Wierdest problem: Computer shuts down randomly

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DSHBI

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Hey guys,

A while back I built a computer. Here are the specs if they help at all:

Abit NF7-S mobo
Athlon 2500+
Radeon 9600 128
Samsung 80 7200
350 psu
512 333 DDR samsung

The thing ran fine for a few months, but over the last 2 it started to turn off abruptly, without going through the shutdown sequence (as if someone pulled the chord). The strange thing is, the red light on the mobo stays on but i have to unplug the comp, wait a few seconds, and plug it back in before it will turn on again. At first this would happen every other day, then every few hours, and now I can't even get into windows :(.

I have tried various things to try to solve the problem. I have replaced the psu, hard drive and memory but ran into the same problem all over again. One thing I must note is when i replaced the ram it ran smoothly for a notable amount of time, but in the end started to shut off again. I have set the case to turn off after four seconds of continuous pressing of the button, and my cpu temperature is constantly under 50 degrees.

I suspect that something is faulty in my bios, and I am considering updating it, even though It ran all of the components smoothly in the past. Can I update the bios using the windows cd as a boot disk? or do i need to use floppies?

Thanks guys.
 
I don't know much about it, but I do know there's a virus you can get that will shut your computer down like that. But I would have thought when you changed the hd that it wouldn't have happened any more. Good luck...
 
Thanks for the feedback, I have pretty much narrowed it down to either something wrong with the mobo/cmos or not enough power. I simply replaced the stock 350 watt unit with an atec 350 and the problem still occured. I want to try a 400+watt psu but the comp used to run fine on the 350 and I havent really added anything since then.
 
just a thought but it might be the case that something loads the psu, causing it to decrease its voltage to below the threshold to make the rest of the machine to go, at low voltage the machine just shuts down.

i dont know how that theory fits in with the fact that in the begining your system is ok, and goes bad with time,
 
Yeah, check the PSU like rookie said. Also, make sure the MBD isn't grounding on the case somewhere. That may explain why you have to literally 'unplug' it and plug it back in to start back up.
 
I decided to experiment a little and play around with a dual-HD setup with an extra stick of ram in. I wanted to see if the psu would shut down faster with more stuff connected to the mobo. Sure enough, the computer shut down about 2 seconds after me pressing the on button, and never got past that. Is this proof of an underpowered power supply unit?
 
i think so, i guess what the bits powering up in each device, there is more current sinked, and this would cause the voltage to drop, goes down below the threshold and voila, your computer shuts down
 
Ok, yesterday i bought an Aspire 500 watt psu from recommendation from one of my friends. After I installed it the computer would stay on for significantly longer but would still shut off after a minute or so. What does this mean?
 
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