Alarm! & system shuts itself down!

[Susannah]

With in the last few months, a strange thing happens! An alarm goes off in
the CPU and a few seconds later the computer shuts down! I recently had a new
disc drive put into my computer (local PC shop, build own systems) which is
only couple years old and they can't tell me whats wrong either! Can anyone
help.

 

[db]

maybe the cpu
is over heating.

what you might
want to do is to
open up the computer.

there is a removable
panel that exposes
the inside.

then check to see if
the fan mounted on
the large chip (cpu)
is operating and
securely mounted and
dust free.

also, you might want
to keep the panel un
mounted and perhaps
direct a small desk fan
towards the mother board
which will help cycle air
into the unit.

if the computer seems
to stabilize with the panel
off, then the issue was
likely the result of over
heating.
--

db·´¯`·...¸><)))º>
DatabaseBen, Retired Professional
- Systems Analyst
- Database Developer
- Accountancy
- Veteran of the Armed Forces
- @hotmail.com
"share the nirvana" - dbZen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Alex Clark]

With in the last few months, a strange thing happens! An alarm goes off in
the CPU and a few seconds later the computer shuts down! I recently had a
new
disc drive put into my computer (local PC shop, build own systems) which
is
only couple years old and they can't tell me whats wrong either! Can
anyone
help.

Why would your local PC shop install a "new" disc drive that's a couple of
years old?

Sounds to me like an overheating issue. Download a freeware app called
SpeedFan and it will show you any components that it feels are overheating
(courtesy of either a little red up arrow, or a flame icon).

Try running the system without the casing on the chassis (either remove the
side panel or the entire thing, depending on how it's put together). That
should lower the ambient temperature inside.

Personally I wouldn't trust *any* disc drive that's a couple of years old.
How much did they charge you for it? You can get 1TB hard drives for around
the $100 mark these days, so it's really not worth saving a few dollars to
risk your priceless data.

 

[Alister]

Why would your local PC shop install a "new" disc drive that's a couple of
years old?

Sounds to me like an overheating issue. Download a freeware app called
SpeedFan and it will show you any components that it feels are overheating
(courtesy of either a little red up arrow, or a flame icon).

Try running the system without the casing on the chassis (either remove the
side panel or the entire thing, depending on how it's put together). That
should lower the ambient temperature inside.

Personally I wouldn't trust *any* disc drive that's a couple of years old.
How much did they charge you for it? You can get 1TB hard drives for around
the $100 mark these days, so it's really not worth saving a few dollars to
risk your priceless data.

I may be wrong, but I think you have a firm grasp of the wrong end of
the stick. I took the OP to mean that his PC is roughly two years old,
not the Hard Drive. I've just re-read his post again before posting this
and still that's how I read it (although it could have been phrased better).



Alister

 

[Patrick Keenan]

With in the last few months, a strange thing happens! An alarm goes off in
the CPU and a few seconds later the computer shuts down! I recently had a
new
disc drive put into my computer (local PC shop, build own systems) which
is
only couple years old and they can't tell me whats wrong either! Can
anyone
help.

What exactly do you mean by "alarm"? A single beep, or a series of beeps,
for example?

When a PC suddenly powers off, it's important to consider what happens next.

If it tries to restart, the problem is software - Windows has crashed badly
and is trying to restart to recover.

If it doesn't try to restart, the problem is *hardware* and pretty much has
nothing to do with any OS or any software. If, for example, the CPU fan is
unplugged, the CPU will rapidly overheat and the system will shut down.
The more times this happens the more often it will happen as the chip
becomes damaged.

Damage from overheating can be difficult to diagnose, meaning that it's
expensive. You're basically looking at replacing components.

Many systems come with temperature monitor utilities, and I would suggest
that is where you should start, after opening the case, starting the system,
and making sure that the fans are all working and are unobstructed.

If the heatsinks are covered in dust, the airflow will be compromised. If
you are using the PC in a place where there are smokers, this problem will
be worse. Use cans of compressed air to clean the heat sinks and fans.
Do not ever use a vaccuum cleaner for this as those will generate large
amounts of static electricity.

HTH
-pk