Machine turns off abruptly

[fredrick]

I am running a sandy bridge mobo, an Intel DH67CL, with Windows 7.

Lately it has been powering off abruptly. Once it happens it seems to happen frequently afterwards. If I let it sit for awhile it seems to work again. Could be something getting hot? Bad cap? Not enough juice?

I have a 550 watt psu in there. I was getting the crashes both with no cards in there using the onboard video as well with a 8800GT for video.

Sometimes it will just freeze and other times I get a blue screen.

What are good tools to scan the ram and harddrive for defects?

 

[boozie]

In my very limited experience this sounds like bad capacitors. I currently have this exact issue with a motherboard that has two leaked capacitors. Once I get it running for a few hours it is good to go. I've been running it for over two months now without issue.

But if I were to turn it off and cold boot I don't know if I could get it running again. Within the first hour of use it is more susceptible to freezing.

May or may not be the same for you, just my 2c.

 

[Texashiker]

From my experience, the #1 reason why systems turn of is a bad power supply. Either the power supply is going out, or its a poor quality power supply that can not keep the voltage rate steady.

After the power supply, its a heat related issue.

 

[mlc]

Unlikely a bad cap issue if its a new board.. .but I wouldn't rule it out entirely... Do a visual check for bulging/leaking caps....

More like a power related issue...do to one of the following....
1) bad/weak psu
2) motherboard issue
3) bios issue
4) bad connection

Your best bet would be to try to swap in another psu if you had access to one from another pc/build... Otherwise.. doublecheck all your connections ... You may need to pull the board from the case if the problem persists.. to rule out a short between the board and the case...

1) Memtest can be used to test the RAM..
2) you can read the temps in the bios .. or via some windows based tool like coretemp.. if your motherboard didn't provide one
3) run checkdisk against your hardrive.. and go to the manufacturers site for your drive, and download whatever utility they provide to check the condition of your drive as well

 

[fredrick]

Well, I uninstalled all the drivers, took the 8800GT out, installed the onboard video, lan drivers and I was able to play Civ 5 for a good half hour or so. Maybe it is a power issue. The PSU I'm using ran my Core 2 Duo (4400) system faithfully for several years but maybe the i5-2500 is too much for it.

I hate how Windows 7 goes and installs drivers on it's own.

Even with the Device Installation Settings set to No, never intsall driver software from Windows Update it still automatically installs drivers! Argh!

 

[BoomerD]

Well, I uninstalled all the drivers, took the 8800GT out, installed the onboard video, lan drivers and I was able to play Civ 5 for a good half hour or so. Maybe it is a power issue. The PSU I'm using ran my Core 2 Duo (4400) system faithfully for several years but maybe the i5-2500 is too much for it.

I hate how Windows 7 goes and installs drivers on it's own.

Even with the Device Installation Settings set to No, never intsall driver software from Windows Update it still automatically installs drivers! Argh!

It's possible that your PSU has just given up...Please post more info on your hardware

PSU-Brand and model #

RAM-Brand, & model/speed

Video Card-Brand & model #

 

[Texashiker]

Maybe it is a power issue. The PSU I'm using ran my Core 2 Duo (4400) system faithfully for several years but maybe the i5-2500 is too much for it.

The power supply is "several" years old? Besides the hard drive, the power supply is probably one of the most common parts to wear out - fan goes out, power supply overheats and shuts down.

Personally, I like to replace the power supply when I do a major hardware upgrade, like a new cpu + motherboard.

 

[fredrick]

Well I put the 8800GT back in and have not been able to get it to crash.

I suspect it was the following driver:
Intel® ME: Management Engine Driver for Intel 6 Series Chipset-Based Desktop Boards
which I admit I'm not really sure what it was for. I got the impression it might be need to need to get CPU temp readings.

It had a device that was sharing an IRQ with my video card and having the video card share it's IRQ is often a recipe for disaster.


I believe the PSU is either:
COOLMAX CU-700B
COOLMAX CP-500T


I forgot I bought a 700. I'll have to take a look when I get home.

 

[BoomerD]

It looks like both PSU's are Sirtec built and the PSU gods over at JonnyGuru.com don't have much good to say about CoolMax or Sirtec units.
I'd be suspecting the PSU as the cause of your problems.

Replace it with a quality power supply. (Corsair, SeaSonic, XFX, or Antec.)

 

[pete1229]

Just a thought, is it one of the recalled sandy Bridge Mobos?

 

[fredrick]

Oh, it is one of the recalled boards. I think I've resolved the the shut-off issue though. Seems to have been driver related. Thanks everybody!

 

[BoomerD]

Just a thought, is it one of the recalled sandy Bridge Mobos?

Since he has a Sandy Bridge processor, of course it's a recalled board. They're ALL on the list of boards that can be RMA'd at the owner's request.