quincysw said:
My wife is having a problem in that whenever she plays a game (current
game Azada) on her computer after approximately 10 minutes the computer
shuts down for no apparent reason. If I play the same games on my
computer everything is fine.I have just formatted her hard drive and
reinstalled all of her programs to try and solve this issue but the
problem still remains. Any help would be much appreciated.
Is there anything in the Event log, implying an orderly shutdown ?
Or is the software or OS, unaware that a shutdown is about to occur ?
Modern Intel and AMD processors have a THERMTRIP feature. If the
processor gets too hot, a signal from the processor tells the
power supply to shut off immediately, without any warning to
the software. You would not expect to see an entry in the Event
Log, if this happened.
Check that the computer fans are all operating. (On a desktop,
the CPU can have a fan, the video card can have a fan, the
back of the computer can have one or more exhaust fans.)
Check that the intake and exhaust ports are clear of
obstructions, hair or dust. If this is a laptop, make
sure that one of the ports is not blocked with fabric
(if the unit is sitting on your lap for example).
My guess would be a thermal issue of some sort. But
if you can find an error logged in the software, then
you should post the contents of the error, any
numbers or exact error text.
Some computers have built-in hardware monitor features.
A program like Speedfan from almico.com , is able to
read out the information in the hardware monitor. The
program supports many popular hardware devices. It can
also read the hard drive temperature via the S.M.A.R.T.
interface on the drive. What you can do, is try some
tests other than a game, something where you can continue
to watch the screen, and then see if the fans properly
ramp up and protect the computer from overheat.
If the temperature shoots up rapidly, it could even be
that a mechanical support on the CPU heatsink has snapped.
The pushpins on the Intel heatsink sometimes come undone,
and one aftermarket AMD CPU heatsink product has been
known to snap off the plastic tab on one side of the
CPU retention frame. Things like that, result in the
heatsink and fan assembly, not making good contact
with the CPU. And then the CPU gets hot...
If you need a program to heat up the CPU, try Prime95
Torture Test. Select "Stop" and then "Exit" from the
menu, when you're finished, to exit the program
completely. If the problem is thermal, this program
might cause the computer to shut off too.
http://majorgeeks.com/Prime95_d4363.html
Computers are designed with adequate cooling for
any load you throw at the processor. If the processor
overheats, then some part of that design is not
working right.
Paul
