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System shuts off randomly (PSU, motherboard, HD, what?)

3K views 21 replies 7 participants last post by  mattlock 
#1 ·
Windows, PSU, motherboard, evil software...I have no idea which is the real culprit...starting this weekend my system started randomly and occasionally (up to several times a day now) shut off. Not shut down & then off...just *BAM!*--off! At first I thought maybe the power cord in the back was just loose but now I don't think so...it's doing it when nobody is around for it to get moved/jiggled/etc. This is extremely disturbing. What could possibly be causing this? The only things I can think of is bad PSU or the CPU overheating (seems unlikely it would do that all of a sudden, but what do I know). Here are my specs:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (Manchester)
Asus A8n-SLI Deluxe ACPI Bios Revision 1015 (NVIDIA chipset)
1 GB 3200 Corsair ValueRam DDR Dual channel RAM
Two ATA HDs
Ultra Connect 2 PSU
DVD drive and Sony DVD-RW
Plus Deck2
Card reader (internal)

I have not been able to find much of anything in the system logs. So far, I have only seen this, and I have no idea if it's even related:

IO_WARNING_LOG_FLUSH_FAILED
"The system failed to flush data to the transaction log. Corruption may occur.
NTFS could not write data to the transaction log. This could affect the ability of NTFS to stop or roll back the operations for which the transaction data could not be written. NTFS could not write data because of one or more of the following reasons:

I/O requests issued by the file system to the disk subsystem might not have been completed successfully."

I also have some software loaded on the system from p2p networks that may or may not be benign...if you know what I mean...that couldn't do this sort of thing, could it?

Ideas, anyone? :sigh:
 
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#2 ·
Most likely the PSU I would say. However it would be wise to read the temps when the system is running to sort that out. On the other hand you have a PSU that seems sufficient. I would try a different power supply and see the results. ( buy one from a local store - keep the receipt - try and see - keep or return )
 
#3 · (Edited)
Hello Pillowfight. There's a few possibilities here.
I need you to download Sensorview from the link below so we can take a look at your temps. Post all the temps, voltages, and fan speeds that it reports.
http://www.stvsoft.com/

Very good info included in your post, but you forgot to list your video card, so please include that in your next post. Also let us if you are overclocking anything.
 
#5 ·
Thanks, all.

Videocard is Geoforce 6200 (256MB) PCI and I am running AVG. AVG scans have come up clean lately, though it has caught and quarantined a few things in the past (trojans, mostly).

The latest is now it won't boot at all. I guess it's had enough abrupt shutdowns that now Windows is corrupted...the screen says, "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: <windows root>\system32\ntoskrnl.exe. Please reinstall a copy of the above file."

I am writing this from my Ubuntu box :mad:
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the suggestion but it will not respond to the keyboard at all when the post screen comes up. I even tried a different keyboard. I have since reformatted the corrupt drive (using another computer), but even with that it can't get to the BIOS. And it doesn't even go to the post screen half the time...I have to keep hitting reset and sometimes it will and sometimes it won't. :4-dontkno

Seems like at this point the two contenders would have to be the motherboard or the PSU, no?
 
#10 · (Edited)
I am going to gamble a "wee" bit here and just say you are another victim of low quality Ultra power supplies!


I would go to compusa, bestbuy, stables etc and get yourself an Antec Trio Rail 650 watt PSU (make sure it says TRIO on the box)>>>> they are about $125.00 or under DONT go for the house brand cheapies, they are really big time JUNK

if thats not your problem they will refund your purchase, but the sounds of your sitution, thats it

your windows OS however does sound trashed. You will need to perform a reapir install >>>> the info you need for that is in my signature links / procedures

let us know how you progress, I dont think you issue is heat related as the machine is running long enough to get hot any more.
 
#12 ·
in my humble opinion and those of numerous other tech sites, the enermax compnay has lost quality control or is trying to dip into cheaper parts, not sure which, but the end result is the same.

I would seriously suggest you stick with the model suggested above, its the best qaulity for the money and has a great following, I have not seen more than one or two units all over the whole web surfing routine that were talked about as defective, thats IMPRESSIVE


go to newegg.com then look up the antec trio SP-3 650 watt >>>>> read the customer reviews then note the high number sold!
 
#14 ·
I am happy to hear you are satisfied :pray:


but I have seen several review comments where they actually blew up on the test bench while being pushed.

hell; they were selling them with a manufacturers rebate which was the whole purchase price not long ago!

if they are installed in a system that doesnt push them hard, you will skate by for a while, but they are a low tier unit.

http://www.diy-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=73137

Read towards the bottom

Class -1 units

Class-2 units

Class - 3 units

you have probally heard me preach these many times, and I DID NOT copy them!
 
#17 ·
here is a review


The new Ultra X-Finity 500w Power Supply is definitely a good solid product. The looks department are covered with a mirrored finish and shiny titanium look cables, but it's not overly snazzy. There's no LED fans or modular cabling. It's more re-writing the rules of the basics while adding stability to the rails and using a very unique flat flexible cable design.

The quality feel of this unit is something to behold. It's as solid a power supply as I've ever handled and part of that solid feel is the lack of a modular cabling system. Modular's are great and something that most people say "once you go modular, you never go back", but I can tell you from experience, having a modular power supply in some of today's inverted ATX and BTX cases can be more of a hassle than it's worth. Remember my Lian Li V1000 review where I had to completely remove the power supply cage and half the hard drive cages to get my Modular psu to fit correctly? Well, that's what I'm talking about....I wish I had a beefy power supply like this at the time. It would've been such a better experience.

After a thorough review, installation and testing of this unit I can whole heartedly recommend it for purchase. At a street price of between $70 - $100, it's on par with other quality power supplies in it's class for this amount of wattage. However no other power supply can say they have the Flex-Force cabling system, and no other can say they're better built than this unit. It's top quality construction all the way.

So with all said and done, I recommend the Ultra 500w X-Finity Power Supply. This power supply is just slick, mean and well designed with special attention paid to not only looks, but also quality and stability.


sorry if i am overdoing it but i am trying to prove to you that they are ok psus
 
#18 · (Edited)
At the time I got the Ultra I actually had an Enermax 480 but I was worried it wasn't enough power, so I got the Ultra. The Ultra seemed to have ok reviews, and one of the things I liked about it was the modular feature--you just plug in what you need without having all those ugly unused cords hanging all over the place in your machine. But OMG is it noisy (that could my mobo too, somewhat). I am sorry I didn't take that into consideration. But hey, it was silver and at least it matched my case :wink:

ANYWAY y'all can stop fighting now because I got (drum roll please) a Seasonic S12 Energy Plus. :tongue:

Now that I am working on a laptop I can see how important the noise factor is--I can finally hear myself think! I don't do gaming so I am more concerned with low ambient noise then how it performs under extremely high load. I discovered it over at the reviews here. The Antec got good ratings too, and if they were all out of the seasonics that was going to be my next pick.

I really appreciate all the input you guys have given me :smile: I should know by tomorrow or Friday at the latest if I'm going to have to return it or not. Hopefully that is the only problem!

Edit: DUH! How did I miss the PSU forum??[/I]
 
#20 ·
Thanks for the input Pillow~~~~~ much appreciated but no fight here :4-thatsba


just a couple of geeks in gauged in a discussion; and I value his opinion as well.

Time will tell, maybe Ultra did straiten up ?????
 
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