Computer Issue

[poppachubby]

Hey Guys, this could be overreaching for an audio site. My comp has been acting strangely lately. It will randomly shut itself off. That's right, for no good reason.

I have heard that Creative software can be "buggy". Never had an issue like this before I installed the soundcard however it ran fine for a couple of months.

Any opinions before I have to throw money at this f'n problem? I am on a crap streak, world's greatest car Buick Regal brake job $900, furnace $200, wife's Hyundai $200 and now the comp.

Never ends does it? And some here wonder why I don't have a $3000 system, pfffffft.

[audio amateur]

I'll say that's quite strange. Does it do it regularly? perhaps you could remove it and make sure it is the Creative causing problems.
Sorry to hear about those bills adding up. I guess that's what happens every now and then. 900 bucks for a brake job those better be new brakes!

[02audionoob]

Maybe you could try the system restore to a date before the problem started. Or maybe you have a heat issue? If that's possible, you could install bigger and better fans. What kind of video card do you have? Sometimes conflicts can arise there. I once had a GeForce4 and a SoundBlaster Live that wouldn't play nice together.


Speaking of expensive auto repairs, the ballast for these headlights cost me $939 per side. Thanks, Nissan. I appreciate ya.

[bfalls]

Does the system just reboot, or does it go to the "Blue Screen of Death". If it blue screens, it should report that it created a file for you to look at and where to find it. In the "dump" you should be able to find the file/application which caused the crash.

If no BSOD, you should be able to go into the administrative tools (Control Panel) and open the Event Viewer. The Event Viewer should display any errors or warnings and provide a hint to the cause. Just a couple of things to look at before spending your money.

[audio amateur]

Speaking of expensive auto repairs, the ballast for these headlights cost me $939 per side. Thanks, Nissan. I appreciate ya.

A lot of the time, jobs like headlights can be easily done at a fraction of the price you pay your dealer to do, the only problem is that it's a time consuming task.

[Feanor]

Hey Guys, this could be overreaching for an audio site. My comp has been acting strangely lately. It will randomly shut itself off. That's right, for no good reason.

I have heard that Creative software can be "buggy". Never had an issue like this before I installed the soundcard however it ran fine for a couple of months.
...
Never ends does it? And some here wonder why I don't have a $3000 system, pfffffft.

I'm twice your age, Chubbs, so take it from me: no, it never ends. In fact it will only get worse.

You've had some good advice already. I does the compter actually shut down or is it BSOD? If shut down, when you restart, does it tell you you had an abnormal shut-down? And/or does it restart itself? Trying going back to a previous restore point if possible: try first after the Creative installation if possible. If pull the Creative card and try restoring before the original installation.

In general spontaneous restarts aren't good news. Could be the mobo, in which case a new compter might be as cheap unless you can do the mobo installation yourself. Installing a new mobo while not trashing your data is problematic to say the least. (I've saved my self in similar situation by having all my key data on a second, extended HD partition; that way you can reformat the system partition and only having to reinstall programs).

[02audionoob]

...and then again it could just be a bad/overloaded power supply. What model power supply do you have?

[poppachubby]

...and then again it could just be a bad/overloaded power supply. What model power supply do you have?

Aha, yes I have alot iputed into a power bar, into one wall plug. This resonates the most from all the insight thus far.

THANKS GUYS!!!! Imagine how thrilled I was to see all my friends here having so much wicked tips. The comp shuts itself down, in one quick moment, ZAP! and its completely shut off. No BSOD or restart.

I will try all of your tips and let you know later.

Hey noob and AA, you guys online today? I don't work until 3pm, 9pm for you AA.

[02audionoob]

Aha, yes I have alot iputed into a power bar, into one wall plug.

I mean the power supply mounted inside your computer case. The ones that come with name-brand computers often don't have the capacity to handle power-hungry accessory cards. Simply shutting down is a symptom of that kind of problem.

Hey noob and AA, you guys online today? I don't work until 3pm, 9pm for you AA.

I've got the email open, but not sitting here for long.

[audio amateur]

I can't tell you as I'm unsure if I'll be home or not

[poppachubby]

You guys suck....oh BTW. I checked the power bar which is behind my desk, more or less unaccessible. Guess what? The tower's plug looked a little shady, as soon as I touched it, "POOF!".

So as embarrassing as it is to say, I think this may have been the problem. I should think if the comp does not shut off by the end of the day, I've found my culprit. Just needed that "extra set of eyes". Thanks everyone and here's hoping...

[blackraven]

Pops, it sounds like a bad power supply. Usually when they go bad the computer shuts off randomly. It can also be that the heat conductive paste on the CPU has dried out and its overheating causing a shut down. You can buy a power supply tester but unfortunately it does not tell you the amperage. The video card could also be bad. I just had an NVIDIA 8800gtx crap out with random shut downs of my computer. I replaced with the new Radeon 5870 and it took care of the problem. I doubt that its your sound card causing the problem. They don't draw that much power like a high end vid card.

