Computer Problem... Need Help!

[Keebler Elf]

So I came home from work to find my PC off. Which is unusual because I normally leave it running. My first thought was a power failure but all my clocks were fine so that's not it.

I tried powering up but nothing. I unplugged and retried a couple times and after a few tries my PC booted up. I got the message that Windows had improperly shut down but it booted normally and everything loaded up. I thought something sounded a little different...

I immediately tried to check Admin Tools in the Control Panel to see what happened and when and what the last error message was that caused the shutdown. As soon as I tried to enter the Admin Tools, however, I got a Windows Explorer error message and got kicked out of Control Panel. I tried again and then my PC powered right off. No shutdown message or anything.

I'm thinking it's the power supply but my power supply is no more than 2 years old and it's a quality brand so that's a little surprising.

Anyone have any thoughts about what the culprit is?

I'm tempted to just go buy another power supply but if the problem could be something else then it might be better to put that money towards having a techy look at it.

 

[dreamblade]

Corruption in the OS, definitely, but may be due to either the motherboard or CPU being faulty. Check your bios on reboot for processor temperature. Could be the CPU fan overheating, as well.

Also, you will have to run CHKDSK to get rid of those errors, before or after you find the hardware source of the problem.

That's all I can say from your info, sorry.

 

[Cycleguy007]

My first thought is faulty fan as well, and it is overheating...

 

[The Bandit]

So I came home from work to find my PC off. Which is unusual because I normally leave it running.

I can never, ever, understand what the purpose is of people leaving their computer running all the time...why not leave your car running also.

 

[chrispalen]

Try to recover your system from a few days, or a week ago, when your computer was working properly.

CP

 

[jwmorrice]

My first thought is faulty fan as well, and it is overheating...

The only problems I've ever had with leaving my computer on while I was away arose from fan failures. In my case, they were fan failures on video cards. You think in this era of high technology that a simple fan could... Ah fuck, I'd better not get started.

jwm

 

[Rockslinger]

I can never, ever, understand what the purpose is of people leaving their computer running all the time..

I thought there were some posts on this issue a short while ago. Apparently, turning on and turning off the computer causes more wear and tear on the tiny bits than leaving it constantly on.

 

[Keebler Elf]

I think it may be the power supply overheating. After only a couple minutes of running there is a definite burning smell that I think is coming from the power supply and its definitely warm to the touch. The fans for the CPU and graphics card both are running and neither seem particularly hot.

I'm been running my system unchanged for the past year without problems. My OS is Vista Home.

 

[Keebler Elf]

So I think it was the power supply. I replaced it with new and the burning smell is gone and my computer has not crashed.

That being said, I think I have some other problem going on because when I try to go to Control Panel > Admin Tools, I get a message that Windows Explorer has stopped working and then I'm kicked out of Control Panel. So I can't check for error messages. I did a quick Google search and it looks like Windows Explorer problems are pretty common with Vista. Any ideas how I can troubleshoot this?

As an aside, I'm surprised my power supply burned out on me. It was only about a year old and it was an OCZ, which I thought was a reputable brand (I remember doing some research before I bought it). But the guy at the computer store said that brand has had some problems recently. I bought a Corsair 650W with a 5-year warranty so hopefully it won't be a problem...

 

[nova5]

I think it may be the power supply overheating. After only a couple minutes of running there is a definite burning smell that I think is coming from the power supply and its definitely warm to the touch. The fans for the CPU and graphics card both are running and neither seem particularly hot.

I'm been running my system unchanged for the past year without problems. My OS is Vista Home.

--
I would recommend buying a good quality power supply that is slightly more powerful than the one you are currently running.

 

[Belleville69]

Ive had a few good ones go bad........dont forget surges, etc can kill em. I use a batt. backup now, also acts as protector.

 

[WoodPeckr]

A LF had similar symptoms on her 6 yr old PC. Thought it was the PS but it ended up being the motherboard going. The PS was fine and a month later the MB finally died.

She left her PC on 24/7.
I also feel that is PC abuse.

