night. Thanks very much to all who helped me, I never thought of it being a heat issue, since this is the first time I have come across this kind of thing. Thanks again, and any additional comments or thoughts are appreciated :)

10-23-2006, 09:42 AM	#8 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 38,560 OS: vista 32x ultimate retail	just change the back fan to exhaust __________________

10-12-2006, 10:50 AM	#3 (permalink)
jayjay22 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 19 OS: WinXP	dai, thanks for your quick response. What is the best way of checking the temperature? Would Everest be able to monitor this? Doesn't the computer have to have the functionality built in for this? I know on many computers you can see the operating temperature of the processor through the BIOS, but that won't help me with checking it under load. I suppose the 350 may still be too small for this computer, but i cannot imagine it is, since it is not a very new computer. I do not actually have the computer with me, it is at my friends house, I am going over in the morning to look at it again and try a couple other things. I will look into possibly getting a different power supply anyway, maybe 450w to be safe. Anyone else have any ideas? Thanks again dai for the advice... Also, is there any software that I can use to basically 'burn in' the computer, like put alot of stress on it at once to see if it is going to crash? I ask because I prefer to not have to sit there and fiddle with it and run programs until it turns off.

10-13-2006, 08:51 AM	#5 (permalink)
jayjay22 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 19 OS: WinXP	The computer specs are as follows: CPU: AMD Athlon™ XP Processor 2000+ (1.667GHz) with QuantiSpeed™ architecture Operating System: Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Monitor Bundle: eMachines® E15T 15" LCD Flat Pannel Monitor (0.297mm Pixel Pitch, Active Matrix TFT) Chipset: VIA KM 266 Memory: 256MB DDR (PC2100) Hard Drive: 60GB HDD Optical Drive: 40x Max. CD-RW Drive; 3.5" 1.44MB FDD Video: S3 ProSavage8™ integrated (1 AGP slot available for upgrade) Sound: AC '97 Audio Network: 10/100Mbps built-in Ethernet Modem: 56K ITU v.92-ready Fax/Modem Peripherals: Premium Multi-Media Keyboard, 2-Button Wheel Mouse, Amplified Speakers Ports/Other: 6 USB 2.0 ports (2 on front), 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2, Audio In & Out, Mic-In & Head Phone jack on front, 3 PCI slots (2 available) When all data is entered into the PSU calculator it comes out to 191 Watt, +30% should be around 250 Watts.

10-13-2006, 09:02 AM	#6 (permalink)
jayjay22 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 19 OS: WinXP	Thanks everyone for the quick reply. I know that emachines uses crap PSU's, but was hoping that replacing the PSU could be enough to remedy the problem. I am going over there monday to do more troubleshooting. I am going to clean out the entire inside of the PC with canned air. I will try cleaning the memory contacts. Also, I will remove all unnecessary pci cards and try reseating the processor. After this, I will just have to tell him the bad news the it is likely that his emachines computer is shot. I personally will not ever buy an emachines, since I have recently learned many negative things about them... I.E cheap components. What do you expect for under $400? emachines!