Computer keeps shutting down!

[iamasloth]

Hi,

I use my computer to edit photos and have noticed that it has been shutting down completely whenever I try to edit too many photos in one go, or if I have several different windows open at a time.

I'm not exactly tech savvy, but I did some research and read that it could be a bad PSU. So I switched it from Coolermaster 500 to Antec Neo Eco 620, and am still experiencing the same problem, maybe even a little more frequently!

Any help would be very much appreciated!

The rest of my specs:
CPU: Intel Quad Core 2 Q9400 2.66Ghz
Mother board: ASUS P5Q PRO (EPU) P45
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 4870
RAM: Kingston 2x2GB DDR2 800
PSU: Coolermaster 500; then upgraded to Antec Neo Eco 620
HDD: WD SATA 750GB
Monitor: Dell 2209WA

 

[jnewegger23]

What operating system are you running? At first by your description I thought it may be a problem with not enough ram but 4GB should be more than enough. Also, when was the last time you updated the bios and the video card driver?

 

[EmailSupport]

Are your cords all tightly plugged in on the inside of your computer. I know I hate being asked this question too but it's a common mistake. Or your power cell battery might be bad in your motherboard. I'm not an expert but I'm just throwing off things I could think of possible failures in the system. Aswell as what jnewegger23 said you might need to update your BIOS if it's out of date.

 

[iamasloth]

Thanks for the replies.

jnewegger23 - Windows 7. Admittedly I'm not sure when I last updated BIOS and drivers, so will look into that and report back. This can cause the computer to shut down..?

Emailsupport - Yeah I'm pretty sure they're all tight. There IS one 4-pin connector with a loose pin that pops out after unconnecting/reconnecting a few times, but I made sure this was tight.

 

[jnewegger23]

If the driver is designed for new demands that a bios wants, this can in turn affect video signal and yes cause shut downs. I'm not ruling out your power supply, just recommending possibly easier solutions.

The reason I asked about what version of windows is if you have a 64bit version you may be able to add more ram. 32bit limits you to 4GB as your max but 64bit versions of windows allows you 16 to 192GB maximums.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa366778%28v=vs.85%29.aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_7

 

[EmailSupport]

You might have something wrong with the cooling in your computer. The computer might be overheating. Are your fans all running smoothly at a decent fast running pace and is there a good path of airflow to your motherboard, cpu, gpu? If your cooling all checks out, there might possibly be a lot of dust blocking the air flow on the inside of the fans. Another possible solution might be your heatsink and thermal paste. Take off the heatsink and check for the paste. You may need to re apply new paste or get a new heatsink as overheating cpu's can shutdown your PC

 

[EmailSupport]

Also, do you have a good antivirus? There may be a Trojan on the computer that shuts down your PC because this has happened to me. And not just the free antivirus stuff. Sometimes certain companies don't catch the really deep Trojans from the free version unlike full version antiviruses

 

[iamasloth]

Hey guys, it was definitely an overheating problem. I downloaded Realtemp and HWmonitor and both gave me readings of about 70-80 in idle and about 100 when watching videos etc!

Sure enough the fans on the CPU and graphics card were caked with dust. I removed it all, and also changed the thermal paste on the CPU (used Arctic Silver 5).

On start up, my comp was noticeably more quiet and the readings on the heat monitors were much lower (50 in idle and 70 when using stuff).

Very glad to have the problem fixed, plus I now have an extra PSU as a backup I guess lol.

Thanks for all the input, very much appreciated!

 

[EmailSupport]

Good to know everything works well, yea it's a good idea to make sure you clean your computer at least once every two months or earlier if you have the time. I do it once a month but I'm a heavy gamer.