# My computer keeps turning off!!!!



## JagrSpeed (Nov 28, 2006)

My computer (but not the monitor) shuts-off every now and then randomly. Any ideas what could be causing the problem? It's driving me insane (not to mention it scares me to death that I'll lose everything on my hardrive)!!!

Thanks


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

Hello and welcome to the forum. Sounds like it may be overheating....turn it off....using a can of compressed air blow out all the dust and such, pay particular attention to the cpu heatsink and psu,,,,make sure all the fans are clean and spin freely....turn it back on and see if all the fans spin. You can use speedfan or your mobo's diagnostic software to monitor the temps and volts....post back what you find, and list all your components like you see i my sig.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Hi, 

twajetmech has got it, it is probably a heat or power problem. To expand on that, please use Everest from my sig to post all the system information (you can use this as a guide) and please download SpeedFan and post all the temps and voltages you see. Remember to post all the info about your power supply as well.


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## JagrSpeed (Nov 28, 2006)

*My specs*

How do I know if I have "overclock"????


Power Supply: Thermaltake SIlent Purepower W0014RU ATX12V 480W Power Supply
Motherboard: Asus P4P800 SE (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 WiFi, 4 DDR DIMM, Audio Gigabit LAN)
ASUS P4P800SE Socket 478 Intel 865PE ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Pentium 4, 3200 MHz (16 x 200)
Intel Pentium 4 3.2E Prescott 3.2 GHz Socket 478 Processor
RAM: 1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM 400 (PC 3200) Desktop (two of these)
Video Card: Celestica Gold Edition RADEON 9600XT (256 MB) (it's ATI)
SAPPHIRE 100575-RED Radeon 9600XT 256MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card -OEM
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JB 250 GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 (partitioned) (plus another similar hard drive)
Operating System: Windows XP Pro
DVD Burner, DVD Player, and Floppy Drive too
Tower: COOLER MASTER Praetorian PAC-T01-EK Black All Aluminum Alloy ATX Mid Tower Computing Case


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## carsey (Aug 19, 2006)

You know if you have overclocked by changing settings in the BIOS. They are usually changed by enthusiasts to get a bit more power out of their system. It also creates more heat so it has to be a careful process. 

Looking at your specs above it does not appear that you have overclocked.


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## JagrSpeed (Nov 28, 2006)

I can't get Everest to work so I just posted the specs up there.

ps. I got the speedfan and it said:

Temp 1: 32C
Temp 2: 52C
Temp 3: -48C
HD0: 27C
HD1: 27C
Fan1: 2123 RPM
Fan2: 2679 RPM
Fan3: 0 RPM

What's with the 3rd fan?!

Why is one temperature negative???

Temp 2 is now 52C, but it slowly climbs (and was in the 70's before I got some compressed air and sprayed in around in the tower)

Should I not have used the air everywhere?


cpu heatsink and psu ought to be sprayed too? Is that the part with the fan on the inside?


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

You can ignore the 3rd temp sensor and fan....since you don't seem to have them installed or monitored (which is normal, and why you get the eroneous readings) all your temps are fine except for the 52C which I guess is your cpu....if that is for idle then that is way to high. You should spay around the cpu heatsink....yes, the part with the fan inside. I would suggest however that if you are using the stock heatsink that came with the Prescott cpu that you upgrade to a better one. The Prescott cpu's are well known for really high temps. A Zalman 7000B or 7700 (if it will fit) or even better a 9500 (if it will fit) would do much to bring the cpu temps down. You can check the Zalman website for which one is compatible with your mobo. Be sure to use some Artic Silver 5 thermal compound as well. Also make sure that Q-fan is disabled in the bios, that will allow the cpu fan to run at 100% rpm for better cooling. Oh, and have you had a bsod since the temp droped to 50C ?


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Duplicate of Twa's post - Therefore not needed and deleted.


