PC Keeps Switching Off

Danger Phoenix · 28 Nov 2015 at 23:58

I last updated some of the parts in my PC around 3 years ago and it has been running fine in its overclocked state since then (only been turned off blowing the dust out etc).

Anyways, for the last 2 weeks or so it randomly keeps turning off. Windows Event Logs show unexpected shutdowns with no information regarding them. I checked all the internal components, namely the fans and they are all fine. I made my CPU temperature monitor log every 5 seconds and save it to a file so I could see if it was spiking or something but it remains below 50 C.

I have removed the overclocking and running the BIOS on defaults but the problem persists.

To switch it back on you either have to push the power button or sometimes remove the motherboard power supply and then put it back in again.

When it is running, you can't tell anything is off until the next time it happens. I use the PC remotely most of the time, so when I can't connect I have to call family members who go and switch it on. There seems to be no pattern or certain time this happens, so I doubt it is software related.

Where do I start looking guys? :eek:

teenwolf · 29 Nov 2015 at 00:04

What make and model is the psu ?

Danger Phoenix · 29 Nov 2015 at 00:12

teenwolf said:
What make and model is the psu ?

It is the OCZ ZX Series 1000W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply bought in November 2011 from OcUK

teenwolf · 29 Nov 2015 at 00:14

Possibly the motherboard then.
Also check the harddrive health, download hdtune.

Danger Phoenix · 29 Nov 2015 at 00:16

teenwolf said:
Possibly the motherboard then.
Also check the harddrive health, download hdtune.

I've checked everything I can using software, ie SSD, RAM. Don't know what other diagnostics I can do without starting to replace parts

joedeath332 · 29 Nov 2015 at 01:01

Before you named your PSU and seen it was a decent one i would have deffo said PSU as that is exactly the same symptoms as my pc had after i changed my GPU,, it turned out that the new GPU pushed my PSU to far by drawing to much power and the pc would just randomly turn of like someone had pulled the plug out of the wall,, but once restarted all was 100% again until the next random time it would happen,, anyways for me a new more power full psu fixed my problem.
mind you your psu is now 4 years old. have you got another psu you can try maybe ? also you could try running this program to log your voltages ( not sure if it is accurate ) but im using it atm to log my GPU / CPU usage.
http://www.hwinfo.com/download.php

jbh110tdi · 29 Nov 2015 at 01:02

what spec is the PC?
the PSU is 4 years old granted it's a good quality unit but with what your saying its on 24/7 so it could be the psu at fault. could you borrow one to try?

Danger Phoenix · 30 Nov 2015 at 07:51

Unfortunately I don't have a spare PSU. I am ordering a new PC from the OcUK Configurator section so once that is all set up, I can start pulling this one apart to see what is wrong and if need be order a new PSU.

The only reason I had a 1000W PSU in there was because I had 8 drives in there, but since I got my Synology NAS, 6 have been taken out. From what you guys have said and what I have read online, it probably is the PSU, especially since its been more or less constantly on since I got it.

jbh110tdi · 30 Nov 2015 at 08:35

yea if its been on for 24/7 since you have had it through time it will start to suffer.

Danger Phoenix · 27 Dec 2015 at 01:50

So it turns out that it was the graphics card. It is this one purchased in November 2011:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3876#ov

System has been fine for about 2 weeks now without the card in there, and as soon as I put it back in it turned off in 2 days.

The PC is going to the family (purchased another one from OcUK a few weeks ago) so since they only use it for word processing and internet browsing, the onboard graphics will suffice for them.

robin66 · 27 Dec 2015 at 05:38

When I started to read this thread I was thinking it might be your graphics card that was the issue. As I had a BFG GTX 8800 that would do the same thing.

And was going to suggest that you test that as well.

I'm glad that you were able to pin point the problem adventurally.

joedeath332 · 27 Dec 2015 at 11:59

interesting , did you try the GTX 570 in another machine. as i still would suspect the psu not being able to deliver enough power, and the pc is fine atm as it is not having to power the GPU as you are using onboard.
either way at least the pc is running now.

Danger Phoenix · 27 Dec 2015 at 12:57

joedeath332 said:
interesting , did you try the GTX 570 in another machine. as i still would suspect the psu not being able to deliver enough power, and the pc is fine atm as it is not having to power the GPU as you are using onboard.
either way at least the pc is running now.

The only machine I have that can take the card is the new one I purchased from OcUK. I rather not start playing around with it because its so new and may have warranty implications.

han_solo · 27 Dec 2015 at 13:09

I had a similar problem too. For me it was definitely the PSU (OCZ brand too). Since I switched to my spare psu, my pc has been running fine since with zero shut downs. HTH