Weird random shutdown.....

[kant.think.str8]

I started having this problem not too long ago. I get random restarts which at first, seemed random. Sometimes i would go 2 days straight without a restart and sometimes i cant even last 10 seconds. I noticed when i unplug my network cable i can boot up fine and use my computer but as soon as i plug it in the whole system turns off without warning. All the system lights on the inside stay on, including the input light for the network cable on the back of the computer. This is confusing me alot, i cant find a good reason why this is happening. Also when i try to boot up and enter setup mode it turns off without warning or sometimes the monitor displays gray bars going up and down the screen. All of my drivers were erased when i boot up without the network cable plugged in. Its been working fine for almost a year now then this happens...... Please help!!

Im using:

amd x2 3800+
1gb ram 2x 512 sticks
Asus mobo
ATI X850XT
onboard audio and network.
Aspire 600w psu ATX-AS600W-BL

 

[DonNagual]

Hello and welcome to Techspot!

Could be any number of things, all you can do is troubleshoot one thing at a time to rule out other possibilities until you find the cause. Click on the random reboot link in my signature and follow the steps.

My first guess is that you are going to need a new PSU. I'd start the troubleshooting there.

 

[kant.think.str8]

Thanks for the quick reply. Ive been testing out different things. I turned off the network card in device manager and plugged in the cable. It didnt crash but as soon as i turned it back on, down she went. Thanks for welcoming me and showing interest in helping me fix this problem.

 

[DonNagual]

The reason I am still suspecting your PSU (even though your post above looks like it could be your NIC) is your words above stating that:

Also when i try to boot up and enter setup mode it turns off without warning or sometimes the monitor displays gray bars going up and down the screen.

Gray bars on screen, system rebooting when in bios.....

I personally would still test the voltages on your PSU just to rule that out asap. Dying PSUs tend to make OTHER parts look like they are faulty when the only problem is that they are not getting the power they need.

If the voltages are fine, then you can move on to the next step.

 

[kant.think.str8]

Voltages look fine according to the monitor im using.

+12V - 12.16V
+5V - 4.999V
+3.3V - 3.312V

Is this enough of a difference to worry about?
Second number is the amount it is now.

 

[DonNagual]

Alright, those voltages look alright. Let's move on.

Right click on "my computer" then "manage" then "event viewer" and browse through there looking for windows error messages, especially the ones marked in red.

 

[kant.think.str8]

Just found the driver errors saying that it cant find the dlls that strangly just disappeared.

The other one said i should run chkdsk on the volume c because the file system structure on the disk was corrupt.

 

[DonNagual]

Let's run a diagnostic on that hard drive first just to rule that out.

Go to the HDD maker's website and see if they have a diagnostic utility for download. If not, go to www.maxtor.com and download their "powermax" software. It apparently works on all makes of hard drives.