Old house wiring could be causing my computer to shut down?

[M4condom]

So i'm not sure if i posted this in the right place if I didn't than i'm sorry but i had to ask I recently moved my sons gaming rig down from his room in the attic to the living room (his attic room was completely redone a few years ago wiring and all) his computers, tv, AC units, and such all ran fine up in that room after moving the "rig" as he would call it down to the living room we noticed that the pc would shut itself off and turn itself right back on in the matter of a second (I heard our washing machine kick in to one of its cycles right as the pc turned itself off) now the wiring down on our first floor is very old we live in an old old house as i said before the wiring in his attic is all redone and brand new something to note our kitchen wiring is very out of date and old to the point where if we turn the microwave and toaster oven on at the same time it'll trip the breaker and one of us would have to go down and reset the breaker switch for the kitchen, So i guess what i'm asking here is.. Old wiring on my houses first floor could it maybe not be able to handle a huge 40 pound gaming rig pc? the pc's psu itself is 750 wt and the power strip ups we just bought is 350 wt i know it could be a problem with the computer itself but this would be the FIFTH computer we have sent in and gotten a replacement for, after the third one i was suspecting the old outlet plus the power strip/psu is plugged in to but my son insisted it was the mobo inside said computers we were sending back to new egg and receiving replacements. Just need some thoughts or ideas on this and if you think I should move the "rig" back up to the attic where his older computers one of which had a 1000 wt power supply worked like a champ. One last thing to note the outlet he has his ups plugged in to is very "touchy" at best i noticed just while i was writing this that if i pushed in on the ups plug while it was plugged in to the outlet it would kick the battery on as if i had unplugged the ups from the wall not sure if that made sense i hope it does, So the wall outlet hes got all this stuff plugged in to is very very old and sensitive is the word i'm looking for. Thanks again

-Nick

 

[aldan]

our house is 110 years old and still has a 60a service so i doubt if it is the wiring per se. find out what else is running on the circuit as something may be drawing enough amperage to shut down your comp. theoretically it should trip the breaker. try and set your computer up on a circuit without heavy usage ie washer-dryer, stove,dishwasher etc. also check what amperage breaker you have on the circuit and go with the max allowable but do not go over. basically on a 120v circuit you can go to a 15a breaker but no more on that old wiring.hope this helps. and by all means use a power bar at the very least.

 

[USAFRet]

(I heard our washing machine kick in to one of its cycles right as the pc turned itself off)

...kitchen wiring is very out of date and old to the point where if we turn the microwave and toaster oven on at the same time it'll trip the breaker...

One last thing to note the outlet he has his ups plugged in to is very "touchy" at best i noticed just while i was writing this that if i pushed in on the ups plug while it was plugged in to the outlet it would kick the battery on as if i had unplugged the ups from the wall

Sounds like the house needs to be rewired.

 

[quicksand10]

Replacing a wall outlet is very simple if you know someone that is handy (or if you, yourself, are handy).

Either way, though, if you have a UPS (uninterrupted power supply), these shut downs shouldn't be happening.
Does your UPS look like this:

Or like this (this is a "power bar"):

I'd suggest that you first replace this "sensitive" wall outlet. Getting a UPS should fix the problem, if it persists.

 

[aldan]

sometimes rewiring is not an option so lets go with the simple approach.find the circuit close to the computer with the lightest load and use it. use a power bar and,if feasible,an uninteruped power supply.i have two computers running in my old house,as well as other electronics and have no problems at all.to find the lightest load shut down a breaker and take note of what doesnt work. if a lot of things dont work you probably dont want to use that circuit.its basically a process of elimination.its not likely a wall outlet as much as an overloaded circuit.

 

[M4condom]

our house is 110 years old and still has a 60a service so i doubt if it is the wiring per se. find out what else is running on the circuit as something may be drawing enough amperage to shut down your comp. theoretically it should trip the breaker. try and set your computer up on a circuit without heavy usage ie washer-dryer, stove,dishwasher etc. also check what amperage breaker you have on the circuit and go with the max allowable but do not go over. basically on a 120v circuit you can go to a 15a breaker but no more on that old wiring.hope this helps. and by all means use a power bar at the very least.

I wonder if that could be the answer here with all the wiring redone in the attic where he had a much larger and more powerful computer hooked up and ran it almost 24/7 never had these types of problems the only things drawing any power up there would have been his ceiling light fixtures (2 of them) his TV, xbox, and there were never any problems like this the attic being three floors above the floor the computer is on now.

