After about a month or so (every time) - my PC keeps shutting down, and it wont let me start it back up - for about a week at a time. Has anyone experienced this kind of problem before please ? Im thinking of getting rid of it, an getting another one, but hopefully i can fix it and keep it.

Id appreciate any help. Thanks guys.

Hi Howzey and welcome.

This is a common problem with 1000s of potential causes which makes troubleshooting difficult. It could be a bad power supply, failed RAM, failed CPU, failed motherboard or more. I would start by having the power supply tested, or swap in a known good one.

Originally Posted by Howzey

After about a month or so (every time) - my PC keeps shutting down, and it wont let me start it back up - for about a week at a time. Has anyone experienced this kind of problem before please ? Im thinking of getting rid of it, an getting another one, but hopefully i can fix it and keep it.

Id appreciate any help. Thanks guys.

How old is your computer?

I would suggest some simple steps without spending much time and cost and see if that helps.

Please try reseat the parts on the computer first.

We can reseat the RAM (or use 1 RAM at a time on different RAM slot),
remove the mobo battery for a few minutes (if do not want to wait a few minutes, we can unplug the power cord to the computer and pressing down the power button over 20seconds to discharge and reset the system instantly),
reseat the VGA card (if dedicated),
reseat the PSU connectors on the mainboard,
reseat the HDD data cable,
Also check if there is any damaged capacitor(s) on the mobo.

Hope this helps.
Bill
Tech Manager Wptinc

remove the mobo battery for a few minutes (if do not want to wait a few minutes, we can unplug the power cord to the computer and pressing down the power button over 20seconds to discharge and reset the system instantly)

No. This procedure does NOT reset CMOS BIOS settings. In fact, it does nothing but make your finger tired - it is not a valid method for resetting anything. I asked before for some documentation to any official, reliable source for this suggestion and have yet to see any. I ask again, please provide some documented evidence to substantiate this procedure before recommending it.

Also, unless there was a serious electrical fault with a hard drive putting a hard short on the PSU's 12V rail, a bad hard drive would not keep the computer from starting - the boot process would still make it all the way through POST, then halt when no boot drive was found. And if there was a serious fault, I don't see it being intermittent in this manner.

In any event, it is necessary to determine if the computer is receiving proper power first, as bad power can present itself just about anywhere.

Originally Posted by Digerati

it does nothing but make your finger tired - it is not a valid method for resetting anything. I asked before for some documentation to any official, reliable source for this suggestion and have yet to see any. I ask again, please provide some documented evidence to substantiate this procedure before recommending it.

I was DCSE, Dell Certificed System Engnieer, Microsoft Certified Professional, these are my documentation, Digerati.

When pressing the power button on the desktop PC 20 seconds or on the laptops 15 seconds without any power source connected, we can discharge the computer, and restting somthing, at least reset the system any static left or any static that hold the termperary cache memory.
once computer have problem we will keep trying to re-power on the computer again a few times, and we most won't wait much time between each restart, probably just in a few seconds mostly.

in order to get the system to be powered on again without waiting for those static, what we can do is discharge the computer as I suggested, this save time waiting between each restart and also prepared the computer a better and accurate environment to start up again. Of course, we only need to discharge the non working computer, we do not need to do this for a working computer every time we start it! and this won't make fingers to get tired at all. Even it does, worth us to do.

there are a lot of different theories to fix the computer problems, sometimes theories won't work under combination of different situations, my suggestion always start with the least expensive and basic steps we can do.

I have been PC repair fields over 16 years, only hand on repair will work, sometimes the outcomes may even against the theories we had learn.

I do not mean to argue and I won't, you asked me the 2nd time, so I have to explain to you with respect.
I just tried to share my experience helping others, hope my input can help those who really needed with their computing!

Regards!
Bill
Tech Manager Wptinc

I just tried to share my experience helping others

And that's great and we do appreciate your support. But this is a technical forum and we are all here to share, and learn too.

I was DCSE, Dell Certificed System Engnieer, Microsoft Certified Professional, these are my documentation, Digerati.

Experts are a dime a dozen, so "because I say so" does not cut it - especially when providing technical advice while hiding behind an anonymous username with unverifiable qualifications. That is NOT meant to sound disrespectful, it is just how forums work.

You have to "show us". You can follow the link in my sig to see if my credentials suggest I might know something about electronics and computers. But even then, I am not so pretentious to assume or expect everyone to automatically accept my word as the Gospel. That is why I provided a link to the dictating ATX Standard for PC PSUs and there is nothing in there supporting your claims. I note the ATX Form Factor Standard for motherboards and cases says nothing about that feature either.

Also, because I forget things, and because things change - often rapidly in this industry, I don't assume I'm right, or that I am right anymore. And I hate to be wrong! So I researched to make sure I am right before posting. And I researched your claims too, but cannot find one shred of evidence to substantiate them.

