Hi For no apparent reason my pc is randomly switching off, leaving only the green light showing. I have Windows 7 Home Premium, AVG Free and am using Windows own firewall. This has been happening for a couple of weeks when the pc is idle but now it is occurring whilst it is in use. Very frustrating. The Event Log shows a myriad of errors, nearly all different error messages. I haven't loaded any new programs or hardware recently. I have had the sides off and used the compressed air to remove dust, checked connections. I replaced the PSU and the CPU fan a couple of years ago. Any help gratefully received
Cleaning out the heat trapping dust is critical so that was good. Was it very dirty?
What are your temps? Have you done any supplemental manual scanning for malware? Such as with Malwarebytes's Anti-Malware (MBAM)? Windows Firewall is perfectly fine. I use that myself, along with MSE.
Unfortunately, sudden freezes, reboots, and shutdowns can be caused by many things, so troubleshooting can be hard. Why did you replace the hard drive before? Is it still good? I always like to know for certain I am supplying good power so I generally swap in a known good one just to be sure. So if your old one replaced just for more power, you might try swapping that in again. Just don't tax your system to the max if that PSU is low powered.
You can also try using one stick of RAM at a time and see what happens.
Inspect the motherboard for bulging or leaking electrolytic capacitors. These failed or failing capacitors are a common cause of sudden, but seemingly random system lock ups and reboots. The capacitors look like tall soda cans, many of which surround the CPU socket.
All older motherboards, and many of today's less expensive motherboards use electrolytic capacitors containing a liquid electrolyte. Failing (including flawed and/or abused/over-heated) capacitors literally bulge at the seams due to excessive internal pressures. Extreme (and very rare) cases result in a firecracker type explosion or "pop" or "snap" type sound that can really stink up a room. Typically, electrolyte just oozes from the pressure relief point, which appears as a symbol or letter stamped in the top of the capacitor casing. The electrolyte can be caustic to motherboards and flesh. Look for white to dark-brown, dried liquid or foam on the tops or bottoms of the capacitors. Bulging capacitors are a sign leakage is about to occur.
A motherboard with bulging or leaky capacitors can be repaired, but often it is more cost effective in the long run to replace the motherboard.
Be sure to first power down, unplug the computer, and keep yourself discharged by touching the bare metal of the case before reaching in.
Oh dear Digerati, it sounds rather complex for the likes of me - a very senior citizen! I have run Malwarebytes and it found 30+ infections which have now been removed - 2 were trojans VUndo but looking on the web it doesn't seem to convey that it would have any effect on my problem however I will wait and see. With regards the temps - I have no idea how to find them. The cpu was changed by my technician in a trial and error situation as I was having a similar problem to the current one so I don't know about the TIM. The first one that was replaced was faulty so had to get another. When this did not solve the problem he advised me to return the psu as it was stll under warranty and it was of course retained. I actually did the changeover in that case and all has worked fine ever since. With regards the dust - I didn't feel it was too bad, nothing seemed clogged up but it has taught me to have a spring clean on a regular basis. I will look at the motherboard after a night's sleep when I can face the problem again.
Since MBAM found something I would suggest you have our Malware Removal experts have a look to make sure all is gone now. Please read this then start a new topic here.
If it was a technician (and not your neighborhood wizkid) then I am sure TIM was used.
Your motherboard utilities disk should have a monitoring program (or check for a more recent version on your motherboard or PC maker's website). If none, I recommend CoreTemp for newer Intel and AMD64 CPUs, or RealTemp for Intels. SpeedFan is a great and popular alternative, or you can try Motherboard Monitor. Unfortunately, I have found that these programs often have problems properly identifying and labeling the sensor they are reading. The temperatures shown are as accurate as the inexpensive, low-tech sensors will allow, but it may say System Fan instead of CPU Fan. Fortunately, the programs do allow you to edit the labels, so I use Everest to verify the temperatures (as it is able to match sensor with label correctly), then edit the label in the monitoring program. In Everest, look under Computer > Sensor, then wait a couple seconds for the readings to appear. Unfortunately, Everest does not minimize to the system tray to show real-time temperatures, otherwise, you could use Everest instead of the others. Check but do not rely on the temps shown in the BIOS Setup Menu. While they are likely correct, running the BIOS Setup Menu is probably the least demanding task you can ask of your computer so it does not show the temps when the system is being taxed. But if the BIOS Setup Menu temps are high, you have problem that needs to be corrected. HWMonitor, from the makers of CPUID is also very informative, but does not minimize to the system tray.
