Win7 shuts down PC at splash screen

First post at this forum, wish the circumstances were more pleasant. My desktop/HTPC suddenly began shutting down just as the splash screen appears. I have done the following:

- replaced power supply, no change
- pulled all expansion cards (graphics, TV tuner, sound) one at a time, no effect
- started in safe mode, PC locks up as windows system files are loading
- changed boot priority to CD first, same result.
- disconnected hard drives, boot from CD, same effect.
- pulled memory one at a time, no changes.
- removed CPU cooler, cleaned CPU and cooler and applied new MX-4 paste, no effect

My tentative conclusion is that the MB has failed in some way. Does anyone have any thoughts?

One more clue: the PC will run without shutting down with just the BIOS screen displayed. It's only at the splash screen - whether loading from HDD or CD - that the problem occurs.

Boot computer with bootable Ubuntu USB stick to find out if boot problem cause by Windows 7.


Create a bootable USB stick on Windows | Ubuntu tutorials

I wonder if your CMOS battery is dead.

Under BIOS there is no load on the hardware.
Try to boot from a Linux USB drive as @FreeBooter suggested.

I'll check the CMOS battery (easiest thing first!) and then try Ubuntu - thanks!

CMOS battery showed 2.78 volts, replaced it anyway, boot still crashes at splash screen. Not sure I understand the logic of booting from an Ubuntu USB drive. If it works, meaning Win 7 is causing the boot fail, that doesn't get me anywhere as I want this PC to run Win 7. If it doesn't work and boot still fails, that doesn't get me anywhere either. If Ubuntu loads, will it be able to diagnose a bad MB or a bad CPU? That would be the only value, it seems.

Ubuntu is just to be sure it's a hardware problem. If it fails, you are sure it's the CPU the MB or the memory and not a software (win7).

I have a computer that is also shutting down. It can be the i5 or the Z87 MB. Normally is the chipset that fails.
As I think it's the MB so I bought a used one on eBay. Did not arrived yet.

Megahertz07 said:

Ubuntu is just to be sure it's a hardware problem. If it fails, you are sure it's the CPU the MB or the memory and not a software (win7).

I have a computer that is also shutting down. It can be the i5 or the Z87 MB. Normally is the chipset that fails.
As I think it's the MB so I bought a used one on eBay. Did not arrived yet.

That makes sense, but isn't the fact that the PC shuts down whether it boots from the HDD or the Win7 CD giving me the same information as booting from a Ubuntu disk/drive?

Mr Earl said:

That makes sense, but isn't the fact that the PC shuts down whether it boots from the HDD or the Win7 CD giving me the same information as booting from a Ubuntu disk/drive?

If you boot Ubuntu from a USB flash disk and it fails (shuts down) you will know that isn't the disk or windows, it's the CPU the MB or the memory.