HELP! Computer turns itself off even when IDLE

Lighters · 27 Aug 2007 at 15:32

Hi, my brother has a computer that TURNS ITSELF OFF, even when idle.
At first i thought loose wires but reconnected everything and it did it again.
I took it away from the wall and it still does it.
I then tried looking inside the case and the graphics card is pretty hot even though i'm not running any games!

How can i check the heat of the system using software and what software is simple and easy for checking cpu/graphics - ANY OTHER TEMP that may be causing the system shutdown?

Also what other reason could it be shutting down on its own if its not heat? - Damaged power supply?

Tetras · 27 Aug 2007 at 16:25

Power supply, heat.. yeah

Lots of programs you can use, CoreTemp (CPU), Speedfan, Everest, PC Wizard.

Nvidia / ATI driver panel should have monitoring for the graphics card.

Energize · 27 Aug 2007 at 16:28

Uncheck the box that says "automatically restart upon system failure". That will rule out overheating or software problems.

cells · 27 Aug 2007 at 17:24

i have my desktop set to go to standby after 10mins of no use. its a feature to save electricity.

perhaps he set his comp to some power saving mode but doesn’t know, to test it let it go idle and time it. See how long it takes to turn off. Then do the same once more. If the time to turn off is the same then he has set some power saving feature on.

gumbald · 27 Aug 2007 at 17:58

To save yourself 20 minutes, you could check the power save options?

Lighters · 27 Aug 2007 at 19:34

Energize said:
Uncheck the box that says "automatically restart upon system failure". That will rule out overheating or software problems.

where do i uncheck that?

Lighters · 27 Aug 2007 at 19:36

cells said:
i have my desktop set to go to standby after 10mins of no use. its a feature to save electricity.

perhaps he set his comp to some power saving mode but doesn’t know, to test it let it go idle and time it. See how long it takes to turn off. Then do the same once more. If the time to turn off is the same then he has set some power saving feature on.

It turns itself off even when browsing the internet so i can quite likely rule out its not in power management, my brother has no idea about computers and it was freshly formatted for him.

I cant readily access it thats why i am after all the posibilites atm you see, he does have net access there but obviously the computer turns itself off so its a pain to keep reseting!

thecremeegg · 27 Aug 2007 at 20:50

Check for dust on the heatsink - my sisters kept shutting down and there was 1mm of dust between heatsink and fan! :eek: