PC Shutting Down

[Someguy 24]

Almost a year ago, my PC started having problems with my power supply which caused it to shut down when running a game. I got it replaced under warranty and then, my pc occasionally made a loud whirring noise on startup. The noise always stopped after about 5 minutes. Recently it started to make a quieter noise but it didn't stop and I had to restart my PC about 20 times to get it to stop. I opened my PC up and it sounded like the noise was coming from the power supply. I then put my pc ontop of a tray so it could get more air. The quiet noise problem stopped (might have been a coincidence) but the loud noise still happened.

For the last 2 days, it would shut down a few seconds after turning it on but then work the next time. And today, it did it repeatedly. I tried turning it on about 20 times and it finally let me log in. I loaded up google chrome and it shut down. After another 20 attempts I got it to stay on for longer. I'm using it right now to type this but I think it will shut down again soon. I should add that my PC isn't under warranty anymore and I doubt I could get the power supply replaced even though (I think) I had problems with it after the place I bought it from (chillblast) replaced it.

What could the cause of this be and are there any solutions?

Thanks.

 

[Aramis Night]

Usually problems of this nature are due to 1 of 2 things, power or temperature. Replacing the power supply is one obvious way to deal with the issue if its due to power. They probably just replaced your power supply with another cheap power supply to cut costs and to wait out your warranty. It may be worth investing in a nice power supply with a decent wattage rating. Sadly the power supply is an area where most places skimp even though its one of the most important components. My last 2 computers I have had to switch out and upgrade the power supply from what was stock in the system, just because they give you the bare minimum with little spare wattage to accommodate any upgrades you may want. Thankfully good power supply's are not terribly expensive.

 

[Someguy 24]

Is it difficult to replace the power supply? I've never done it before and have heard it can be tricky.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

Aramis Night's advice is good, but before you go looking into another power supply, I would recommend cleaning out your computer. Your symptoms could be very easily caused by overheating, which is usually caused by a buildup of dust inside your computer. Cleaning out the dust is very simple, just buy a can of compressed air and spray out the dust. While there is a very good chance of a power supply being the issue, this is a very simple, cheap thing to try, and is good for general computer maintenance anyway.

 

[Aramis Night]

Ohnoitsabear is also correct. Maintenance is a habit I do regularly and assume others do as well so I took that possibility for granted. If an air cleaning doesn't do the trick, power supplies are not that hard to replace. If you can afford to, I would get a modular one for your first time replacing it if you can afford it. The modular ones have assorted cables that you plug into the power supply and to the components instead of the usual random bunch of cables. That way you wont have to mess with not having enough of the right kinds of connections or adapters and you wont have a bunch of extraneous wires in your case which makes you second guess if you have everything connected. Just make sure when your replacing power supplies you disconnect things and then reconnect them immediately to the new power supply cords one at a time so you don't miss anything or get confused. Good luck.

 

[Laughing Man]

You got one of two issues, your motherboard is on the way out or your PSU is on it's way out.

You don't have an overheating issue. The great thing about overheating issues is they are a fairly predictable course of events. I.e the computer will take the same length of time to heat up doing the same tasks each time meaning it is more likely to shut down when you are doing intensive tasks. I.e predictable behaviours.

What you are describing are random events. The result being that one of two things is happening, your PSU is going or your motherboard is dying. The thing is when PSUs go they tend to throw funny voltages out, these don't often cause the computer to shut down though, it can however cause the computer to lock up randomly.

On the other hand a failing motherboard can cause all sorts of random behaviours.

Open the computer take a close look at the motherboard, take a real close look at the capacitors on the board, see image if you don't know what a capacitor is

You want to take a close look at the top of the capacitors and you're looking for any signs of leaks, burns, scorch marks on ANY of these components, anything that looks like this

The reason I am suggesting this is because

a). The PSU has already been replaced and you said it continued to do this even after it was replaced
b). The folk covering the warranty would have replaced the easiest to replace component that could be causing these issues and that would have been the PSU.

If you find any capacitors that look damaged then I am sorry but your motherboard is toast and chances are you're gonna be needing to replace the computer.