I would try a few things. First do a system restore, then go into the bios and look at the CPU temp to see if its running hot. http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-check-CPU-temperature Also check and see if your motherboard has an LED code which may give a clue as to what is wrong. If problems still persist, I would do a complete reformat and OS install.

If this does not work, download a MemTest program and test your memory http://www.memtest86.com/ this will tell you if you have a bad memory stick although I doubt thats the problem.

It can also be a video card problem. You should see if you can swap out the vid card with another machine if possible.

If all else fails, try regreasing the CPU with new thermal compound or bring it in to a service center.

[poppachubby]

Wow, thanks BR!! Actually I tried to watch a vid on YouTube the other day and it shut down. So far so good on the plug situation. I'll let you know.

[blackraven]

Pops, what brand computer do you have or is it a custom? If you end up buying a new computer, consider www.cyberpowerpc.com I've bought a few computers from them. You can customize them and they have unbeatable prices. I really cant build a good one for any less for what they charge, although I just built one with my son.

[harley .guy07]

If the loose plug does not fix the problem the best option I heard was that stock power supplies can't handle the added current pull of high end sound cards and what not and will shut down when asked to. Other than that I would say to restore your computer back to a time when it did not do this and start from there and see what you might have installed to make this problem happen. There are so many damn things on computers these days as far as drivers and software that who knows what could cause this problem. But the power supply idea has some logic to me.

[poppachubby]

Thanks for the input harley. Between all of the suggestions here I'm confident I can sort out this problem now. BR it's a custom made comp, my buddy is a gamer and designed it for himself, he then sold it to me.

[blackraven]

If he's a gamer and built the comp for you, then he should have put in a beefy power supply. But like I said, sound cards put very little strain on a computer and just about any PS should have enough in reserve power for a sound card upgrade. Video cards are a different animal.

[poppachubby]

I really appreciate your interest in my problem. I'll keep you posted. If it shuts down again, maybe you can walk me through some of the stuff listed in this thread. I have average comp skills.

[JoeE SP9]

PC:
How old is the motherboard?
What CPU are you running?
How much memory ?
What kind of display card?
What other peripherals are you using?

[poppachubby]

Problem Solved!!!!!!!!!!!

Am I ever pleased! I was ready to buy a video card, however yesterday i could smell burning, faintly. I turned my attention to the power supply. Bought a used PS from the surplus for 10 bucks and replaced it.

As I was cleaning inside, I noticed how dirty the heat sink for the core of the CPU was. I removed the sink/fan and there was gunk all on the contact of the chip. Cleaned that up and bammo!!

10 bucks and an hour later, I'm good as new. Thanks again everyone for your help and concern. I am running strong again!!

[JohnMichael]

Problem Solved!!!!!!!!!!!

Am I ever pleased! I was ready to buy a video card, however yesterday i could smell burning, faintly. I turned my attention to the power supply. Bought a used PS from the surplus for 10 bucks and replaced it.

As I was cleaning inside, I noticed how dirty the heat sink for the core of the CPU was. I removed the sink/fan and there was gunk all on the contact of the chip. Cleaned that up and bammo!!

10 bucks and an hour later, I'm good as new. Thanks again everyone for your help and concern. I am running strong again!!

It would take more than ten bucks and an hour to make me as good as new but I am glad you solved the problem.

[Feanor]

Problem Solved!!!!!!!!!!!

Am I ever pleased! I was ready to buy a video card, however yesterday i could smell burning, faintly. I turned my attention to the power supply. Bought a used PS from the surplus for 10 bucks and replaced it.

As I was cleaning inside, I noticed how dirty the heat sink for the core of the CPU was. I removed the sink/fan and there was gunk all on the contact of the chip. Cleaned that up and bammo!!

10 bucks and an hour later, I'm good as new. Thanks again everyone for your help and concern. I am running strong again!!

Errr ... uhmm ... could be that "gunk" was heat-conducting grease: if so, (which is likely), this is absolutely essential to conduct the heat of the chip to the heatsinks. Your CPU might not last long.

[blackraven]

Glad to here it was an easy fix. I suspected it was the power supply having had to replace three of my own in the past.

[poppachubby]

Errr ... uhmm ... could be that "gunk" was heat-conducting grease: if so, (which is likely), this is absolutely essential to conduct the heat of the chip to the heatsinks. Your CPU might not last long.

Nuh uh, other unknown crud.

[audio amateur]

It's always good to clean out the interior every once in a while, and also un mount the CPU's heat sink in order to clean it.
I also clean out my laptop's fan.