PC random shutdowns

[GameOver94]

Hi everyone,

I’m testing a client’s PC that was reportedly shutting down randomly or turning off and on when powered on, but during my testing it behaved normally.

What I did:

• Internal cleaning of the PC (requested by the client, even though I advised it wasn’t necessary since temperatures were fine and it would add extra cost)

• Intensive stress tests using AIDA64, OCCT, Prime95, and FurMark

• Several hours of gaming and general use

Results:

• The PC worked perfectly for several days of testing

• No shutdowns, restarts, crashes, or instability

• Temperatures stayed within safe limits

Only unusual event:

• Once, I tried to turn the PC on right after shutting it down, and the power button did nothing

• On the second attempt, it powered on normally

• All other ~10 power cycles worked without any issues

• My assumption is that this happened because:

  • The button wasn’t pressed firmly enough, or

  • The PC had not fully completed its shutdown and wasn’t ready to power on yet (similar to behavior seen on TVs)

My questions:

• Based on this testing, does this PC seem stable to you?

• Should I be concerned about that single power-on hiccup, or does this sound like normal behavior?

Thanks in advance!

[StDragon]

Just want to say - Thank you for formatting the ask properly. Super helpful.

 

That said, issue seems to be a PSU issue, or MB. Most likely a PSU problem, so I would swap that out.

Hate throwing parts at the problem, but if you have a loaner to try, that might prove where the fault is.

[GameOver94]

11 minutes ago, StDragon said:

Just want to say - Thank you for formatting the ask properly. Super helpful.

 

That said, issue seems to be a PSU issue, or MB. Most likely a PSU problem, so I would swap that out.

Hate throwing parts at the problem, but if you have a loaner to try, that might prove where the fault is.

That’s my opinion as well. The problem is that I don’t have a spare PSU to test with, and the issue never happened during my testing.
If I replace the PSU now and say “problem solved” just because it works, that wouldn’t really prove it was the cause since it always worked fine with me.
That’s why I’m hesitant to swap parts without being able to reproduce the issue first. Do you understand my dilemma?

[StDragon]

By the way, was the BIOS ever updated? If not, that could be the issue. Stability issues are often cited as being fixed within the release notes.

[GameOver94]

Just now, StDragon said:

By the way, was the BIOS ever updated? If not, that could be the issue. Stability issues are often cited as being fixed within the release notes.

I believe the BIOS version is outdated, but I didn’t update it because if the issue occurred during the flash, it could brick the motherboard. It also doesn’t have a backup BIOS.

[Mumintroll]

If there's nothing wrong with the pc, then perhaps something else is causing it?

Perhaps the client doesn't have a reliable power feed in his home?

 

If you have a spare UPS you can let him borrow it and test it with the pc, see if that helps.

[GameOver94]

20 minutes ago, Mumintroll said:

If there's nothing wrong with the pc, then perhaps something else is causing it?

Perhaps the client doesn't have a reliable power feed in his home?

Yeah, I told the client that. He says that a laptop on the same outlet doesn’t have the same issues, although I know a laptop doesn’t draw the same power. I still mentioned it to him.
He also said that three people tested the same computer at their homes and had the same problem he experienced.
The part about three people testing it seems unlikely to me, because if that were true, he would already have a diagnosis.

I don´t have an UPS unfortunately

[podkall]

2 hours ago, GameOver94 said:

• Once, I tried to turn the PC on right after shutting it down, and the power button did nothing

• On the second attempt, it powered on normally

• All other ~10 power cycles worked without any issues

• My assumption is that this happened because:

  • The button wasn’t pressed firmly enough, or

  • The PC had not fully completed its shutdown and wasn’t ready to power on yet (similar to behavior seen on TVs)

Weak hints on PSU

 

2 hours ago, GameOver94 said:

Should I be concerned about that single power-on hiccup, or does this sound like normal behavior?

Doesn't sound bad.

 

2 hours ago, GameOver94 said:

Based on this testing, does this PC seem stable to you?

Any specs of the PC available? (like specific, for example model too like PSU is Corsair RMx 850w/Thermaltake Toguhpower GF1 750W/etc.)

 

39 minutes ago, GameOver94 said:

He also said that three people tested the same computer at their homes and had the same problem he experienced.

Interesting, they brought the PC into other home and it was doing bad there too?

 

2 hours ago, GameOver94 said:

Intensive stress tests using AIDA64, OCCT, Prime95, and FurMark

 

 

Would you be interested in additional testing software if you're the type of person that troubleshoots PCs often?

 

 

46 minutes ago, Mumintroll said:

If there's nothing wrong with the pc, then perhaps something else is causing it?

Perhaps the client doesn't have a reliable power feed in his home?

 

If you have a spare UPS you can let him borrow it and test it with the pc, see if that helps.

Could be socket,

 

could also be power strip the thing connecting to the socket.

 

39 minutes ago, GameOver94 said:

He also said that three people tested the same computer at their homes and had the same problem he experienced.
The part about three people testing it seems unlikely to me, because if that were true, he would already have a diagnosis.

If that is true, question is which parts are they bringing, if just PC, or if they brought like the whole setup -> power strip -> monitor.

 

39 minutes ago, GameOver94 said:

Yeah, I told the client that. He says that a laptop on the same outlet doesn’t have the same issues, although I know a laptop doesn’t draw the same power. I still mentioned it to him

Have you tried all USB ports, all display ports.

 

Could be a stretch just like USB and ports, but another thing causing shutdown could be external device or device connected to the PC or in the same power strip with the PC.

[GameOver94]

3 hours ago, podkall said:

Any specs of the PC available? (like specific, for example model too like PSU is Corsair RMx 850w/Thermaltake Toguhpower GF1 750W/etc.)

