Computer suddenly turns off/on

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  1. #1
    Sushi
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    Computer suddenly turns off/on

    Hi,

    A couple of days ago while I was using my pc it suddenly turned off, no blue screen, no error, just as if i logged off and shut it down. Shortly after, it turned itself on, starting windows then shutting off again.

    Often it would be on for 5 minutes or less, and it shuts itself off and tries to turn on again. Sometimes it hasn't even finished loading windows and it shuts itself off. When I'm lucky it doesn't even do this but it's rare.

    Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
    Last edited by Dim10111; 06-27-2006 at 01:53 AM.

  2. #2
    Hammerhead Shark bugspop1's Avatar
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    Could be the CPU is Overheating but why does it start back up? Or it could be like the trouble I had not too long ago, my Antec NeoHE 500w PSU didn't like my Asus a8n-e. Antec RMA'ed my PSU and now it's been working great! If you have an Antec PSU and an Asus motherboard you might want to check with Antec to see if this is the problem.
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  3. #3
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    I believe an overheating CPU isn't the case, since it usually turns off right away, and the fan is working. I even cleaned up the fan and it was still doing this turning off/on activity. As long as it was plugged in, it turns on by itself.

    I don't have an ASUS motherboard either. I forgot to mention that my PC is already 3 years old, but it still works fairly well... until this, of course.
    Last edited by Dim10111; 06-27-2006 at 04:39 AM.

  4. #4
    Senor Sausage
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    Its probably the PSU. Try swapping it out for another. There's no need to buy a new one just yet, just try anything you've got lying around. Most PSUs have built-in protection where they refuse to turn on or restart when rails are unstable or a short circuit is present.



    I've noticed a distinctive trend with generic PSUs. They rarely last after 3 years, OEM PCs don't pack generic PSUs btw.
    Last edited by Transfurzz; 06-27-2006 at 06:27 AM.

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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Transfurzz
    Its probably the PSU. Try swapping it out for another. There's no need to buy a new one just yet, just try anything you've got lying around. Most PSUs have built-in protection where they refuse to turn on or restart when rails are unstable or a short circuit is present.



    I've noticed a distinctive trend with generic PSUs. They rarely last after 3 years, OEM PCs don't pack generic PSUs btw.
    I don't have an old PSU lying around, I'll try and salvage one from work.

    Also would a bad PSU explain why it would restart and turn itself on? I didn't select the option of having the computer restart in the event of an error.

  6. #6
    Senor Sausage
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dim10111
    I don't have an old PSU lying around, I'll try and salvage one from work.

    Also would a bad PSU explain why it would restart and turn itself on? I didn't select the option of having the computer restart in the event of an error.
    Yes, a bad PSU can fully explain your problem.


    I'll try to be more general. The problem could be one of three things.

    Bad PSU

    Bad Motherboard

    Bad component

    Okay, most PSUs refuse to start up when there is a short circuit or fault in the system. Its a failsafe to prevent it from burning or damaging components or even itself. Either that, or you have a faulty power switch.They sometimes restart themselves constantly. The PSU could be faulty, or doing its job, preventing your system from getting fried.

    I've seen motherboards constantly restart themselves, thats an indication that the motherboard is nearly dead or has a fault. It would be good to test out the PSU on another PC or test out the mobo with another PSU. To rule out either as a problem.

    Faulty components ? Few and far between, other faulty components rarely cause such a problem. But sometimes they short circuit themselves and send voltages sky high. The PSU shuts itself down to prevent further damage.

    You should check out these three in order. Also check while in bios to see if the PSU rail variations are shaky or severely undervolted.
    Last edited by Transfurzz; 06-27-2006 at 08:00 AM.

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  7. #7
    Tiger Shark agello24's Avatar
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    can a power supply turn itself back on? my system did over heat and shut down. but what made mine come back on was that i had selected wake-by-lan in the mb bios.
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  8. #8
    Hammerhead Shark morphid's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by agello24
    can a power supply turn itself back on? my system did over heat and shut down. but what made mine come back on was that i had selected wake-by-lan in the mb bios.
    i had one of the first mobos that came with CPU overheat protection (i believe the system was called ABS or something like that). instead of the system turning off when the CPU was overheated, it would reset, and if the CPU was still hot, it would reset again (and continue doing this rapidly until the CPU cooled to a certain temp). it sucked, but at least it saved my CPU's a s s a few times. so, a long answer to your question is yes, a PSU can turn itself back on provided the right signal is sent from the mobo, otherwise no.

  9. #9
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    I have finally figured out what's wrong.... I determined it wasn't the PSU when I got one from an older pc at work and my pc was still doing the same thing. What I did (which I should have probably done first) was I plugged it into an outlet in another room in our house. Sure enough, it worked! Turns out there was some faulty wiring in the other outlet and it damaged my voltage regulater as well. Thanks to everyone for helping me solve this problem.

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