Computer shuts down/unable to get into safe mode

[Kazuma77]

hello again,

Lately i have a computer problems again, because my computer is shutting down, with no reason, and then i cant turn it on for few minutes, and then it goes on normally.. i scan it for viruses, Nod32 didn't find anything, Ad-aware 2008, find some spyware, but i delete them all...then i tried to go to safe mode and run a scan there, but it stopped at processing and shut down at that point ( it looks like it crashed or something )

any ideas?

[Eps~]

Most like either overheating or memory fault. You should go check the fan and make sure there's not too much dust in it. If it's the memory then go check if the RAM's are well in place and/or download some testing software to check it out.

[cyberbeing]

Originally Posted by Kazuma77

and then i cant turn it on for few minutes

By this do you mean your machine won't even power up (no fans spinning or anything) or it just won't boot (fans spin but nothing happens)?

If it won't even power up, then I would think it's a Power Supply issue. Are all your connections to the motherboard solid? Are you overloading it (when you are able to boot what are your voltages like)? It could also be overheating if your PSU has some sort of safety to shut itself down to prevent damage.

If it does power up but nothing happens then like Eps~ said it's probably a memory issue or overheating.

[Renegade334]

Yeah, had an overheating problem a few years ago, too...after removing the heat sink to replace the cooling fan; I didn't bother renewing the thermal paste covering the CPU, an omission that soon became my undoing. Back then, those brutal shutdowns occurred when I rebooted the computer several times consecutive, or started a program that used too many resources (video player, antispyware scan, etc). Light processes were okay but anything big had my PSU (power supply unit) slamming the door on my nose.

Try to see whether heavy resource consumption can cause shutdowns - you might want to clean the MB, as Eps~ advised.

If you feel like it, you could always try those for more information or test your memory/MB/CPU:
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail...or/929820238/1
http://www.filehippo.com/download_speedfan/
http://www.filehippo.com/download_everest_home/
http://www.filehippo.com/download_cpuz/

[Nk_Rizel]

Try to re-install Windows again, it might be Widows crashed. I see this issue many time and it fix after I re-install Windows.

[WanderingKnight]

Try to re-install Windows again, it might be Widows crashed. I see this issue many time and it fix after I re-install Windows.

It won't help you with overheat. And I'm 99% sure it's that from what the OP posted, even more considering that summer's starting in the northern hemisphere.

[Amray]

This problem has occured before on a different computer in my household and this was what the problem was;

Basically everything inside it melted because it over-heated, then it kept making this weird noise before it shut itself down. It carried on doing this everytime someone turned it on. We even tried fitting an extra fan into it like what my one has so that it would rid of all the heat more faster, although it did not work.

So yes, I think that your computer has been overheating. That is all I can think of anyway I'm afraid.

[Kazuma77]

i installed that Motherboard program, and i was looking when it was monitoring the CPU heating and the rest of computer, and it didn't move under or over 5° , and this morning, it crashed again...

[Ledgem]

How old is your computer? Do you use it heavily? Did you build it yourself, or did you buy it from a store? If you bought it from a store, do you know what the model is?

Even though your monitoring program didn't note any major problem with the temperatures, I'd suspect that it's an overheating issue or something with a faulty sensor. It's also possible that your power supply is failing, but I've never heard of a faulty power supply doing something like what you're experiencing. If we know how old your computer is we might be able to determine whether the power supply is getting too old. If we know your model number we can Google around to see if other computers of your type experience a similar problem.

[Kazuma77]

well, i bought this laptop in dec 2006 , and its now more then 2 years old actually... and yes i use it a lot, actually all the time because this is my only computer i have got for now... And i have Acer 5101 AnWLMi

[Potatochobit]

its a laptop?

instead of messing with stupid monitoring programs did you take off the cover and clean out the heat sink yet? don't post again until you do.

[Amray]

Maybe your laptop was not designed for what you use it for. Some laptops are made for different things. Some for more formal work and internet stuff, and the other for things like PC games etc.

So if you have a specific laptop that was made for work and yet you are playing "World of Warcraft" on it, whilst on messenger at the same time then that means huge problems! Trust me, past experience and also my Mothers partner is a computer technician that fixes PC's and laptops.

My advise is that if none of the above work, get a new laptop or PC. And make sure to tell the seller in the store or wherever what you plan to do on it, such as use the internet a lot and play games, or whatever you do on it anyway. They will pick one that is perfect for what you do.

OH! another thing! If you are using your laptop and putting it on a cushion or pillow or something else absorbing or big and soft, a bed maybe?, then STOP!! That could most likely be the problem! I have seen this happen too. When people do that they are not allowing any air out of the laptop because it is being blocked as the hot air releases from the bottom, this can result in serious over-heating and, AND, constant shut-downs!! Again I am speaking from experiences that I have previously seen.

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Amray

Maybe your laptop was not designed for what you use it for. Some laptops are made for different things. Some for more formal work and internet stuff, and the other for things like PC games etc.

