Member Avatar for ide

Hi

I am having a problem which I now starting to become more and more frequent , while doing some CPU intensive tasks like playing games, running vm machines my computer shuts down abruptly , there is no apparent reason for that however when I check my power supply after that than its very hot ?

and also the shutdown is not a clean one i.e. although the computer shuts down but still the caps, num lock led's on my keyboard remain on and computer does not start again unless I put off the power from mains and wait for 15-20 mins

what does it mean ? do I have a bad power supply or some other problem ?

  • 3 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 222 Views
  • 3 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by jermaghs07

Dani AI

Generated

The combination of symptoms reported by — abrupt, non‑clean power loss during heavy CPU/GPU use, a very hot PSU enclosure, and keyboard LEDs staying lit until AC is removed for ~15–20 minutes — most strongly implicates a power‑delivery or PSU protection failure rather than a pure software crash. rightly flagged the supply as a prime suspect and /@falcon correctly noted other hardware can mimic the behavior; the guidance below expands those suggestions into concrete, safe checks.

A key diagnostic clue is the keyboard LEDs staying powered after the machine “dies”: that usually means the PSU’s 5V standby rail is still present while the main rails have tripped or latched off (thermal/overcurrent protection). The fact the system only recovers after removing AC and waiting suggests a thermal latch or protection that needs the unit to cool and the internal capacitors to discharge.

Recommended troubleshooting steps (safe, sequential):

  • Collect system details (PSU make/model and rated wattage, system age, GPU/CPU, recent upgrades).
  • Check Windows Event Viewer for unexpected shutdowns (Kernel‑Power / Event ID 41 and Event ID 6008) to confirm abrupt power loss rather than graceful shutdown.
  • Monitor voltages and temperatures in BIOS or with a hardware-monitor tool while idle and under load; watch CPU/GPU temps and the +12V/+5V/+3.3V rails (ATX rails should stay within ~±5%).
  • Reproduce with one stress at a time (CPU only, GPU only) to isolate which load triggers failure.
  • Inspect PSU and case for dust, blocked airflow, a noisy/stopped PSU fan, or bulging/leaking capacitors (on the motherboard or PSU). Smell for burning—stop immediately if detected.
  • Use a quality PSU tester or swap in a known‑good PSU before buying a replacement.

Do not open the PSU (dangerous high voltages). If the PSU heats quickly, trips under modest load, or fails a tester/swap, replace it with a reputable unit with adequate wattage headroom and good cooling. These steps build on earlier replies while providing focused tests to isolate whether the supply, another component, or cooling is at fault.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for sittas87

id say its the psu. theres not enough power to supply yoyur hware.btw what is your pc specs incl psu watt

Member Avatar for jermaghs07

is it really twitchy when it shuts down? or does it just quit? it does sound like your PSU have you made any hardware changes recently?

Member Avatar for sittas87

while reading this tread that falcon responded to im thing that It can be any other hardware that is starting to malfunction.I have a pc at home where the 160g hd is causing it to do axactly the the same.look into your event viewer for leads
PS : PSU is still a possible cause though

Member Avatar for jermaghs07

yea there are a number of hardware issues that could cause this problem...

commented: like youre advice on treads +2
Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.