Question Is this a virus?

Mar 14, 2023
3
0
10
I help my father with the computers in his small office. There is one computer that randomly turns off once every week. Now it started to not send a signal to the monitors. When this happens, the reset button does not work. I have to press the shutdown button and hold until the computer turns off at once, I tried to push it and wait but it does not work. Although this last one might be an office file asking if I want to save it.

I also heard a trickling sound inside the case, like when a stabilizer is not getting enough power (or maybe too much, I do not know) from the power outlet. Maybe this is a question in the Power Supply section of this forum, but I would like to rule out virus first.

The computers just run Windows Defender and it did not find anything. I downloaded Bitdefender and Malwarebytes to run scans and nothing too. I also checked the SSD health and it is at 92%. I tested the monitors (It has 2, like every computer in the office) in other computers and they work fine. I connected it to other monitors and it finally worked, but I do not know what is the problem.

Finally, all computers run Windows 10 and have an i5 8400 CPU, a 240 GB Kingston Sata SSD, 1 8GB stick of DDR4 Corsair Vengeance, a 300w Cooler Master PSU and stock cooler. All computers in the office were bought at the same time. I bought the parts brand new from a reputable distributor and built them myself. All other computers work fine. This is an accounting office by the way so no heavy work loads.
 
Sounds more like a hardware issue to me.
My first instinct is the PSU, based on the description as well as it being a "300w cooler master" unit, that screams poor quality.
How involved are you with the system, specifically during their down time? Would you be able to swap out a known working PSU into that system and see if it helps?
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
Look in Reliability History and Event Viewer.

Either one or both may reveal some error code, warning, or even an informational event being captured just before or at the time the computer turns off.

Start with Reliability History. Much more user friendly and the timeline format can make problems stand out and/or reveal patterns.

Event Viewer requires more time and effort.

To help:

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-3128616/windows-event-viewer.html
 
Mar 14, 2023
3
0
10
Sounds more like a hardware issue to me.
My first instinct is the PSU, based on the description as well as it being a "300w cooler master" unit, that screams poor quality.
How involved are you with the system, specifically during their down time? Would you be able to swap out a known working PSU into that system and see if it helps?

About the PSU, it was the best I could find in my country (Brazil) below 400w. I will try to switch the PSU. I will put it on my own system in the office and see if a get the same problem.

Look in Reliability History and Event Viewer.

Either one or both may reveal some error code, warning, or even an informational event being captured just before or at the time the computer turns off.

Start with Reliability History. Much more user friendly and the timeline format can make problems stand out and/or reveal patterns.

Event Viewer requires more time and effort.

To help:

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-3128616/windows-event-viewer.html

I will try it and after hours and post what I find.

For now, thank both of you.
 
Mar 14, 2023
3
0
10
Look in Reliability History and Event Viewer.

Either one or both may reveal some error code, warning, or even an informational event being captured just before or at the time the computer turns off.

Start with Reliability History. Much more user friendly and the timeline format can make problems stand out and/or reveal patterns.

Event Viewer requires more time and effort.

To help:

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-3128616/windows-event-viewer.html

The Reliability History showed at least one hardware failure that crashed Windows. The Event Viewer shows multiple critical failures of "KernelPower" that forced the system to shut down. It also showed several events of the computer shutting down unexpectedly. That is the power supply, right? It is not the grid, no other computer shows the same behavior.
 

Ralston18

Titan
Moderator
If you click on any given errors, etc., more details will be presented. The details may or may not be helpful.

But do look for the error codes and then research accordingly.

No need to immediately reach and start applying "fixes" that you find online, etc.. No apps claiming to fix the problem and no registry edits.

Registry edits are a last resort and, if attempted, should be done only after a full system backup including the registry itself.

However, in full agreement with @Gam3r01 regarding that 300 watt PSU. In my mind that PSU is a prime suspect.

Increasing numbers of errors and more varying errors would make the PSU even more suspect.

Try to obtain a PSU with more than 300 or 400 watts.

Use the wattage calculator in the following link to determine the appropriate wattage for the build.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-psus,4229.html