That said, it is best not to make any changes to your system until after the Malware Removal experts have cleared your system. This is to ensure no changes affect the logs they may ask for.
Thank you Digerati - I have been working on it most of the day. Just get one scan almost finished and the pc stops but I think I got there in the end although the GMER one may have been incomplete. I await the comments with interest. Thank you for your continuing support.
The CPU temps are fine, but there could be other heat sensitive components on the motherboard doing this. Or you could have another bad PSU. HW Monitor listed above can tell you about your other temps. Blasting a desk fan into the open side can help determine if heat is the issue, though if due to a failing part, that is not conclusive.
Outside of the things I suggested trying above, I am afraid I am at a loss. I do note there are many reports of AVG causing shutdowns but I am not sure that is really the cause. Still, you could uninstall AVG and install another anti-malware solution to check. I personally use and recommend Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE).
I'm glad something is OK. I have removed AVG (with the remover) and installed MSE. I have downloaded HW Monitor and this is the result:
CPUID HWMonitor Report
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hardware monitor Fintek F71882F
Voltage 0 3.41 Volts [0xD5] (+3.3V)
Voltage 1 1.22 Volts [0x99] (CPU VCORE)
Voltage 2 1.98 Volts [0x7C] (VIN2)
Voltage 3 1.21 Volts [0x67] (VIN3)
Voltage 4 5.13 Volts [0x7A] (+5V)
Voltage 5 12.50 Volts [0x8E] (+12V)
Voltage 6 1.84 Volts [0x73] (VIN6)
Voltage 7 3.42 Volts [0xD6] (VSB3V)
Voltage 8 3.15 Volts [0xC5] (VBAT)
Temperature 0 24°C (75°F) [0x18] (TMPIN0)
Temperature 1 29°C (84°F) [0x1D] (TMPIN1)
Temperature 2 34°C (93°F) [0x22] (TMPIN2)
Fan 0 2165 RPM [0x2B5] (FANIN0)
Fan PWM 0 100 pc [0xFF] (CPU)
Fan PWM 1 100 pc [0xFF] (System Fan 1)
Fan PWM 2 100 pc [0xFF] (System Fan 2)
Fan PWM 3 100 pc [0xFF] (System Fan 3)
Processors Information
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Processor 1 ID = 0
Number of cores 2 (max 2)
Number of threads 2 (max 2)
Name Intel Pentium E2180
Codename Conroe
Specification Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2180 @ 2.00GHz
Package (platform ID) Socket 775 LGA (0x0)
CPUID 6.F.D
Extended CPUID 6.F
Core Stepping M0
Technology 65 nm
Core Speed 1200.0 MHz
Multiplier x FSB 6.0 x 200.0 MHz
Rated Bus speed 800.0 MHz
Stock frequency 2000 MHz
Instructions sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, EM64T
L1 Data cache 2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 1024 KBytes, 4-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes
FID range 6.0x - 10.0x
Max VID 1.325 V
USB Device Generic USB Hub, class=0x09, subclass=0x00, vendor=0x05E3, product=0x0608
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device, class=0x00, subclass=0x00, vendor=0x07AB, product=0xFCFE
USB Device Logitech USB Camera (HD Webcam C510), class=0xEF, subclass=0x02, vendor=0x046D, product=0x081D
USB Device USB Composite Device, class=0x00, subclass=0x00, vendor=0x045E, product=0x0734
USB Device USB Input Device, class=0x00, subclass=0x00, vendor=0x09DA, product=0x022B
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