Solved Windows 7 Crashing / PC Shutting Down

[mezzy316]

Okay, a little background... a couple months ago I had issues where the computer was randomly crashing. When I say crashing, I mean it was like someone pulled the plug. Just completely lost power. It would be fine again for a couple days, then do it again. I did the SFC/ SCANNOW and it never found anything wrong. Boot repair never found anything either. Malwarebytes was always clean. Finally, the last time it crashed, I could not get it to boot to the desktop. I started getting BSOD c000021a. HP told me I should do a complete system recovery. I backed up my data and did the system recovery. After several attempts, it finally worked.

Not knowing what was wrong, I tried to be as systematic as possible. I completed all windows updates, as well as driver updates. I slowly added software to make sure there were no issues with the installs (Office, Adobe Reader, Corel, Firefox, etc.). It has been running perfectly for about a month.

Today, I installed iTunes. The only other thing that changed was Firefox updated itself from 27 to 28. Since the iTunes install, it has crashed twice. Each time I was able to reboot and it was fine. In the Event Log, the only ERRORS I could find were the ones saying the system shut down unexpectedly. Not sure how else to mine data out of there.

I did a system restore to put it back the way it was before the iTunes install, and so far so good. Could iTunes really be causing this problem? If so, why, and is there anything I can do about it? I have several iPhones and iPads as well as a lot of music and movies that I need iTunes for.

Thanks for your help!

 

[mezzy316]

Well, it did it again and shut down. I noticed that it did it while I was watching a YouTube video. This morning when it did it I was watching the Olympics online. Not sure if it is a coincidence or not, but I thought it my be video-card related. I have a Radeon HD 4650. I went to AMD and downloaded the newest driver package. Watched a couple of videos without a crash, although I don't know if that's a good test or not.

 

[mezzy316]

Crashed again, and again it was right when I closed a video. Does that automatically mean the video card is bad?

 

[mezzy316]

Ran the Video Card Stress Test that comes with HP (HP Support Assistant). Made it through test 1 of 3, but during test 2 of 3 the computer shut off again.

 

[windude99]

This sounds like a problem with your power supply. Does it show any lights after it shuts down? Do you hear any sounds (popping etc.)?

 

[windude99]

Also, when was the last time your computer was cleaned?

 

[mezzy316]

No sounds at all. No lights, just goes dark.

I cleaned it last month when I was getting the BSODs. Thought it may have been overheating.

 

[Mellon Head]

I agree with windude99. It sound like the power supply. Do you have access to another power supply that you can use for a few days to test the system and see if it keeps shutting down?

 

[windude99]

No sounds at all. No lights, just goes dark.

I cleaned it last month when I was getting the BSODs. Thought it may have been overheating.

Did you clean it with a vacuum or compressed air? Compressed Air can get more dust out in my experience. If you decide to use compressed air, be sure to hold the can upright to avoid any liquid being sprayed into your computer. Also, blow a little bit of the compressed air into an open area away from the computer before you start cleaning it.

 

[mezzy316]

I cleaned it with a vacuum.

I do not have another power supply. I would have to buy one.

To clarify on the sounds.....it doesn't make any noises when it shuts off, but i do hear some random hisses and pops here and there coming through the speakers when it's on.

One question, why would the power supply only fail when watching a video?

 

[windude99]

I cleaned it with a vacuum.

I do not have another power supply. I would have to buy one.

To clarify on the sounds.....it doesn't make any noises when it shuts off, but i do hear some random hisses and pops here and there coming through the speakers when it's on.

One question, why would the power supply only fail when watching a video?

The power supply might have a problem (like bad capacitors) where when the computer is under load, it will become ustable and shut off. Also, you should try cleaning your computer with compressed air. Be sure to follow the advice that I put in my previous post.

 

[mezzy316]

Bought a can of compressed air a cleaned it out following your instructions. My wife was using the computer, and about 30-60 seconds after she watched a video, it lost power again. Time to get a new power supply?

 

[Mellon Head]

Bought a can of compressed air a cleaned it out following your instructions. My wife was using the computer, and about 30-60 seconds after she watched a video, it lost power again. Time to get a new power supply?

It sounds like it's time, yes. Look for a good brand, like Corsair, Antec, or SeaSonic. You may need to get a specially sized supply, depending on your case dimensions. I would measure the dimensions of your supply and compare those to the one you want to buy. HP often does funny things with their builds.

 

[mezzy316]

I have a 180t. I have not had luck locating dimensions of the PSU on HPs site, but from reading other info, I think a standard one like this should fit.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092ML0OC/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I really hope this solves the problem.

 

[Mellon Head]

Looks like a good one, and I hope it solves the problem, too.

 

[mezzy316]

So I'm swapping out the power supply and as I'm doing it I notice that this red cable isn't plugged into this red port. Is it supposed to be? It was sitting right there, just not plugged in. I don't know what it is.

 

[mezzy316]

Now I have another problem. There is a port labeled ATX_CPU that HP's site shows is for the motherboard fan. That is the pic showing the 4 pin port and connector. This Corsair does not have a connector like that. It has two 6 pin connectors that each also have a 2 pin connector coming off of them. Can I use those?

 

[mezzy316]

Here are the Corsair plugs.

 

[mezzy316]

Sorry for all the posts......just found out online that the 8-pin CPU connector can be broken apart into two 4-pin connectors. That should do the trick I think.

 

[mezzy316]

Well, I got the new power supply installed and it seems to be working fine. However, I launched a youtube video, and after about 15-20 minutes of play, the pc shut down. Guess I just blew $70 on a power supply. Now what?