PC Shuts down when standing upright

[markk85]

I have a strange problem with my computer switching off. I have a tower pc that keeps switching itself off (ie the power just dies, windows doesn't shut down) at seemedly random intervals. I can switch the pc on and within a few seconds it could switch off. Sometimes after numerous attempts at switching the pc on it might stay on for a brief period long enough to get to windows.

BUT

If I lay the computer down on its side it works completely fine. It never powers off at all. Because of this I thought it might be some kind of short circuit so I stripped the case and rebuilt the computer but the problem was still there. As soon as I try and stand the case up it starts powering off again.

Can anyone help??

Thanks

 

[Freestone]

Check the seating of your CPU heatsink and fan. Perhaps they are not fully seated and/or fastened so that gravity pulls them away from the CPU when the tower is upright.

 

[paparazi]

mkellaway
I had a failing power supply that caused these exact symptoms, only a few months ago.
I could also get the fault if I banged on the side of the case near the PSU (not too hard lol)

But yes! check for shorting and bad connections, check all the power plugs (mains cable and PSU to mainboard) mains plug and wiring etc
Martin


We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[Nelviticus]

I had a similar problem a few years ago which turned out to be a failing fan - the bearings were wearing out so it was a bit 'sticky'. When the case was on its side the fan was horizontal so there was less load on the bearings and it could spin easily. When the case was vertical so was the fan, so it used to lock up from time to time and the CPU would overheat.

I believe that nowadays most motherboards will shut the system off if a critical component overheats, so it could be a similar problem.

Regards

Nelviticus

 

[LawnBoy]

I think I can out-weird you all on this one... Once I had this issue and it turned out to be the hard drive mounting. The case was slightly warped and would twist the drive just enough to cause it to shut down after a few minutes when the case was upright. Laying down, the drive ran 3 weeks once and shut down 2 minutes after I stood it upright.

I fixed the problem by loosening one of the mounting screws on the drive.

Believe it or not.

 

[markk85]

I think it was the seating of the cpu. When I took the heatsink and fan off, the cpu was stuck to the bottom. So I cleaned off the old thermal stuff and went and bought some new thermal paste. Seems to working now for the moment.

Thanks for all your help.