Computer keeps powering off instantly - is it screwed?

Tomasson

Commendable
Apr 14, 2016
2
0
1,510
Hi, any advice at all much appreciated. PC specs: Novatech FX-8 8320, 120gb SSD + 2TB hard disk, 16gb ram, windows 7 64 bit, 2.5 years old.

Had the odd random power down in the past, but over the last 2 days my PC keeps powering off instantly with no warning, and when I turn it back on it doesn't last very long until it powers off again (about 30 mins tops in safe mode).

Things tried already:

Ran a health report, said 'avg. disk queue length 3 - disk may be at maximum capacity due to throughput and disk seeks', but looked again after a temperamental system restore and wasn't there, yet still had the problem. It also said it didn't see an antivirus software installed, but I have Avast free version installed, and ran a virus check with this which didn't come back with any viruses (said vlc and adobe needed updating, and there were some performance issues but wouldn't resolve on free version).

I tried changing the power settings to balanced, disabled the antivirus temporarily, and dusted the inside the PC with that special computer spray stuff, but none of that helped.

I tried a system restore in startup repair which didn't work, and tried another one from a restore point a week ago, but the PC powered down before it got anywhere. I also tried one in safe mode and got the same result, and sometimes the PC powers down right after selecting startup repair when it's booting up.

I tried a disk cleanup on the SSD, but as soon as it's starting the PC powers down.

My friend thinks I should reformat the PC, but it came with windows 7 installed on the machine and I don't have an installation disk for it, so don't know what I should do there either.

If anyone has any advice with this it'd be really appreciated, I don't really have a clue now.

Cheers!
 
Solution
I would check that PSU, it may have been marginal from the beginning. With those ready made computers it's not unusual to have "Just enough" PSU which may loose some power after a while.


Cheers, but turned out to be a hidden layer of fluff between the processor fan and heat sink, thanks anyway!