My Computer switches off Randomly

[damohonda]

Well I say Random, its mainly failing to boot. Although sometimes it boots and other times it doesn't.
I have 2 hard drives on there with different operating systems so it can't be both hard drives at the same time. (although coincidently possible)
I'm trying to work out whether its the CPU, Memory or Power supply.
For example,
I will switch on and it might make it to Windows log on, or not. if it resets, it tends to just keep resetting and not getting past the first page (press del for bios)
I've tried different (old) memory sticks that have been stored for a while so don't really know the integrity of the sticks, they could all be damaged...

Any ideas? Could it be CPU ?

its quite an old computer that I have not used for a long time Pentium 4. Its set up for recording using an old EWS card..

 

[chef7734]

first thing I would do is download memtest86 and creat a boot flash drive or cd and run tests of that.\
http://www.memtest86.com/
That will rule out the memory.

When is the last time the thermal compound and heatsink was cleaned and reapplied?

 

[damohonda]

first thing I would do is download memtest86 and creat a boot flash drive or cd and run tests of that.\
http://www.memtest86.com/
That will rule out the memory.

When is the last time the thermal compound and heatsink was cleaned and reapplied?

I can't get on long enough to download anything... but I've got 5 different memory sticks 2 X 1gb 1 x 512 & 2 x 256. they can't all be faulty either?!
Its been a long time since I added any thermal paste, I reckon at least over 5 years..
Should I replace CPU ?

 

[chef7734]

Pull off heat-sink clean cpu. Remove cpu from socket and reinert int.. Reinstall thermal compond and reinstall heatsink and fan. Install one dimm of memory and boot pc see what happens.


Statistically speaking the cpu has a longer life than the motherboard would have.

 

[damohonda]

Pull off heat-sink clean cpu. Remove cpu from socket and reinert int.. Reinstall thermal compond and reinstall heatsink and fan. Install one dimm of memory and boot pc see what happens.


Statistically speaking the cpu has a longer life than the motherboard would have.

any idea how to remove the heat sink?

its one of these https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/XfOgaXSLSXNoUYEv.medium

 

[chef7734]

Yep flip the two white clips on top and seperate the 4 places where the two black parts clip together. You should be able to find a video on youtube.

 

[damohonda]

Yep flip the two white clips on top and seperate the 4 places where the two black parts clip together. You should be able to find a video on youtube.

Managed to get it off I removed CPU cleaned around everything re inserted, I don't have any thermal paste but when I switched it back on it was bleeping like a police siren....

 

[chef7734]

thats because no thermal compound and overheating. You need thermal compound.

 

[damohonda]

ok,
thanks for the help,

I've ordered some and I saw a P4 cpu for 3.99, might get that too!

i'll let you know the outcome when I get the paste

thats because no thermal compound and overheating. You need thermal compound.

 

[breek]

Hey Damo. I hope I can soak a little more information from you and help here.
Does it always get to the pre-BIOS boot screen (Press Del, F10, F12, etc.)? Do you have an overclock on your CPU? Can you give us a breakdown of your parts? Ideally, the make and models of each. As comprehensible as possible.
E.g.:
Intel i5 6600k
Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 5 mobo
Corsair CX 500w (hehe)
etc.

My goal is to see if you've got any cheap parts that are notoriously faulty. As Chef said, you will definitely need thermal compound on there. The fact it was beeping is a good sign! Were you getting any beeps before? One short beep on boot means it started up correctly and should make it into Windows. Were you getting multiple beeps? Long beeps? Short beeps? Any info will help, especially with the mobo make and model.

Chef's recommendation to test it with only 1 stick of ram is definitely your next step. Check with your mobo manual for which slot to put it in, or guess and check.