Computer started shutting down by itself

[fugigoose]

A week ago my computer decided it was gunna shut itself off every now and then. It appears to happen mainly when it's trying to do something complicated (ie run a game, diskCleanup, compiling). It freezes for 5 seconds, and during this time the cpu fan's pitch seems to get higher. After 5 seconds, the whole thing just turns completely off! This has happened to me in the past, and reinstalling windows seemed to fix it. Is that what it is, and if it is, I wish i knew why windows does that. Here's some figures:

-Allied 400 watt p/s
-Asus A7N8X Deliux mobo
-AMD Athlon XP Barton 2500+
-384 mb PC2100 DDR
-geForce 4 Ti4600
-80 gigabyte maxtor ATA133 harddrive
-Toshiba 16x DVD rom

--Windows XP Pro

 

[paparazi]

Have you got your CPU shutdown temperature set too low in the bios? obviously this would mean that your CPU temp is probably on the warm side and as soon as it touches the preset temp off the system goes.
Also check the obvious: CPU fan is being detected properly (constant rpm reading in the bios) and is physically spinning freely and not siezing, also that the heatsink isn't blocked with dust etc correct application of thermal paste? all could lead to the temp rising and hitting the cut off temp.


Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[fugigoose]

No, that doesn't appear to be my problem. The Cpu fan is working properly, free of obstruction, and being read correctly by the motherboard. And these shutdowns aren't entirely random, just when it does some stuff that involves lots of accessing of the harddrive. This leads me to believe that its either the filing system or the harddrive/controller itself. What do you all think?

 

[bcastner]

I would bet RAM. It is easy enough to determine. Do a RAM test and let it run overnight:

http://www.memtest86.com/#download0

 

[lukejd87]

I agree with paparazi, it sounds like a heat issue. It might be a memory problem... how long have you had the computer?

 

[fugigoose]

i've had the computer in its current configuration for about 8 months. I SERIOUSLY doubt it's a heat issue, because the heat just isn't there.

 

[HardKnox]

I have had a look around for ya, it seems a lot of people are having the same problem with this motherboard model.

One of the guys noted that the North Bridge was overheating during gameplay, he resolved the issue by installing a fan on his northbridge.

Another very common one was caused by out of date graphics drivers. I my self had a very simular problem that was caused by the new Nvidia motherboard chipset drivers from

http://www.nvidia.com,

but mine is a different brand.

hope you get it sorted