[jonworld]

So my computer is experiencing random shutdowns. I'll doing something and randomly, it just shuts off as if it was unplugged. Here is the scope of the problem:

-Doesn't matter if windows is running...random shutdowns occur no matter what OS is being used but they DO NOT and ONLY do not occur when I'm in bios setup
-Activity increases the probability of a shutdown. In other words, if I let the computer sit, It probably won't shut down..but occasionally it has
-I reinstalled XP and reformatted my drives and no result
-Turning on SMART Capability in my drives fixed the problem for a day, then back to normal
-Started running memtest86, seemed okay until it did another random shutdown
-Computer feels cool to the touch and speedfan reports a 37 degree (C) average CPU temp
-Sometimes I'll won't be able to restart for a few minutes after a shutdown because power to the mobo is cut completely, other times, the computer will stay on a for a few seconds before shutting down
-If the computer has been off for a while, a shutdown doesn't occur for a decent period of time, however if it just experienced a shutdown, subsequent shutdowns occur within a few minutes

I tried so many solutions without help but was recently suggested that I have a blown capacitor on my mobo. A quick looked revealed nothing wrong, but suddenly out of the corner of my eye I noticed a suspicious group of capacitors near my sound card. One capacitor looks normal in all ways except that it is angled and sort of "leans over" the capacitor below it, looking a little warped or bent. There is another pair of capacitors right next to these two that looks exactly alike but the tall one is not leaning over the short and not bent. Is this capacitor dead? What else is causing this? PLEASE HELP!

[leroys1000]

I just had the exact same problem and it was a bear to track down.
It turned out the power supply was no longer providing enough
current to run all the hardware in the computer.
Swapped power supplies,problem gone.

[jonworld]

Thanks leroys1000.

Also, to add more, I had this exact problem about 6 months ago, but a HD reformat fixed everything. Now the problem is the exact same, but a hard drive reformat doesn't fix it.

[BG-0]

The capacitor might just be bent. It's just the wires below it that are bent (I think?) It should not be any harm to it.
Do you have another hard drive to test with, it might just be the HDD going dead.

[leroys1000]

May have been the power supply was weak back then and got worse.
I did a reformat too and the problem resurfaced after I started taxing
the system with games.
Can't guarantee it's the supply,but is something to look into.

I also tried the power supply in my other computer.
Wouldn't even power up.

[BG-0]

Yeah, PSUs wear down through the years quite much. If it's not the hard drive, it's 96% sure to be the power supply.

[jonworld]

my computer began making a high-pitched whining today which must be the motherboard or power supply

[air_evac]

Capacitors leaning over or angled get that way thru the manufacturing process and handling. That is normal. Visually inspecting for a bad capacitor you would be looking for a leaking capacitor (fluid oozing out) or a capacitor bulging out the top or the side. Capacitors do occasionally go bad and random shutdowns is one characteristic of a bad cap. Capacitors located near a high heat source (such as the CPU) generally go bad first.

[air_evac]

High pitched whining - sounds like a fan is failing.

[jonworld]

I just replaced the PSU yesterday with a ThermalTake one, but the random shutdowns kept occurring.I tried pretty much every possible remedy with no progress.

It was then that I noticed a crap load of dust collecting underneath my CPU fan. I dust the inside of my computer quite frequently but I have never cleaned underneath my cpu fan, on the top of the heatsink, before. I did a bit of dusting, removed quite a bit of dust, and my computer works better than ever now. Best of all: no random shutdowns! It runs so quiet I don't even notice it's on and the CPU temperature got cut in half. THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP EVERYONE!

I guess sometimes even the most complex of problems can have such simple solutions.