DVD drive causes computer to turn off

[Chris P. Bacon]

Dell Studio Hybrid... Vista Uultimate 32 bit
http://snipurl.com/gp163
All drivers are up to date.
Nothing in the event viewer to indicate a problem.
If I try to burn to the DVD or read from it,
my machine shuts off. Not reset, full shut down.
No viruses, no spyware/malware. I'm behind a NAT
firewall with SPK and use the Windows Firewall and Avast
so I'm pretty sure it's not something evil that
has gotten on my machine.

Googling doesn't reveal anything. Has anyone
seen anything similar..Dell or not? I don't mind
not having the DVD for burning because I have other machines
that I can burn from, but if I can't read from the DVD
drive without the machine shutting down, I may
as well have a netbook.

 

[Michael Walraven]

My first suspicion would that when the DVD turns on it overloads the power
supply which causes a total shutdown. First step would be to examine the
cabling to make sure it is properly connected, then try a different DVD
drive. Hopefully it is the drive as they are pretty inexpensive.

If it is still under warranty do try contacting Dell.

Michael

 

[Richard G. Harper]

If you have not done so already, turn off the option to automatically
restart on system errors and see if there is a blue screen error that
explains what's happening.

 

[westom]

Dell Studio Hybrid... Vista Uultimate 32 bithttp://snipurl.com/gp163
All drivers are up to date.
Nothing in the event viewer to indicate a problem.
If I try to burn to the DVD or read from it,
my machine shuts off.  Not reset, full shut down.

Speculation such as viruses is wasted labor. When doors start
sticking in a house, do you fix the doors? Or do you first identify
the most common source of failure before fixing anything - the
foundation? The foundation of a computer is its power supply. Your
symptoms are classic of a power supply that was always defective -
even months earlier. A defective supply can still boot a computer.
Shotgunners deny that reality. Only way to confirm that computer's
'foundation' means a 3.5 digit multimeter. Those 30 seconds with a
meter will also answer speculations posted by others. You probably
have no appreciation how much those numbers report. Post those
numbers here so that your next answer is not speculation.

In your case, important DC voltages are on any one of purple, red,
orange, and yellow wires where nylon connector attaches to the
motherboard. Simply press a probe in to touch each wire. Best
measured while system is accessing other peripherals (disk drive,
complex video graphic, downloading from the internet, etc
simultaneously).

What would be happening? Power supply controller (different from a
power supply but another component of the power supply 'system')
detects that an excessively low voltage has gone even lower. So it
sends a signal to the CPU to power off. You saw the rest. But nobody
knows until you first provide those numbers.

Nobody can identify this failure without a multimeter. A tool so
'complex' as to be sold in any store that also sells hammers. Wal-
Mart probably has a best price at less than $18. Or you can spend
days 'trying this and trying that' using wild speculation. Get the
meter. Have a definitive answer - no more speculation. IOW get an
answer from the few who actually know this stuff. But that will only
happen if you first provide those numbers.

 

[Chris P. Bacon]

If you have not done so already, turn off the option to automatically
restart on system errors and see if there is a blue screen error that
explains what's happening.

It doesn't restart. It just shuts down. No BSOD, nuttin..
but I think I've figured it out..while I thought it was my DVD
drive, I discovered that when I plugged my Blackberry Perl into
a USB cable connected to a USB hub, it had the same effect.
So I moved the Blackberry connection to another USB port
(my new HP 2207 monitor has a hub built in) and removed the
old hub from the set up. No more shut downs. The real test
will be, of course, if I can use the DVD but at least I've
eliminated one potential issue.

 

[Richard Urban]

Doors stick because of heat (expanding wood), humidity (also expanding
wood), too many coats of paint, loose hinges, loose screws in the door
frame, defective weather stripping etc. Yet you would have someone try to
"repair the foundation" first? You ARE nuts!

Most any door can be diagnosed by a careful visual inspection and utilizing
a 4 foot level.

Stick to "following the evidence" in your computer diagnosis - as you
describe it. Even then, a competent computer tech will have the problem
identified before you are done with all of your testing.

Dell Studio Hybrid... Vista Uultimate 32 bithttp://snipurl.com/gp163
All drivers are up to date.
Nothing in the event viewer to indicate a problem.
If I try to burn to the DVD or read from it,
my machine shuts off. Not reset, full shut down.

Speculation such as viruses is wasted labor. When doors start
sticking in a house, do you fix the doors? Or do you first identify
the most common source of failure before fixing anything - the
foundation? The foundation of a computer is its power supply. Your
symptoms are classic of a power supply that was always defective -
even months earlier. A defective supply can still boot a computer.
Shotgunners deny that reality. Only way to confirm that computer's
'foundation' means a 3.5 digit multimeter. Those 30 seconds with a
meter will also answer speculations posted by others. You probably
have no appreciation how much those numbers report. Post those
numbers here so that your next answer is not speculation.

In your case, important DC voltages are on any one of purple, red,
orange, and yellow wires where nylon connector attaches to the
motherboard. Simply press a probe in to touch each wire. Best
measured while system is accessing other peripherals (disk drive,
complex video graphic, downloading from the internet, etc
simultaneously).

What would be happening? Power supply controller (different from a
power supply but another component of the power supply 'system')
detects that an excessively low voltage has gone even lower. So it
sends a signal to the CPU to power off. You saw the rest. But nobody
knows until you first provide those numbers.

Nobody can identify this failure without a multimeter. A tool so
'complex' as to be sold in any store that also sells hammers. Wal-
Mart probably has a best price at less than $18. Or you can spend
days 'trying this and trying that' using wild speculation. Get the
meter. Have a definitive answer - no more speculation. IOW get an
answer from the few who actually know this stuff. But that will only
happen if you first provide those numbers.