- Nov 28, 2022
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I have been having trouble with an 8-year-old(?) Power Spec build. The computer has a Dual core 3.2 GHz Intel Pentium G3258, with a Quadro K2000 inside of it, and I use it for very light gaming, 3D modeling, and YouTube video watching. It also has a MSI z97 pc mate motherboard if that helps anything. The only part I have added recently was the Quadro card, and that’s it. Rest have been there from the day it was put together.
So, one day, while I was using the computer to play Roblox, the computer suddenly shut down randomly, and I thought the PC had over heated, as the computer felt a bit hot. I did have a desk fan running at the time so I thought that the room might have been hot as well, so I also stopped using that and made sure to cool the room. And after that, the next day, I went into the uefi and changed the smart fan speeds and shrugged it off.
That same day, while I was chatting on the Xbox app, doing something else in the backround, it suddenly shut down again, and when I turned the computer on and went into the uefi interface, the degrees was around 43 C, which was just about 40 C under the “too high” temperature. And not only that, but the fans also were not ramping up to cool the computer down, so that was another sign the computer wasn’t overheating (and I have heard the fans ramp up before, so I’m pretty sure they are working properly).
Also do want to note, that when the computer turned back on after these mysterious shutdowns, it would claim that the uefi settings were reset, despite the CMOS battery still being in, and the computer has not done this in the past except for when these sudden shutdowns started to happen if that information helps.
So, I started researching, and I found that if you reset the CMOS, you can sometimes fix sudden shut down issues. So, I unplugged the computer, opened it, and took the battery out for a few minutes and put it back in. And while I was at it, I also found a lot of dust that I had missed the last time I de dusted the PC, so I got rid of all of that. While I was doing that, I also found that the front case fan was disconnected, so I reconnected that. I also replaced the power cable with a new one, just in case that could have been the issue, as the power cable I was using was old.
After that for the next 1 and a half days, the computer worked fine. At one point, I had to go do something, so I ended up putting the computer in sleep mode and I went downstairs. When I came back up, I tried to turn the computer back on, and when it tried to come on, it immediately powered off. I tried about 4 times to turn the computer on, and every time it would turn on but then immediate power off. And only when I unplugged the power cable and put it back into the computer, then did it finally turn on.
So, this made me believe the power supply was failing, as the power supply, as far as I knew, had never been replaced in the computer’s lifetime, (it has an EVGA 600w B power supply, just for context) so I thought that could have been it. So, I did a multimeter test on it, and as far as I know, all the voltages tested out as fine. I did include the voltages below, so if you do see something that doesn’t add up, be sure to let me know.
5.18 Volts
12.28 Volts
3.40 Volts
Minus voltage was 12.08
So, what I’m wondering now is that is it possible for the Power supply to show good voltages and still be bad? Or does that mean it’s the motherboard going out, or some other part?
I haven’t used the computer in a week because I was scared to use the computer due to me thinking the power supply was failing, and I just did the power supply test just a while ago and I still haven’t put the power supply back in, which I’m going to do soon, so if anything, else happens from using the computer again ill update in the comments
There also was a lot of dust in the computer, and I went through and cleaned a lot of that out, so could it be dust that is causing any problems?
Also, the thing I’m wondering the most right now, is that if the computer is safe for me to use or not with this issue going on. As if the power supply isn’t going out, honestly, I wouldn’t be too irritated to keep using the computer despite this problem going on, as it doesn’t seem to happen too constantly, just from what I have observed. Again, what I do care about is weather I could damage my PC from using it or not with this issue going on.
Now keep in mind, I’m a broke college student, and recently I had to spend some of my spending cash on some stuff I needed, and now I’m going to be a bit short on money for a while, so if it’s not the power supply, if anyone knows any other solutions other than buying a new motherboard that I could try, that would be great, as I could afford a new board, but I would rather not buy one unless I have to. Also keep in mind buying a new PC right now is out of the question for me.
Thank for reading, and all help is appreciated.
So, one day, while I was using the computer to play Roblox, the computer suddenly shut down randomly, and I thought the PC had over heated, as the computer felt a bit hot. I did have a desk fan running at the time so I thought that the room might have been hot as well, so I also stopped using that and made sure to cool the room. And after that, the next day, I went into the uefi and changed the smart fan speeds and shrugged it off.
That same day, while I was chatting on the Xbox app, doing something else in the backround, it suddenly shut down again, and when I turned the computer on and went into the uefi interface, the degrees was around 43 C, which was just about 40 C under the “too high” temperature. And not only that, but the fans also were not ramping up to cool the computer down, so that was another sign the computer wasn’t overheating (and I have heard the fans ramp up before, so I’m pretty sure they are working properly).
Also do want to note, that when the computer turned back on after these mysterious shutdowns, it would claim that the uefi settings were reset, despite the CMOS battery still being in, and the computer has not done this in the past except for when these sudden shutdowns started to happen if that information helps.
So, I started researching, and I found that if you reset the CMOS, you can sometimes fix sudden shut down issues. So, I unplugged the computer, opened it, and took the battery out for a few minutes and put it back in. And while I was at it, I also found a lot of dust that I had missed the last time I de dusted the PC, so I got rid of all of that. While I was doing that, I also found that the front case fan was disconnected, so I reconnected that. I also replaced the power cable with a new one, just in case that could have been the issue, as the power cable I was using was old.
After that for the next 1 and a half days, the computer worked fine. At one point, I had to go do something, so I ended up putting the computer in sleep mode and I went downstairs. When I came back up, I tried to turn the computer back on, and when it tried to come on, it immediately powered off. I tried about 4 times to turn the computer on, and every time it would turn on but then immediate power off. And only when I unplugged the power cable and put it back into the computer, then did it finally turn on.
So, this made me believe the power supply was failing, as the power supply, as far as I knew, had never been replaced in the computer’s lifetime, (it has an EVGA 600w B power supply, just for context) so I thought that could have been it. So, I did a multimeter test on it, and as far as I know, all the voltages tested out as fine. I did include the voltages below, so if you do see something that doesn’t add up, be sure to let me know.
5.18 Volts
12.28 Volts
3.40 Volts
Minus voltage was 12.08
So, what I’m wondering now is that is it possible for the Power supply to show good voltages and still be bad? Or does that mean it’s the motherboard going out, or some other part?
I haven’t used the computer in a week because I was scared to use the computer due to me thinking the power supply was failing, and I just did the power supply test just a while ago and I still haven’t put the power supply back in, which I’m going to do soon, so if anything, else happens from using the computer again ill update in the comments
There also was a lot of dust in the computer, and I went through and cleaned a lot of that out, so could it be dust that is causing any problems?
Also, the thing I’m wondering the most right now, is that if the computer is safe for me to use or not with this issue going on. As if the power supply isn’t going out, honestly, I wouldn’t be too irritated to keep using the computer despite this problem going on, as it doesn’t seem to happen too constantly, just from what I have observed. Again, what I do care about is weather I could damage my PC from using it or not with this issue going on.
Now keep in mind, I’m a broke college student, and recently I had to spend some of my spending cash on some stuff I needed, and now I’m going to be a bit short on money for a while, so if it’s not the power supply, if anyone knows any other solutions other than buying a new motherboard that I could try, that would be great, as I could afford a new board, but I would rather not buy one unless I have to. Also keep in mind buying a new PC right now is out of the question for me.
Thank for reading, and all help is appreciated.
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