PC Switching itself off!

cheekyweegit

Hiya folks,

Can I pick your brains please?

I have a 6 year old Tiny pc running windows xp home edition networked but for some reason after being on for about 2 mins after boot up (all works fine) it likes to seemingly switch itself off again with no warning at all.

The monitor goes onto standby and the power light on the tower unit is still green but there is no noises or anything coming from it (you normally hear the fan in the background). You can boot it up again and it tries to do a scandisk but if you cancel this it boots no problem again only to switch itself off.

I really dont think its a virus (running avast home edition) and would welcome any suggestions as to what it might be or what I might try to rectify it. Id hate to think it is dead as it has been a great reliable pc despite its old age now!

Oh I have looked at the performance and maintenance thingy and pwer options in the control panel to make sure its settings have not been changed in there to go into hibernate, switch off etc after a specified time.

Thanks in advance.

Holeypockets

Probably heat related. Can you give the innards a blow out. Make sure the fans are all free of dust.

cheekyweegit

Just got my son to boot it up and check the device manager to see if there is anything lurking in there. Nothing showed up in there as abnormal (no pretty yellow or red symbols).

After about 2 mins it just restarted itself - any clues ?


Thanks for your swift reply.

GreenNotM

Hi Joyce

Does the pc "Blue Screen" or just turn off ?

Has the pc had any changes made to it recently ? hardware or software or been moved ?

Without knowing more, it could be over-heating but not after just 2 mins, would most likely be the PSU - power supply unit - see here for an other poster's problem and solution http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=343448

cheekyweegit

GreenNotM wrote:

Does the pc "Blue Screen" or just turn off ?

Has the pc had any changes made to it recently ? hardware or software or been moved ?

Without knowing more, it could be over-heating but not after just 2 mins, would most likely be the PSU - power supply unit - see here for an other poster's problem and solution http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=343448

Hiya again and thanks, I did read the post above before posting as it is similar but their pc's didn't seem to be turning on at all which mine does, hence the separate post. I have a funny feeling it is something like this due to the age of the pc, but is there any way I can check and how do I find out which unit I need to replace it and where is the best place to get one? I do have a local PC World but I'm reluctant to go there.

GreenNotM

The PSU is the unit where the power cable plugs in - there should be "fans" it is a complete box look for a label and a power rating in watts(w) You will need a unit with the same or higher rating.

As other poster found - it is possible to get it checked but you will need to unplug everything to remove the psu and remember where to plug the new one into. Best to take the whole PC to a shop to have it tested.

Mr_Meanie

Our Tiny pc died last year because of the dreaded leaking capacitors problem, take the side off and have a good look for any bulging or leaking capacitors especially around the processor.

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=195