Computer keeps shutting down, won't stay on.

[Super Warrior]

Ok a family member had one of my old computers, it was originally a gateway that i rebuilt into a better case. A month ago it started having problems, not being able to stay on, constantly shutting down occasionally showing the blue screen of death.

This gateway was pretty old and even if this was not the problem, i thought it would be good to upgrade it anyway to bring it up to spec with today's basic comps and it would solve the problem too.

I put in a new motherboard, CPU, HDD, and even replaced the power supply. Even though its pretty much a whole new computer now, after a bit the problem continued! Not being able to stay on for very long, suddenly shutting down w/blue screen. I replaced damn near everything in the system with new hardware, so why is this still happening?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[redwudz]

Replaced the MB, CPU, PS, Hard drives. What about memory and video card? That would be next on my list to substitute with known good devices.

And, though it wouldn't cause a blue screen, check the operation of the front panel off/on switch. You can substitute the reset switch terminals.

And I would first unplug all drives except the boot and all cards except the video card. That shouldn't leave much else to be the cause of the problem.

[TaoTeWingChun]

Hey Super,

Sorry to hear about the PC shutting down on you like that. I had a similar problem a while back and discovered a few things:

1 - Over-clocked CPU's can exhibit this behavior, especially if adequate cooling is not provided (key point!);
2 - Inferior cooling can crash computers faster than the blink of an eye;
3 - Sensitive settings for CPU/System heat thresholds in your CMOS can prematurely shut down an otherwise fine system, although typically you'd hear several beeps before then;
4 - Faulty memory modules cause erratic system behavior. Try using one module at a time to validate stability, and swap memory between the problematic PC and a functioning PC;
5 - Don't forget that there are numerous software issues to account for as well, from drivers to Windows file system corruption.

I would start by writing down the BSOD error code next time it crashes and looking the code up on Google Groups to see if others have reported it and what it points to. That will at least help you funnel down the potential area that you'd need to investigate, whether hardware or software.

Good Luck!

TTWC

[Super Warrior]

Replaced the MB, CPU, PS, Hard drives. What about memory and video card? That would be next on my list to substitute with known good devices.

And, though it wouldn't cause a blue screen, check the operation of the front panel off/on switch. You can substitute the reset switch terminals.

And I would first unplug all drives except the boot and all cards except the video card. That shouldn't leave much else to be the cause of the problem.

This was meant to be a basic Pc, so i was sure to select a motherboard with Integrated video/audio. So no video card problems.

Lately i've been thinking it is something electrical...like maybe i did something wrong with the board standoffs. I remember i only had a few in there.

[redwudz]

As long as each board standoff is in it's proper place, there should be no problems there. Flexing the case around should tell you if that's your problem.

I'm assuming you did use different memory modules. I'm also assuming the computer is doing all this before programs are installed, on the off chance it's a software problem.

If you have ruled out all the above, then you might have a bad motherboard. Very unlikely, especially when it has the same problem as the other system.

[DarrellS]

The only other thing you didn't replace besides the memory is the case.

My brother built a new computer and after returning one motherboard and replacing the power supply, discovered that he had a bad case by visiting the ASUS website and being instructed to test everything outside of the case. He replaced the case and hasn't had a problem since.

[aedipuss]

i had one exhibit some of those problems and it ended up being loose power connectors from the power supply. they clicked in but they would intermittently loose power to a hard drive or cd/dvd drive. windows would blue screen saying there was a change in the number of ide devices.

check your power connectors and make sure a slight tug can't pull them out.

another thing to check is that the voltage supplied to the memory chips is correct(not all work at standard voltage) and the timings aren't set to low.