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## JagrSpeed (Nov 28, 2006)

*Thanks for the help!*

I couldn't figure-out how to use the zalman website so as to find the right thing for my pcu (cpu?) (what's a mobo, by the way?). How do I tell which one of the things fits? I did, however, figure-out that BSOD is blue screen of death! (black?) How do I do the 'q' bios thing? I'm hopeless-sorry. I really appreciate everything!!!


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

Ok, a mobo is short for motherboard, q-fan is a function in the bios that allows the bios to regulate the cpu fan to keep things quiet, disabling q-fan will allow the cpu fan to run at 100% rpm at all times for best cooling. The Zalman 7000B will fit your mobo, it is an improved version of the same cooler I'm currently using the 7000A......if you do go for the zalman get the 7000B-Cu, it is the all copper version with slightly better cooling characteristics than the 7000B-AlCu which is a combo of aluminium and copper. On the Zalman site just move the cursor over to Intel cpu's, a bunch of coolers will appear, click on one, and then select socket 478 compatability to see if your mobo is listed. Have you had a shut down since blowing out the computer....what are your temps now ?


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## Kalim (Nov 24, 2006)

I was getting this 4 months back and it was the same mobo - turned out pretty clearly to be overheating CPU. What happens is while your in the middle of regular computing, it switches off completely as though there was a short circuit and it was done for safety. However at times, it didn't happen - times where I had the side case off with a table fan blowing.
I'd follow their ^ advice and get the paste, a heatsink and a fan.

You might even like th look of it: Zalman 7000B-Cu LED CPU Cooler Review











> - Dimensions : 109 (L) x 109 (W) x 62 (H) mm
> - Weight : 755g
> - Base Material : Pure Copper
> - Dissipation Area : 3,154 cm2
> ...


Thats the LED version of it BTW


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

You should definatley look into a new HSF, as the Prescott P4s get very hot. Zalman makes nice HSFs, and the 7000 is a great pick. Also, are using the thermal pads that came with the CPU, or did you use Arctic Silver 5? You should use that instead of the thermal pads.


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## BuffaloChips (Oct 31, 2006)

Do any of you people realize we live in a fahrenheit world not celsius? you can configure speed fan to show that in degrees fahrenheit. 

Remember that your computer needs to be cleaned out frequently depending on where you live. Here where I live it really needs to be done monthly because there is a LOT of dust in the air. I live in a granite industrial area.

You are very lucky that MB's have the overheat feature these days. A few years back I got lazy and forgot about keeping mine clean and it cost me a MB and CPU.


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

Actually most of the world is metric, only the US and a few other places are holdouts


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## BuffaloChips (Oct 31, 2006)

Well, that is what i meant. We, as in Americans. The metric system is meaningless to me. especially in this sense.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

I live in the US, and I use metrics for measuring most things related to computers, since many members at TSF are not in the US, and, as twajetmech has pointed out, only the US and one or two other countries use the English system.

Use this for conversions:
http://www.digitaldutch.com/unitconverter/

Now let's stay on topic.


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

So are a lot of things we buy....ie a 2 liter of Coke, all the hardware in your automobile is now metric and thus all the tools needed for repair, computer hardware....bought a 80mm or 120mm fan recently...metric in the usa is far from meaninless, heck even in my business (Aviation) which is arguably the last outpost of using imperial standards, we still have to know the metric systems when servicing foreign aircraft whose guages are in metric graduants....wouldn't want to confuse gallons and liters....I would say using celcius here is good as practice.....ah now to go set my thermostat to a nice 24C


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## Kalim (Nov 24, 2006)

I'm from the US although I stay there rarely nowadays. If you ask me, I prefer the metric standard of measurement. Its the SI in all science, technology related fields and in daily affairs and heck, only the US and probably 2 more countries use a non-metric system in the world.


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

As a school teacher in the US I know that its taught here in the US....rude language will not be tolerated on the forum....one more outburst like that and I will ban you from the forum permanantly.


