Random shutdown

[beetlenut]

Hi all,
I have the following sys:
900 Athlon
MSI K70 Motherboard
Nvidia mx 400 graphics card
380 sdram
30 gig hdd

My problem is that for a long time the pc randomly shutsdown, I have been told that it could be anything from bad ram to bad fan/power supply.

Any suggestions would be grateful.
Thanks

 

[SavvyLady]

Not nescessarily bad ram but lack of ram sometimes will do that. Even 380MB's may not be enuff if you are multitasking. Also resourses are used up many times for the same reasons as ram might be but is different from ram.
If there is alot of things in your startup it will use up resources.
Yes overheating may shut it down tother than making sure the fan is working make sure the vents are clean and you
also need to keep the cache clean.


Savvy

 

[beetlenut]

Thanks for the advice,but not multitasking,and startup programmes kept to minimum. Will try cleaning fan.
Perhaps more detail of problem would help,when computer
shuts down screen goes black and DPMS going to sleep
message appears, computer will not restart until it has been turn
ed off at power supply(wall) and left for a few miniutes

Any further advice welcome

Thanks Beetlenut

 

[SavvyLady]

You seem to know how to take care of it so Im just going to ask a couple questions...
1.When is the last time you ran an updated virus scan?
2. When did you last run a scan for spyware?(Adaware or similar)
3. When is the last time you did maintenace on your system?

Savvy

PS... whats your MaxCacheFile size? I think its supposed to be about 25% of total Ram.

 

[$teve]

sounds like your power supply is not letting you back in till its cooled down,i would certainly check the dust and venting around your box........and try anything to make the room cooler.....turn off the heating,open a window...encase it in ice....well,not exactly,but you get the idea?

 

[beetlenut]

Hi
Thanks for the tips,cleaned all vents and fitted new fan
rated for 1.7 any other suggestions welcome

Thanks Beetlenut

 

[RandyG]

Actually, I had been having the same problem with my Athlone. I always had the powerSave features set to turn off monitor first, then go to standby, and finally to turn off hard disk. I found that my system would randomly reboot as well. I switched my power save settings to "never" for standby and Hard drive, but still shut off the monitor. I haven't had a problem with it since, but that has only been a few days now.

I believe it has to do with the way Athlones run hot, and the fan always staying on. Going into standby just messes with it all.

 

[beetlenut]

Hi
Sorry so long to get back to you. Im affraid I have tried
all the power save options, but Iam glad its worked for you