I am not with the PC right now , but out of my head... : 
Intel core i3 9100f 
ASUS asus prime h310m-r r2.0
Eurotech FATX700R50 PSU
G.Skill Aegis DDR4 2x8gb , I don´t remember the speed now. 
KFA2 NVIDIA GTX 1650 EX 1-CLICK OC
eurotech slayer rx23 pro PC case 
 

 

3 hours ago, podkall said:

Would you be interested in additional testing software if you're the type of person that troubleshoots PCs often?

sure ,why not . I have used unigine heaven and superposition too btw. 

 

3 hours ago, podkall said:

If that is true, question is which parts are they bringing, if just PC, or if they brought like the whole setup -> power strip -> monitor.

good question ... but I am very sceptical to that to be true honestly  

 

3 hours ago, podkall said:

Have you tried all USB ports, all display ports.

 

Could be a stretch just like USB and ports, but another thing causing shutdown could be external device or device connected to the PC or in the same power strip with the PC.

motherboad usb ports were all tested , but the case ports only briefly . only tested the DP port on the GPU . 

 

 

3 hours ago, podkall said:

Interesting, they brought the PC into other home and it was doing bad there too?

Yes, but I honestly believe that part is not true. If three different people had seen the same issue he claims, I wouldn’t bring my computer back to someone who had supposedly misdiagnosed it the first time.

The PC had already been at my place before. This is the second time I’m testing it. The first time, I ran fewer tests, but the system seemed stable. The next day, he sent me a video showing the computer rebooting. I then told him to bring it back so I could test it for more days and run more extensive diagnostics.

He said he would bring it back, but first he wanted to clean the dust. I told him multiple times there was no indication that dust was the cause. There was some dust, but not enough to cause instability or shutdowns.

This time, the first thing he asked was for me to clean the dust and replace the CPU thermal paste. I did it, as mentioned in the post, even though I already knew it wouldn’t solve the issue. After all, I have seen no problems since the first time, and temperatures were never high.

In the end, he didn’t even clean the dust himself as he said he would. There were only three screws on the rear fan, and two of them were spinning endlessly, so maybe he tried.

[gentlemanspot]

update the bios?

[GameOver94]

1 minute ago, gentlemanspot said:

update the bios?

maybe, I didn’t update it because if the issue occurred during the flash, it could brick the motherboard. It also doesn’t have a backup BIOS.

[podkall]

23 hours ago, GameOver94 said:

I am not with the PC right now , but out of my head... : 
Intel core i3 9100f 
ASUS asus prime h310m-r r2.0
Eurotech FATX700R50 PSU
G.Skill Aegis DDR4 2x8gb , I don´t remember the speed now. 
KFA2 NVIDIA GTX 1650 EX 1-CLICK OC
eurotech slayer rx23 pro PC case 

4 core 4 thread 65W CPU

 

dual channel ram

 

plenty of PSU at least wattage wise

 

23 hours ago, GameOver94 said:

sure ,why not . I have used unigine heaven and superposition too btw. 

It's a RAM testing software for errors, but it's supposed to be installed on an USB, it's called memtest86

 

23 hours ago, GameOver94 said:

Yes, but I honestly believe that part is not true. If three different people had seen the same issue he claims, I wouldn’t bring my computer back to someone who had supposedly misdiagnosed it the first time.

The PC had already been at my place before. This is the second time I’m testing it. The first time, I ran fewer tests, but the system seemed stable. The next day, he sent me a video showing the computer rebooting. I then told him to bring it back so I could test it for more days and run more extensive diagnostics.

He said he would bring it back, but first he wanted to clean the dust. I told him multiple times there was no indication that dust was the cause. There was some dust, but not enough to cause instability or shutdowns.

This time, the first thing he asked was for me to clean the dust and replace the CPU thermal paste. I did it, as mentioned in the post, even though I already knew it wouldn’t solve the issue. After all, I have seen no problems since the first time, and temperatures were never high.

In the end, he didn’t even clean the dust himself as he said he would. There were only three screws on the rear fan, and two of them were spinning endlessly, so maybe he tried.

have they articulated what they did prior to crash? what game was running, which apps

 

quad core CPU PC could potentially crash on old windows install with many programs running

[GameOver94]

13 minutes ago, podkall said:

4 core 4 thread 65W CPU

 

dual channel ram

 

plenty of PSU at least wattage wise

Yes, wattage wise, of course. As for the PSU quality, I do not know. It seems to be a brand that nobody talks about.
 

 

15 minutes ago, podkall said:

It's a RAM testing software for errors, but it's supposed to be installed on an USB, it's called memtest86

I know the software. I can try it. I have nothing to lose.

 

16 minutes ago, podkall said:

have they articulated what they did prior to crash? what game was running, which apps

 

quad core CPU PC could potentially crash on old windows install with many programs running

No, I asked if they did anything specific, and I was told they only shut down and turned the computer back on.

About the CPU being a quad core, I think it is unlikely to be an issue.

[podkall]

7 minutes ago, GameOver94 said:

Yes, wattage wise, of course. As for the PSU quality, I do not know. It seems to be a brand that nobody talks about.
 

 

I know the software. I can try it. I have nothing to lose.

 

No, I asked if they did anything specific, and I was told they only shut down and turned the computer back on.

About the CPU being a quad core, I think it is unlikely to be an issue.

I've had stability issues on my quad core quad thread CPU, it was Ryzen 1200, but mainly when more programs were involved, saturating the cores.

[GameOver94]

Just now, podkall said:

I've had stability issues on my quad core quad thread CPU, it was Ryzen 1200, but mainly when more programs were involved, saturating the cores.

I think that had more to do with that specific CPU .... I had an A8 6600k many years , without issues , I think the system will just freeze at the worst case scenario , shutting down seems unlikely , but I can be wrong.