(I heard our washing machine kick in to one of its cycles right as the pc turned itself off)

...kitchen wiring is very out of date and old to the point where if we turn the microwave and toaster oven on at the same time it'll trip the breaker...

One last thing to note the outlet he has his ups plugged in to is very "touchy" at best i noticed just while i was writing this that if i pushed in on the ups plug while it was plugged in to the outlet it would kick the battery on as if i had unplugged the ups from the wall

Sounds like the house needs to be rewired.

 

[M4condom]

Thanks for all the help guys i just don't get why when the computers where up in the attic there was never a problem like this and like i said its been five different computers i could see one or two but 5 different computers having the same problem just strikes me as fishy and really wondering if its the outlet itself or i should just move the computer back up to the attic i only moved all my sons stuff out of the attic so he would be less inclined to sit around his room all day playing his MMO. Trying to be a good dad you know its not easy lol

 

[aldan]

like i said before,find the circuit with the least load ie traffic and if feasible use it for the computer.it is not likely to be the outlet. being a supply problem it will exhibit the same symptoms for all computers plugged in there. if you are not sure how to find out which outlet has the least load,you can try plugging into each available outlet untill one works for you.i dont recommend this method tho. just an afterthought,do know any electricians? if you are unsure of how to proceed consulting one might be an option.if there is anything i have posted that you dont understand,please let me know and i will walk you thru it step by step.

 

[M4condom]

like i said before,find the circuit with the least load ie traffic and if feasible use it for the computer.it is not likely to be the outlet. being a supply problem it will exhibit the same symptoms for all computers plugged in there. if you are not sure how to find out which outlet has the least load,you can try plugging into each available outlet untill one works for you.i dont recommend this method tho. just an afterthought,do know any electricians? if you are unsure of how to proceed consulting one might be an option.if there is anything i have posted that you dont understand,please let me know and i will walk you thru it step by step.

Nope i understand everything again thank you for the help i'm now pretty set on just moving his rig back up to the attic where he never had these problems. As i said he ran a much more powerful computer with a much larger power supply up in his room almost 24/7 and never had any problems like this. Which makes me guess that room or the circuits in those rooms has little to no traffic up there seeing as how he pretty much just has lights and a TV and an AC unit. I wish i could just blame newegg for sending a compute with a bad PSU but this would be 3 new egg pcs that have all had the same problem and 2 alien ware pcs from best buy. one thing that does make me wonder tho is that with the UPS these shut downs shouldn't be happening like someone else said and everything else plugged in to the ups IE router and cable modem keep their power. Its only the PC itself turning off for just a split second turning back on and there are no events in the event log under hardware.

So strange.

 

[aldan]

you know any kid i know would want the attic.lol. know what you mean about old wiring tho. we cant run the toaster and the washing machine at the same time without tripping the breaker. cheers. Al.

 

[M4condom]

Replacing a wall outlet is very simple if you know someone that is handy (or if you, yourself, are handy).

Either way, though, if you have a UPS (uninterrupted power supply), these shut downs shouldn't be happening.
Does your UPS look like this:

Or like this (this is a "power bar"):



I'd suggest that you first replace this "sensitive" wall outlet. Getting a UPS should fix the problem, if it persists.

Yes the psu looks along the lines of the first picture it has a 15 minute battery life built in but i just thought or somthing... like i said anything i plus in to that wall outlet is very loose if that makes sense? like its just a very loose wallout let lol and it just sorta hit me =p do you think lets say vibration in the walls or like a big truck drving by the house causing the wall to shake or someone walking by the computer casing the loose outlet to turn the power off than back on?

 

[aldan]

shut the breaker down and install a new outlet.they are very easy to do but if in doubt find an electrician.

 

[quicksand10]

shut the breaker down and install a new outlet.they are very easy to do but if in doubt find an electrician.

^+1

Also, if the UPS is old, you may need to replace it if it doesn't work anymore to keep the computer powered.

 

[M4condom]

shut the breaker down and install a new outlet.they are very easy to do but if in doubt find an electrician.

^+1

Also, if the UPS is old, you may need to replace it if it doesn't work anymore to keep the computer powered.

Please if you could tell me when buying a ups should you match it to the psu my ups is only 350 wts and my sons computer psu is 750 wts

 

[quicksand10]

Please if you could tell me when buying a ups should you match it to the psu my ups is only 350 wts and my sons computer psu is 750 wts

As a matter of fact, it would be ideal to buy a UPS which exceeds the PSUs wattage (to also protect the screen, speakers, etc.).