Win98SE auto shutdown after 5mins 4

[djazia]

Hello

My PC was working fine 2 weeks ago.
Since, I've got a problem which is getting worse everyday.
I started having problems when starting it. I needed to start it 3-4 times in a row because it was shutting down by itself. After 3-4 times, no more problem for the day. But the problem reappeared the next day.
2 days ago, it could stay on for more than 5-10 mins because it was shutting down by itself what ever I was doing on it. I tested it whithout doing anything on it and the problem occured the same.
I cannot start it again straight after (I've got an ATX box and when I press the switch, the green lights appear 1 second and no more power after that).I need to unplug it, wait 5 mins and then plug it again to restart it. A then after 5-10 mins, it auto shutdown again.

The only software I installed on it during that time was a firewall/antivirus from my mail provider.
Anyone got an idea about what is causing thre problem?
Thx

DZ

 

[kippy13]

Have you tried uninstalling the software that was installed? Or have you tried starting in safe mode to see if there are still problems?
This could be hardware but its best to ruls out software issues as well.

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[djazia]

Thank you for your reply.
No I haven't uninstall the software and I will do it tonight as soon as I'm at home.
But I doubt it comes from that because I installed it 1 or 2 weeks before the problem occured and it was working fine till 2 weeks ago.
I'm not a guru in computer and I would like to know how to run it in safe mode?

DZ

 

[kippy13]

When you switch on the machine hit F8 repeatadly. (It may be F12)
Leave the machine boot up and let it be for a while-see if it reboots.
This may be bad memory in the machine.

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[2cornflakes]

In the last 6 weeks we've had trouble with my machine and another one at work having intermittent shutdowns. In both cases replacing the power supply fixed the problems.

 

[kippy13]

Yes,
However it could be any number of issues, including software,ram,harddrive,processor,harddrive, board, input voltage......
Perhaps your power supplys had gotten damages because of power surges....have you looked into that?

***************************************
Looking for the best answers:
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[cdogg]

This part of your description is important:

"[blue]I've got an ATX box and when I press the switch, the green lights appear 1 second and no more power after that).I need to unplug it, wait 5 mins and then plug it again to restart it.[/blue]"

This narrows the problem down to the power supply, motherboard, or processor. When these three items are operating properly, usually the POST test will at least start. Then if you had a bad hard drive or RAM, you would either see an error message or hear some beeps. Since you are not, I doubt the problem has anything to do with your hard drive, software, or RAM.

You mention that leaving it unplugged for 5 minutes or so gets it running for antoher 5-10 minutes. Perhaps it's not the act of "unplugging", but instead it's the fact that the PC is cooling down. You might have an overheating problem.

I would guess the problem in this order:
1) Overheating - possibly the CPU needing to be reseated with thermal grease
2) Bad power supply
3) Bad motherboard
4) Bad CPU

~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[djazia]

I haven't had time to test the problem in safe mode yet.. but I'll do it ASAP.
I also think it is a overheating problem because last time, I opened the box and the cooling radiator (it's not a cooling fan) was warm (but I don't think it was too warm) and I also opened the power supply and the cooling fins were very hot.
Now, how can I check if it's an overheating problem from the CPU or power supply or bad motherboard or CPU??
Thank you to all of you for your help

DZ

 

[cdogg]

On newer motherboards (post-1998), it is not uncommon to see temperatures reported in the BIOS. There should be multiple measurements for the CPU & motherboard.

For the CPU:
< 50°C = excellent
< 60°C = good
< 65°C = average
< 70°C = below-average
> 70°C = needs adjusted and may be too high

~cdogg
[tab]&quot;All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind&quot;
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[2cornflakes]

kippy13
On my machine at least, I think it was a cheap power supply (Deer). It was replaced around 2 years ago and the box has been on an APC back up unit - which if I understand correctly is supposed to help with both surges and drops.
We replaced a bunch of power supplies about 2 years ago, but I dont know if the other machine was included in that cycle.

 

[djazia]

Well, the problem has been resolved.
I changed the power supply and everything is fine now.
Thx alot to all of you who answered my thread

DZ

 

[cdogg]

Thanks for the follow-up and clarifying the resolution.

~cdogg
[tab]&quot;All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind&quot;
[tab][tab]- Aristotle

 

[cshajkur]

When this happen to me it was a faulty power supply. the last component I would have thought of. As it turned out the power supply was too small to accommodate the extra components I had installed. OEM computer companies generally install the least expensive power supply which can only handle a minimal number of componets. Replacing the power supply with a larger one resolved my problem. They are inexpensive and it always good to have an extra one handy.