PC randomly turning itself off.

[WindowsFish]

Dear All,

My PC is randomly turning itself off. It's not shutting down, it just switches off - as if there was a power cut but there isn't.

It then restarts after a few seconds and loads to the BIOS options menu of would I like to restart Windows normally or in safe mode etc...

The only fix I have attempted was looking in the Startup and Recovery settings to see if the "Automatically restart after system failure" box was checked, but it isn't.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Also, Happy Halloween!

 

[Sven1458]

I had that happen to my computer, it was the heat sensor under the processor. it's been a while, so not sure exactly what i did, i think i pushed down on the sensor, but don't take my word for it.

 

[Megahertz07]

It could be a CPU or GPU over temperature.
Do you have a hardware monitor?
I use open hardware monitor
Extract to C:\Program Files (x86)\HardwareMonitor and run OpenHardwareMonito.exe
You can set what to show on the gadget and on the tray.
Under options, you can set to run when Windows starts.

Open Hardware monitor
Open Hardware monitor

 

[WindowsFish]

Hey Sven1458 and Megahertz07 - thanks for taking the time to reply.

I admit it sounds like it could be a heat issue, I do have an old X 990 CPU and they have a reputation for running hot.

I also had an old machine that used to switch off from overheating so I know that can be a thing.

However, I regularly use this machine for video editing and that really pushes the processor when rendering, and I can't recall a switch off at any time I've been doing that. Also this machine had a lot of fans inside it at least 5 (and an inbuilt one in the GFX card).

The last switch off occurred when I was checking my email! That's hardly an intensive task likely to generate a lot of heat!

Also, I live in the UK and we just had a 40 degree (celcius) heatwave this summer and the machine was pretty stable throughout that. Now we're almost in winter so the house temperature is much lower than it was.

It could be a faulty heat sensor I guess, telling the machine to turn off for no reason.

If it wasn't heat related though, does anyone have any ideas of what else it could be - beyond a faulty power supply?

 

[Megahertz07]

You're speculating.
It can be a CPU fan or a clogged heat sink.
Install the open hardware monitor. It's free and very good.

 

[file3456]

In addition to all that was said, sometimes the power button can be bad. You can temp jump the computer and watch it turn on and see what happens. Not sure how skilled you are with PCs though. What is the make and model?


bypass pc power button - Google Search

 

[WindowsFish]

Hey Megahertz - Sorry for not replying sooner but I've been busy trying to sell a house.

I agree I was speculating and I guess the best way to proceed is to rule stuff out and system temperature seems a sensible place to start.

Unfortunately, a bearing went in one of my case fans when I turned it on today! I have ordered a replacement which should be with me on Thursday.

There's not much point taking temperatures of the system until I have the new fan in place, so I will get back to you when that happens.

Just wanted to let you know I am still on the case.

In the meantime I might speculate a little more if the random turning off happens more frequently when I'm running with one fan less than normal!

(The turn off's are thankfully pretty rare though, it hasn't happened since my last post here for example, anyway I'll see how it goes and be back in touch in a few days.

Thanks again for your time.

- - - Updated - - -

Hey F22 Simpilot - I am extremely unskilled with PCs!

I suppose it could be a faulty power switch - although I've never has any issues getting it to turn on, (or off when it has hard locked in the past). So the power switch seems OK as far as everyday usage goes.

I have an ASUS Rampage 3 motherboard (black edition) and an i7 X 990 CPU (not overclocked).

My graphics card is an old GTX Titan.

I only have 12GB of RAM

The machine is about 10 years old.

 

[file3456]

A straight up, easy to use program to monitor the CPU temps is CoreTemp. If you have more than one monitor keep it on the second monitor. Core Temp

 

[TechnoMage2016]

Years ago, I drove 40 miles, to take a PC service call, where the complaint was "PC shutting off at random".
It turned out to be a loose power plug.
So before you go crazy, make a mechanical exam of the entire system, from the wall plug on out.

I've even pulled the ram sticks out and cleaned the edge connectors with a clean cloth, soaked in alcohol (no, not the drinking kind). Every thing you can clean, or connector you can re-seat, just takes one more thing out of the possibilities list. Your problem should be findable and fixable.
Don't forget to check your CMOS battery. Anything under 3.0 volts can be a problem. If in doubt, just change it.
Please, let us know when you find the problem.

Cheers Mate,

 

[tjpearson]

I also had this problem, swapped both rams and it fixed the issue, just goes to prove it can be anything.

 

[TechnoMage2016]

It's been a month, or so, since I last responded to this cry for help, and I've not heard another word from the OP, as to whether the problem was found and fixed, or not. ???

Please!

Happy Holidays
TM

- - - Updated - - -

TJ said, "I also had this problem, swapped both rams and it fixed the issue, just goes to prove it can be anything."

You said "swapped both rams". Does that mean that you replaced them with NEW Ram?
In the past, I've repaired a lot of problems involving Sticks of RAM. But the only ones I've tossed in the trash were labeled "Kingston" or "S" (we call that Superman ram).
The rest, I've just washed with soap and water, rinsed with Denatured Alcohol, dried thoroughly and reseated in the motherboard. I also polish up the edge connector to remove any dirt or corrosion.
Today, very few sticks of RAM actually fail, but if they get dirty, they can short out. All too often, dirty ram is removed and thrown away, where all it really needed was a good washing. Just a thought!

Happy Holidays!
TM

 

[tjpearson]

Happy Christmas TM, I literally just swapped the two and reseated them both, could have been something as simple as trapped dust or a bit of dirt. The two rams are Corsair CMK Vengeance LPX 8gig.