 

[Keebler Elf]

A LF had similar symptoms on her 6 yr old PC.

A mobo shouldn't last 6 years to begin with so that's not surprising. My mobo is only a year old.

There is significant debate over which is worse, leaving your PC on 24-7 or turning it on and off every day. There's just as much evidence that turning on and off is just as bad as leaving it on due to the wear and tear of startup and shutdown. So it's a matter or preference and whether you're willing to pay the additional electricity costs for leaving it on.

 

[Cycleguy007]

l leave my PC on 24/7 365 days of the year. I even leave it on when I travel so I can access it from anywhere. Never had any problems.

As far the explorer problems...the easiest way is to do a clean reinstall..

Me too... I'm always downloading something! LOL And as someone else pointed out, it has less wear & tear from leaving it on and going into sleep mode than constantly restarting.

As for Internet Explorer problems.... easiest way to avoid those, is:

 

[Stalker]

A mobo shouldn't last 6 years to begin with so that's not surprising. My mobo is only a year old.

Why shouldn't a motherboard last 6 years? I have plenty of old Pentium III systems running on shop floors in several manufacturing facilities that have no problem. I've replaced a couple of hard drives on them but the rest of the system runs fine.

 

[tboy]

I thought there were some posts on this issue a short while ago. Apparently, turning on and turning off the computer causes more wear and tear on the tiny bits than leaving it constantly on.

that only applies if you do that more than twice a day. You have to remember that things fail and when a $2.00 fan fails it could cost you thousands in components. Same as power surges. If the PC is on all the time, the odds are greater that you will get one....

Just remember too: a PSU effectively converts high 120/110 electricity to lower voltages 12 8 6 etc by converting it to heat. That is wasteful. Plus it is a BIG fire hazard. I've had some light up in the past. There's lots of flammable material in there.....(toxic too)

As I say in my next post: heat is your biggest problem. If you live in a relatively sterile environment, ie: just you, with not pets, and only your dead skin for dust, then you should be fine. Add a dog, or a long haired cat, kids, have lots of parties, leave your windows open, face a busy main street, and you've got ALL kinds of crap attaching to your PSU fan, your CPU fan, Video Fan. I have a PC hooked up to my CNC machine and it takes about 2 days for the MOBO etc to accumulate about 1/2" of dust on it. I keep the cover off and blow it out almost daily.......

 

[tboy]

Why shouldn't a motherboard last 6 years? I have plenty of old Pentium III systems running on shop floors in several manufacturing facilities that have no problem. I've replaced a couple of hard drives on them but the rest of the system runs fine.

Heat is the biggest killer of systems. If your shop is relatively dust free, and or you maintain the system, then you shouldn't have any problems. But get some dust buildup on the cpu fan? Get some caught in the vanes on the CPU heatsink? Won't take but a millisecond to cook a cpu. Remember: you're putting 12 volts through "wires" that are 1 micron wide. Takes about .03 seconds for the cpu to go from room temp to 120 deg C.

 

[WoodPeckr]

Why shouldn't a motherboard last 6 years? I have plenty of old Pentium III systems running on shop floors in several manufacturing facilities that have no problem.

Exactly!
My 13 yr old PII still runs fine and still has its OEM 200 watt PS!
It was well maintained, kept clean and vacuumed when necessary.

 

[tboy]

Exactly!
My 13 yr old PII still runs fine and still has its OEM 200 watt PS!
It was well maintained, kept clean and vacuumed when necessary.

and the components aren't pushed to the limits either in regards to speed etc. Just think: 1 billion or so more transistors are put into the same place on a duo core processor as you have in your PII.

That's kind of like comparing a 1970 ford pickup to a lambourgini.......

 

[keepitup]

While we are on computer problems, I have the following issue:

while surfing the web with Firefox I randomly get new tabs opening up to random webiste. Also some general freezing of MS Outlook etc. and the odd crash. Yes, I realize this is some sort of malware bug and have tried a few anti-virus problems and waited hours for them to scour my machine only to have the same problem.

Any tips from the pros? Thanks TERBers!