Computer randomly shuts down - Please help!

[Wayne.]

Hello,

For awhile now, my computer has been suddenly turning off whenever I watch movies. I am getting a brand new comp in a couple of months or so, therefore I decided that I'd just avoid watching movies on here until then. However, now it's shutting down even when I'm just browsing the internet and not doing anything specific.

When I say it shuts down, the screen will go to standby, and you can still hear the fan but nothing's on. Also, a couple of weeks ago I put on my computer, and the fan was making a loud droning noise. I had to switch it off/on a couple of times before the noise stopped.

I'm afraid hardware is a weak point of mine, but I'm convinced this must be a hardware problem though. I don't really want to splash out money for new parts (because I'm saving up for a new comp), so I hope I'll be able to at least keep it going until then.

BRIEF COMP INFO
Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2600+ 1.92GHz
RAM: 256MB
H/D: 80GB

Please help.

[Xpenetrator]

and the fan was making a loud droning noise.

Which fan? Problems like yours are often caused by overheating issues. Check the CPU and environment temperature in the BIOS. Droning fans on CPU heatsinks are a bad thing because a overheating CPU can catch up damage easily. Failing case fans can overheat all the rest (memory, chipset), too.

[Chaky]

With AMD fan, you're lucky your CPU isn't toasted.

A tip: ~$30 fo new (serious) CPU fan and you'll have 2 healthy PCs in couple of months.

[Wayne.]

Okay, people. Here's the info from when I took a look into the BIOS:

SYSTEM TEMP: 26°C/78°F
CPU TEMP: 87°C/188°F
CPU FAN SPEED: 3835 RPM
SYSTEM FAN SPEED: 0 RPM

Does that shed any light at all?

Thanks.

[Chaky]

Okay, people. Here's the info from when I took a look into the BIOS:

SYSTEM TEMP: 26°C/78°F
CPU TEMP: 87°C/188°F
CPU FAN SPEED: 3835 RPM
SYSTEM FAN SPEED: 0 RPM

Does that shed any light at all?

Thanks.

Whoooa! CPU is COOKING!!

Immediately clear the heatsink, or check if it is seated properly.

It should be in the neighborhood of 40 °C.

[Xpenetrator]

Does that shed any light at all?

Yes.

CPU TEMP: 87°C/188°F

That's way too hot and just before shutting down or dying, depending on your mobo's features. A typical healthy temperature under full load for that CPU is between 45°C and 60°C, depending on heatsink and airflow in the case.

[Xpenetrator]

You were faster, Charky :mrgreen: And I'm afraid that's the idle temp. he measured, that means that thing really shut off all the time... ~4000 rpm, that could really be the stock / boxed cooler.

[Chaky]

Kind of, instant second opinion.

[Wayne.]

Hello, thanks for getting back to me.

I put it on just now, and the CPU TEMP reads at 49°C. However, it was going up one digit at a time.

Is there anything I can do, besides purchasing a new piece of hardware? I opened the case to have a look, and nothing really stands out, such as a disconnection. But I don't have much of a clue when it comes to hardware, as I already said.

[Chaky]

You can clean the heatsink (remove the dust that deposited over time).

Also you can check if the heatsink is seated properly. It has to be tight on the CPU. Any slack would result in heat not being spread to the heatsink, therefore CPU isn't getting cooled.

If you have thermal paste, best action would be to take off the heatsink (it's real simple - no screws), clean it from the dust and remove the old thermal paste from heatsink and from CPU, and apply thin layer of new thermal paste.

At the present state, it is not advised to you that you use the PC before it is taken care of.

[Wayne.]

Okay, well I removed the CPU fan and then took care of the dust on top of the heatsink.

At the moment, it's 62 °C/144 °F. I shall report back though if/when it becomes hotter and/or shuts down again.