So if you have a specific laptop that was made for work and yet you are playing "World of Warcraft" on it, whilst on messenger at the same time then that means huge problems! Trust me, past experience and also my Mothers partner is a computer technician that fixes PC's and laptops.

My advise is that if none of the above work, get a new laptop or PC. And make sure to tell the seller in the store or wherever what you plan to do on it, such as use the internet a lot and play games, or whatever you do on it anyway. They will pick one that is perfect for what you do.

Never trust PC salesmen. Often they don't know the technology. My mother - a tech illiterate - once decided to go to BestBuy without me to get a new laptop on her own, thinking I'd be proud of her for having tried to do it herself. Even though she told them she would be commuting with it and she'd only be using it for Office (Word and PowerPoint) and the internet, they saw fit to recommend a desktop replacement-type system to her. It had a Pentium 4 processor (at a time when Centrino systems were out and highly advertised), got barely 2 hours on the battery, and the thing was huge and heavy as well. I'm sure there are some sales people who know their stuff, but it's too expensive to leave it to chance like that.

That aside, what a laptop is designed for only has implications regarding its overall power. A more powerful laptop is liable to be heavier and have worse battery life, whereas a mobility-based laptop will have better battery life, be lighter, and be weaker overall. That's the generalization, and it holds true for nearly every laptop you could buy. If you overload it you should just get worse performance. Shutting down like that indicates that there's a problem with the system. No computer should act like that even if you're straining it.

OH! another thing! If you are using your laptop and putting it on a cushion or pillow or something else absorbing or big and soft, a bed maybe?, then STOP!! That could most likely be the problem! I have seen this happen too. When people do that they are not allowing any air out of the laptop because it is being blocked as the hot air releases from the bottom, this can result in serious over-heating and, AND, constant shut-downs!! Again I am speaking from experiences that I have previously seen.

Good advice. It isn't that computers release all of their hot air from the bottom, but materials like cloth do not dissipate heat easily. Even if it heats up slowly, at some point the cloth will become quite warm and will help to make sure that the computer is staying warm, too. That's not desirable. If you use your computer on your bed, consider placing something like a hard-cover book underneath it.

[Claies]

Well...regardless of whether a laptop's made for work or games, it'd still be able to do WoW and Messenger at the same time, just a bit slow.

If this is really a heat issue on a laptop, there are laptop cooling surfaces out there that are simply just a flat panel with fans pointing upwards. Just plug it in, and put your laptop on it.

I suggest looking around for one to borrow and see if that really helps.

[Amray]

Originally Posted by Claies

Well...regardless of whether a laptop's made for work or games, it'd still be able to do WoW and Messenger at the same time, just a bit slow.

I was just simply outlining cautions just incase the heat is not the only problem. My Sisters PC was basically burnt and melted alive because she was running so many programmes at once, which included games, forums, MSN, youtube and what not. This basically caused the drives and such in her PC to burn and practically melt them. She only had it for about 2 weeks before it was absolutely useless. Heat was the main thing, even though she had an extra fan installed inside it, she still managed to frie the flippiing thing. XD

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Amray

I was just simply outlining cautions just incase the heat is not the only problem. My Sisters PC was basically burnt and melted alive because she was running so many programmes at once, which included games, forums, MSN, youtube and what not. This basically caused the drives and such in her PC to burn and practically melt them. She only had it for about 2 weeks before it was absolutely useless. Heat was the main thing, even though she had an extra fan installed inside it, she still managed to frie the flippiing thing. XD

It sounds more like her PC wasn't built properly. Running a lot of applications/straining the computer will cause it to heat up, that is true. If the cooling system can't handle it (perhaps because the ambient air temperature is also warm, and thus heat dissipation is not as effective as it might otherwise be) then the computer will either shut itself off if temperatures exceed a certain limit, or it will begin to throttle back its performance in order to keep things cooler (newer systems may perform this, but I don't believe older systems do). The computer does have a temperature sensor, and they are designed to monitor for excessive heat in order to prevent hardware damage like you'd described.

If you'll be using it heavily, keep the computer out of the sun. Remember that computers do not dissipate heat the same way that we do.

[Amray]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

It sounds more like her PC wasn't built properly. Running a lot of applications/straining the computer will cause it to heat up, that is true. If the cooling system can't handle it (perhaps because the ambient air temperature is also warm, and thus heat dissipation is not as effective as it might otherwise be) then the computer will either shut itself off if temperatures exceed a certain limit, or it will begin to throttle back its performance in order to keep things cooler (newer systems may perform this, but I don't believe older systems do). The computer does have a temperature sensor, and they are designed to monitor for excessive heat in order to prevent hardware damage like you'd described.

Indeed. This is what me and my Mothers partner knew and kept stressing to her that the thing would explode if she carried on as she was, but like most teenaged girls, she thought she knew best.

And yes, the PC was not...up to date shall we say. Not all the components for a healthy system were their and it was practically just an empty shell of an old PC, hence the reason we were telling her not to overdo the thing, atleast until it was fully and properly built up. But naturally she did overdo it and now she is without a PC. The computer was giving her one last step and she went a mile. End result, completely and utterly useless.