Whats wrong with my Desktop?

[mikem]

Help Please.
My Desktop keeps shutting down every minute. I thought it might be a virus or something. I formatted the hard-drive and reinstalled XP. It still keeps shutting down. The PC is less then a year old. Could it be the power box? Please advise in laymen terms.
I've been using my laptop. Forgot to bring it back to work today on a day I needed it the most.
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Phyl]

Is the fan running?

 

[GregW]

Sounds like your power supply Mike. Not too expensive to replace but first look at the rear and see if it's clogged with dust.

 

[mikem]

I'll try starting it and see.

 

[mikem]

Yes

 

[mikem]

Not cloged with dust. I have 3 other fans in there too. Their all running.

 

[mikem]

Is it more feasible to get a new PC built then replacing the power box? That one was built for me almost a year ago with the latest stuff in it. I was told that PC's get obsolete in a short period of time. How short is short? I use it atleast 5 hours every day.

 

[GregW]

If it is the power supply, it should only cost you $50 or so to do it yourself and it's very easy to replace.

 

[Edwardw771]

I can put in the power supply? I'm sure the place you got can get you a new one.

 

[mikem]

I put one in my kids PC last year. As a matter of fact, I replaced every part of their PC last year. My 8 year old daughter has a habbit of finding her way into files that make her PC do things that you experienced people never saw before.
The question now is,do you think a year old PC should get upgraded?

 

[Phyl]

It is REALLY easy to replace the power box. I probably have one in a box I'm not using around here... Unless you feel it isn't doing what you need it to do, just go ahead and replace the power box.

 

[RichT]

A year old PC should be fine unless you got a 499 special. It doesn't sound like that's what you got. Is it still under warranty? Also, if the power supply is spent, it could potentially damage the motherboard so I wouldn't turn it on to much more before you swap it out.

 

[mikem]

I have one around here somewhere. Just found it. Are they all the same except for the mounting holes?

 

[GregW]

I have one around here somewhere. Just found it. Are they all the same except for the mounting holes?

No. Make sure it's at least the same wattage as the bad one.

 

[mikem]

Guess I have to pull it tomorrow night.
Rich. Thanks for the tip. I kept turning it on and off hoping it would fix itself. I remember just the memory was more then 500.

 

[mikem]

I guess the extra one I have won't work. It's only 120 watts and the one I need is 400 watts. I'll get one after work tomorrow.

 

[Phyl]

400w, huh? WOW.

 

[mikem]

Thats what I said when i read the tag on mine.

 

[ebqwert]

are you sure it the powersupply? I have a ATX powersupply tester you can use. it will check the voltage on all wires and you can leave it running for a while to see it shuts down.

Some Motherboards on the BIOS screen will show the CPU temp. they will shut down if it gets to hot.

did you check the log files to see if it's an operating system problem?

if you need help - i have some tools and connect remotely and take a look for you.

Eric

 

[mikem]

Eric. No, I'm not sure of anything when it comes to computers.
I don't know what a log file is and I don't know where to find it.
I had a program on it that showed me the voltage and temps. of everything. It stayed on my screen all the time. Didn't understand the usefullness of it till now. I lost it the last time I formatted the drive.
What do you suggest? Should I try getting a power supply and hope for the best? Or put this one back in and work out a time to connect with you?
Here's the name of my power supply if it's any help.
UNEEC switching power supply. Model # ATX 530. 430 watts.

Thanks for the help everyone.