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## JagrSpeed (Nov 28, 2006)

How come the LED model is cheaper?:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118119

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118113

(Shouldn't the LED be more expensive? Does the non-LED perhaps have some better feature then?)

Is this what I need and is 1cc enough?:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007

Finally, one of you guys mentioned I need to get a fan too? I thought that the cpu has a fan built in over the chip already?!?! Ought I get a better one?

What's this about strong language?

Sorry about such a long response time-I had 2 finals today and have 5 next week for my Dental courses!

Thanks everyone so much for the help!!


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

> What's this about strong language?


That was not you JagrSpeed it was someone else that we had problems with and the language got edited out, so continue on and ignore that.

I am sure the guys will be back in to answer your questions


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## Kalim (Nov 24, 2006)

JagrSpeed said:


> How come the LED model is cheaper?:
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118119
> 
> ...


They look exactly the same and so are the features listed there in every way but for the LEDs. No idea of the price difference.

Here's the same for $35



> Is this what I need and is 1cc enough?:
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007


Yes. Enough for 25 CPU's.


> Finally, one of you guys mentioned I need to get a fan too? I thought that the cpu has a fan built in over the chip already?!?! Ought I get a better one?


If you get the Zalman you linked above, it will go over the CPU and you won't need another CPU fan. I don't know, maybe you were being advised for a System fan.


> What's this about strong language?


twajetmech replied to a post thats been deleted and was posted before his last post.


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

Both the led and plain versions offer the same performance, its a matter of taste....tthe price difference is probably due to demand. Yes, the AS-5 is what you'll want to use, and 1cc (3.5g) is more than enough to do several installations ! you only use an amount the size of a grain of rice ! Fan ? Well, if the airflow in your case is lacking, some higher cfm case fans will also help to improve cooling (I personally like Panaflo fans, they have high cfm and are still quite quiet) Some one else posted here using some bad language....nothing for you to worry about, it was deleted.


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## JagrSpeed (Nov 28, 2006)

I thnk I'm going to go with this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835118119

What's the deal with the LED light though? Could it cause any problems? Cause more heat? Perhaps use up more power? 
My tower isn't a see-through one so I don't think I could even see the light unless it shines through the fans on the back.
Is there a way to disable the LED light? Is everyone absolutely sure there aren't any drawbacks to getting the LED one?

Since I'll only use a portion of this, could it be saved for use later on (in a few years?):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835100007

I remember putting stuff on the cpu before-but I don't think it was a "thermal pad"-is that the same as the "goo" I used in the first place? (maybe I'm just confused on terminology?)

Finally, Kalim mentioned:

I'd follow their ^ advice and get the paste, a heatsink and a fan.

I still don't understand about the fan-I know that my third fan doesn't give a reading, but isn't that because there's no place for one?

Somebody mentioned that I could get a better fan(s) too-any suggestions (the panaflo seems to be sold out).

Thanks much!


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## twajetmech (Jul 1, 2004)

The LED version will not add any heat or use and additional power, so wheather you use the LED version or not is simply a matter of asthetics. The AS5 will last for a long time, put the unused portion in a ziplock bag and keep it in the refigerator (not freezer) until you need it again (even after a long time, if it seperates a bit....it will still work just fine, it will just be a bit harder to spread). The panaflo fans are in stock last I checked at frozencpu....What about the fans don't you understand ? If I may guess....some fans have a third wire that is used to send an rpm signal back to the motherboard, most do not have this feature....it makes not difference to the operation of the fan and most mobo's can only sense 1 or 2 fans so not being able to read the 3rd fan is no big deal. Also Yes, if there is no place for a third fan in your case then you will get a false reading or signal....you should be able to disable this reading if it is annoying dependant on the type of mobo you have and/or software the mobo has. Pabst aslo maks excellent fans, but they can be hard to find and a bit expensive if you do.


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