So I ask you to, a 3rd time - please show us some supporting evidence from a reliable source on PCs (MSKB, ASUS white paper, ATX Form Factor Standard, tech school. etc.) that says, "Holding the power button for x number of seconds with the power cord unplugged, resets the BIOS."

Please understand, I have heard this pressing the power button for 20 seconds claim on forums before - but in each case, (1) it could not be substantiated and (2) it didn't fix anything!

static left or any static that hold the termperary cache memory.

No sorry. Static? No way! If there is a build-up of static, there's a serious grounding issue with that computer. Discharge the computer? Modern electronics, including computer power supplies, are required by codes and standards, and designed to discharge, or "bleed" off any "residual" or "holding" voltages (in case that is what you meant by "static") within a very few seconds of power being removed. And it ultimately does this through the ground wire in the power cord, BTW.

Certainly, just unplugging the PSU can "reset" some hardware settings. Unplugging (or setting the master power switch on the back of the PSU - if so equipped - to off) removes the ATX Form Factor Standard required +5Vsb standby voltage from several points across the motherboard, including the "momentary" circuits controlling the front panel power button. But it also removes the +5Vsb serving as "holding" voltages on several devices that support "Wake on..." features. These include Wake on Mouse, Wake on Keyboard, and Wake on LAN. This latter, Wake on LAN feature is significant as killing power to the NIC is often what it takes to get a router to release an IP address assignment - correcting some connectivity issues. So unplugging, yes. Holding down the power button for 20 seconds, no.

You said you came out of Dell. I note for years, Dell was notorious for using non-standard proprietary parts in their PCs. Their claim was to cut costs, but it forced users to buy upgrades and replacements only from Dell, and those upgrades and replacements were typically more expensive, and came in few options. The explosion in home and custom, locally built PCs caused Dell to get with the ATX standard. Maybe this "trick" worked on some legacy proprietary Dells, but it was not industry wide, and is not a current practice. Perhaps you can find supporting evidence in your old Dell sources.

The claim you can reset the CMOS by pressing the power button for 20 seconds with the cord unplugged is simple to disprove. Out of curiosity, I tried it on two machines, a Gigabyte and a Foxconn) and it didn't work. Try it! If your date and time are still correct, as mine were, it didn't reset.

If it were a viable option to reset the CMOS in that manner, that would be the preferred method as it totally eliminates the need to open the side panel and dig into the heart of the computer to pull the battery or move a jumper. It would eliminate the potential of any ESD damage. If it were valid, it would be widely published across the Internet and in every motherboard manual. And it just isn't.

Sorry, but it is just an ol' wives tale.

***

What is the name and function of this "temporary cache memory" you refer too? Where is it located? How big it is? What device or process uses it?

Also, we are talking PCs, not notebooks. Notebooks are not held to established industry standards like the ATX Form Factor, which dictates the electrical and power specifications for EVERY PC motherboard, case, and PSU. Many notebooks use the power button for various battery functions.

So again, we appreciate your support. But when providing technical advice to our readers, you have to be prepared to defend your position among "your peers".

Thanks for the Welcome, all of you. Cheers.

I used to have 2 x 256Mb or RAM in it - but I was given 2 x 512Mb about 3 months ago. I just slotted it into the reciever, andit worked fine. I noticed a little difference in gaming speed, etc. But, thats also when my problem arose, I left the 2 sticks in, it wouldnt switch on, I took 1 out, it just made a long beep. I replaced it with the other stick and - HEY PRESTO ! It works ! I tried the other stick again, just to make sure, and I was correct. So now, I know the cause of the problem.

Can anyone tell me though, why it would shut down for a week ? Please. It just puzzles me.

Another thing I wanted to ask, is for advice, regarding building my own PC. I want it for gaming mainly, but also TV compatible. Any advice on any sites that sell good quality stuff, but for cheap.

Many, many thanks
Thanks everyone, again. Great site.

First, sorry for the distractions.

The week part is really immaterial. The only real factor might have been heat, but once it fully cooled, that would no longer be a factor. So a week passing had nothing to do with it. It started when it did because you held your tongue right, or because the stars were aligned just right, or who knows? That's the problem with intermittent problems - they are hard to track down. In my old radio maintenance days, we used to call that "FM" - not for frequency modulation, but for a certain type of magic! But I would still suspect the power supply if you have more problems, and the RAM seems okay.

Another thing I wanted to ask, is for advice, regarding building my own PC. I want it for gaming mainly, but also TV compatible. Any advice on any sites that sell good quality stuff, but for cheap.

New problem, new thread. Please start a new thread with this question. Indicate the purpose of the machine (you already said gaming) but also your budget, and what you already bring to the table (keyboard, mouse, monitor/TV, etc.).