so last night in MC my computer randomly shut off.....later after like a half hour or so of trying to figure stuff out, it just magically turned back on when i tried, then this morning, it just shut off again, and won't turn back on....would the events that occurred point to a power supply problem? or to a hard drive problem?

i need to know so i can spend my mom's money while i still have access to it


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AZN racial abilities:
+To finger speed (we own at 1v1 fighting games)
+to just knowing how to play video games we've never seen
Passive ability:
Lack of boredom while grinding/farming for whatever, can go hours on end without having a second thought as to what else we could be doing.
+The threat that we may or may not know Kung-fu, but who's gonna pick a fight with us to find out? no one, that's right
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Bruce Lee FTW

I had an unusually similar problem a while back. The components were just overheating.

Here's the way to find out of they are: Go get a nice big fan (like a house-fan), open up the side of the computer, and blow the fan in there and see if it runs stably.

Otherwise, you may be having some hardware issues, naturally.

Or windows is crapping out on you.

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FrieAaron: local music's generally local for a reason

That used to happen to me a lot with my Radeon 9800pro. It was a combination of bad drivers too. The blizzard tech forum has a few suggestions to try.



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fo sho, niggy4sho

A machine not turning on would be a bad power supply, a bad motherboard, or a short circuit. If it shuts off randomly, it could be a bad power supply, a bad motherboard, or an overheating problem.

If it shuts down, then after waiting a period of time turns on again, then shuts down again, then waiting a period of time and it works again -- that almost certainly points to overheating. The period of time you wait allows the hot components to cool down.

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A machine not turning on would be a bad power supply, a bad motherboard, or a short circuit.

FYI, to clarify what I mean by a short circuit:

The chassis is grounded -- any metal parts of the case and power supply are grounded out through that 3rd prong on your electrical plugs. If any conductive part of the motherboard makes contact with the case, the motherboard also becomes grounded and therefore short-circuited. When you turn on the power, the power is immediately sent straight out the grounding prong and your machine will never turn on. Make sure the motherboard is not touching the case.

P.S.: Before you tell me the motherboard is attached to the case, it's not. Beneath the motherboard are plastic riser bolts to insulate the board from the chassis and prevent contact.

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the case and power supply are grounded

I meant the outside of the power supply.

i'm guessing it's a psu problem then, i let it sit all day today in my basement(where it is anyway) and it's pretty chilly down there, so when i got back from school today and tried it just didn't turn on period....i also have a heat/fan monitor, and last night after it turned back on the temp was right where it's always been at

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AZN racial abilities:
+To finger speed (we own at 1v1 fighting games)
+to just knowing how to play video games we've never seen
Passive ability:
Lack of boredom while grinding/farming for whatever, can go hours on end without having a second thought as to what else we could be doing.
+The threat that we may or may not know Kung-fu, but who's gonna pick a fight with us to find out? no one, that's right
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Bruce Lee FTW

so i guess what'll i'll do is order a new power supply, and if that doesn't work...well then signs point to the older hard drive that's in there, it's not a relic of oldness, but my friend that i bought it from had used it previously(the whole computer i mean, no just the hdd)

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AZN racial abilities:
+To finger speed (we own at 1v1 fighting games)
+to just knowing how to play video games we've never seen
Passive ability:
Lack of boredom while grinding/farming for whatever, can go hours on end without having a second thought as to what else we could be doing.
+The threat that we may or may not know Kung-fu, but who's gonna pick a fight with us to find out? no one, that's right
----
Bruce Lee FTW

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so i guess what'll i'll do is order a new power supply, and if that doesn't work...well then signs point to the older hard drive that's in there, it's not a relic of oldness, but my friend that i bought it from had used it previously(the whole computer i mean, no just the hdd) ---- AZN racial abilities: +To finger speed (we own at 1v1 fighting games) +to just knowing how to play video games we've never seen Passive ability: Lack of boredom while grinding/farming for whatever, can go hours on end without having a second thought as to what else we could be doing. +The threat that we may or may not know Kung-fu, but who's gonna pick a fight with us to find out? no one, that's right ---- Bruce Lee FTW

yep, if it's not the power supply, it's the harddrive. Had that problem with ssi's computer and went and got a new harddrive and it took care of that problem.

Power issues have nothing to do with the hard drive.

Remove all of your drives, and the machine will still power on. All you need to get your computer to turn on is a power supply, motherboard, CPU, memory, and a video card. That's it. If you have those bare components, your machine will turn on. Granted, it will bitch and moan that you don't have a keyboard, floppy drive, hard drive, etc. (it won't even know you don't have a case, and won't care either). But you will get power.

It is not your hard drive.

Yeah, I've never heard of a hard drive preventing a computer from even powering on.

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FrieAaron: local music's generally local for a reason

If it was off all night and it didn't even turn on then it's probably the power supply. I used to have problems with overheating, but it would always turn on for a minute if I let it cool down a while.

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F'ed in the A.

i'm about 90% positive that it's the power supply, if not..well then i might be SoL, and i highly doubt it's overheating as i failed to mention before that i have 2 extra fans + the heat monitor/fan speed adjust


if it were overheating...well then i'd just be upset

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AZN racial abilities:
+To finger speed (we own at 1v1 fighting games)
+to just knowing how to play video games we've never seen
Passive ability:
Lack of boredom while grinding/farming for whatever, can go hours on end without having a second thought as to what else we could be doing.
+The threat that we may or may not know Kung-fu, but who's gonna pick a fight with us to find out? no one, that's right
----
Bruce Lee FTW

also, i'm suprised Vinco hasn't left a mark on this thread yet...

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AZN racial abilities:
+To finger speed (we own at 1v1 fighting games)
+to just knowing how to play video games we've never seen
Passive ability:
Lack of boredom while grinding/farming for whatever, can go hours on end without having a second thought as to what else we could be doing.
+The threat that we may or may not know Kung-fu, but who's gonna pick a fight with us to find out? no one, that's right
----
Bruce Lee FTW