[SOLVED] Computer shuts down for no reason

[ElWray]

Back with another weird problem.

My PC just shuts down for no apparent reason. This started today. Never happened before.
Yesterday I left it on for about 15 hrs and nothing happened. Now it just shuts down every now and then with no warning.

I've checked my MB and CPU temperatures.
38 and 81 C respectively.
Something tells me that's not normal (especially those 81 C on the processor).
I cleaned it up a couple of days ago so there's no trace of dust on the heat-sinks and fans.

I got an Intel Q6600.

Any ideas or advice?

Thanks
ElWray

P.S.: It's not overclocked

[vinnywright]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

try running "top" in a terminal and see if anything is eating up the CPU.

VINNY

[ElWray]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

Nope...only 3% - npviewer.bin.
And chromium browser sometimes goes up to 10%. Nothing really out of the ordinary, hm?

[Snowhog]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

The reported 81 C on the CPU bothers me. Are you sure it's heat-sink is firmly attached? If it's at all loose, then it isn't making full contact with the face of the CPU and effective heat transfer will be affected.

[ElWray]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

Seems to be. It doesn't move even a bit.

[Snowhog]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

Assuming that heat-transfer to the fins on the CPU is working as designed, I'd be testing whether some package update and/or configuration corruption is contributing to the CPU overheating (again, on the assumption that this is what is causing the shutdowns).

Boot into a LiveCD and operate from it. Run as you normally would. It will be slower of course, but do the same things you would do otherwise, but don't perform any updates/upgrades. If the PC doesn't shutdown, no matter what you run or how long you keep the PC on, then I would be leaning strongly towards some package update/upgrade that occured while you had your PC up and running those '15 hours' before you began to experience this problem.

[ElWray]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

I installed the intel microcode about 30 minutes ago and it didn't shut down yet.
I gotta go buy some stuff now and I'll let it run while I'm gone (1-2 hours probably). If it doesn't shut down when I get back I guess it'll be fine. I think I upgraded it last night.

The shutdowns started right after I installed netbeans today.

[ardvark71]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

Hi....

I'm guessing that you made sure your heatsink was free of dust and other debris. It may be something of a long shot, but open your case and take a look at your motherboard's capacitors and see if any are bulging or whose tops have burst. Bad caps can also explain unusual behavior like this. I've seen it before with a system I worked on years back.

Regards...

[dibl]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

I've checked my MB and CPU temperatures.
38 and 81 C respectively.
Something tells me that's not normal (especially those 81 C on the processor).

81 is too hot, especially if it's not encoding a DVD or something like that. I've run a Core 2 Extreme chip up to the low 80s, briefly, with no damage but that's about as hot as it should ever get under full load. No way should it be over 50 with only 20% or less of the CPU capacity in use. I think you need to either re-grease and reseat the heatsink you have, or look for a better one. If it's the stock Intel heatsink that came with the Q6600, then they're all better .... :P

There are great after-marked CPU heatsinks out there, for $40 - $75 USD. I've been an Arctic Freezer Pro fan for years, their Freezer Pro 7 is still not a bad cooler. I went all out and got a Venomous X for my new i7-950, but you need a really wide case for that -- it's 140mm tall. Thermaltakes, Coolermaster, Corsair, Zalman -- there are lots of choices. I recommend the Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound.

[ElWray]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

68 degrees...goes up to 73 sometimes. When I watch a movie it quickly goes up to 80+.
I don't wanna imagine what happens if I try to play something.

@ardvark71: if something was wrong with the capacitors, wouldn't the mb get much warmer as well? It's at a constant 38 degrees now (centigrade).

[ardvark71]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

@ardvark71: if something was wrong with the capacitors, wouldn't the mb get much warmer as well? It's at a constant 38 degrees now (centigrade).

Hi...

From what I have read, it does affect motherboard temperatures, although to what extent I don't know. However, I think I gave you my advice prematurely and I am inclined to agree with dibl and snowhog. According to the information here, this probably is not your problem, as machines with bad caps tend to restart, not shut down entirely, as yours does. I had forgotten this from my previous experience and I do apologize.

Try dibl's suggestion and see what happens. You can find the thermal compound at Radio Shack. They are currently "out of stock" as far as ordering online is concerned but the individual stores should have it. just click on "Find it in store." Arctic Silver even gives instructions on how to apply it to your specific processor.

Regards...

[rfakhrai]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

And, because I haven't seen it mentioned yet, be sure to use fingernail polish (acetone) to remove the existing thermal compound before installing the new stuff. You don't want to insulate the processor

[Ole Juul]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

I think dibl is right, 81°C is too hot. People report much lower temperatures for that device. However, Intel reports 62°C or 71°C for the maximum case temperature and 105°C or 95°C for the processor. So it sounds like you're not going to catch fire yet.

BTW, is this with the case closed or open? Could your PS fan be malfunctioning?

[ElWray]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

The ps fan is working.

I always keep my case open.

[oshunluvr]

Re: Computer shuts down for no reason

I had a problem like this that was eventually solved with a BIOS update....

First step is to determine if you're actually that hot or is something being mis-reported. Your BIOS likely has a "PC Health" section that reports current temps. I suggest booting to linux, run something CPU intensive until it reports 70-80c, then booting to BIOS setup and seeing what your temp is then.

If it varies by 15-20 degrees or more I'd suspect an ACPI/BIOS issue.

Try booting with noacpi boot option or acpi=ht and see what it does.