[BloodEagle]

I've been planning on a complete format for a few weeks now, but a problem recently emerged that has me worried about the process failing, and leaving me stranded. 

In the event that it is not a software based error (virus, corrupted files, etc.), I'd like to at least have an idea of which piece of hardware I need to replace.  So, if you know the cause and / or fix, for the love of [insert cute animal / evil monster of your choice here], let me know.

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Symptom: 
     Semi-regularly (almost random) during certain tasks, my computer will instantaneously shut itself off.  At this point, the green LED indicator will steadily flash (as if it were hibernating), and my computer will refuse to start (it doesn't even attempt to power-up).

Temporary Solution: 
     Kill the power.  A short while after the LED stops blinking, turning the power on immediately starts the computer in a boot-up sequence.

Known Tasks Where Problem Occurs Semi-Regularly:

• Flash: When interacting (clicking, etc.) with the program.  Does not seem to occur if program is left to its own devices.  Seems to mainly occur with Hulu.
• Adobe Premiere: On video import, effects rendering, or uninstall.  Occurred with virtually every attempt.

Known Tasks Where Problem Occurs Rarely:

• Audacity: Only when recording from a microphone.  Occurred once.
• Boot-up: I'm not sure if this one actually happened, or if I just misheard the power-up sequence for a nearby fan.

Notes:

• This does not occur with regard to high temperature or RAM usage.
• Super© has never caused this, despite converting GB of files at a time.
• This has not occurred with any commercial game.
• This has not occurred with Dwarf Fortress.

Theories:

• *Corrupted Registry / Windows Install: I really hope that it's this, but I've never heard of software causing boot-up-incapability.
• *Power Supply Failure: Seems possible, though I don't know why it would discriminate.
• **Mainboard Failure: Mainboards aren't my thing, so I've no idea about this.
• Hard Disk Drive Failure: I think it would occur more often, if this were the problem.

*Least difficult to fix.
**Too old to replace. I'd have to scrap most of the system.

[Klaustrophobia]

this sounds somewhat similar to something i had a long time ago.  inspect the capacitors on your motherboard.  what happened to mine is several of them corroded and ruptured, and caused power-downs like that.  although like you said, i don't know why this would discriminate.  maybe there's something about adobe's stuff that causes a sharp spike in activity and sends more signals through the board.

[Nuke]

did you rule out viruses and spyware?

might want to check your bios sleep state settings. i usually disable sleep on my systems and use hibernate if needed, but i perfer to shut down when im not using it.

if you can run the system now, then after a reinstall it should still be running. format+install shouldnt affect the state of the hardware. if the problem is software, it will clear it up, if its hardware then the system will act as it does. just make sure you back up your files, you have all your drivers (especially network drivers), and a working os install disc. even if the symptoms come back, you will have at least eliminated software as the problem.

for hardware problems i find that psu failures are usually accompanied by funny sounds, like hissing capacitors. hd failures would be constantly corrupting data and giving you disk i/o errors, and the hard drive could be making funny sounds, like scraping or grinding noises. motherboards usually fail because something else has failed, like a psu. ive had situations where i though a mobo was fried, but it came back to life on a different power supply or with different processor or memory. then again i had a mobo where a voltage regulator on the mobo exploded and flew flaming across the room (this was probibly a psu problem but it fried the mobo before i could figure that out).  i personally think its a software problem.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Yea that could be anything from the PSU going bad to the video card overheating and shutting down to prevent damage.  Intermittent problems are the worst ones.  Check fans and blow the dust out for starters. 

[BloodEagle]

I already blew all the dust out.  And I'm pretty sure that it isn't the video card problem, as I just ran TF2 for an hour with no problems.  I also disable sleep modes on all of my systems.

I'll check the capacitors, in the morning.

[Nuke]

this could also be something stupid, like a bad power cable or surge suppressor. so check that kinda stuff too. if your keyboard has a sleep button, check to make sure its not stuck.

[Kosh]

Yea that could be anything from the PSU going bad to the video card overheating and shutting down to prevent damage.  Intermittent problems are the worst ones.  Check fans and blow the dust out for starters. 

If it was overheating or a power problem it wouldn't hibernate, it would simply shut down.

[BloodEagle]

Inspection Results:  No apparent damage to any of the internal components.  I hear a light... flapping (almost a grind, but not quite)... sound coming from the back (not the middle) vent.  It might just be a wire being blown against the case, though.  In any case, the HDD sounds fine.

If I can't figure it out by tonight, I'm just going to knuckle down and hope for the best.  And then I'll know whether or not I need to replace anything.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Yea that could be anything from the PSU going bad to the video card overheating and shutting down to prevent damage.  Intermittent problems are the worst ones.  Check fans and blow the dust out for starters. 

He said it shuts down.  Re-read the first post. 

If it was overheating or a power problem it wouldn't hibernate, it would simply shut down.

[Nuke]

Inspection Results:  No apparent damage to any of the internal components.  I hear a light... flapping (almost a grind, but not quite)... sound coming from the back (not the middle) vent.  It might just be a wire being blown against the case, though.  In any case, the HDD sounds fine.

If I can't figure it out by tonight, I'm just going to knuckle down and hope for the best.  And then I'll know whether or not I need to replace anything.

grinding noise is always certain with old dirty fans. and that is the sound you hear when a wire gets too close to a fan, neither should be a major problem. i had a psu once make a high pitch whiny noise for months, it never flat out failed but the sound got so annoying i replaced it anyway.

an os reinstal is a good way to eliminate software problems. might want to run some memory testers too just to be on the safe side.

[BloodEagle]

Well, that was officially the most Hellish format session, ever.  Turns out that it wasn't a software error (), and it effects Windows Update.  ()

I just finished getting everything set-up (system wise), and still have to move my data, favorites, etc. back to my HDD.  I started the process at midnight, this morning.

[BloodEagle]

New Symptoms:

The Problem® occurred whilst downloading Alien Swarm (which doesn't stay in your game list, btw).  Then, upon boot (when it started loading Windows), The Problem® reoccurred.  After waiting ~30 minutes, normal booting caused the same problem.  After one minute, booting from the 'last known working startup' thing resulted in success.

I'm prepared to label this as a growing HDD failure, unless anyone has a better-fitting theory.

[Nuke]

run a self booting memory test. if that passes think about a new psu. hard drive diagnostics would be a good idea as well.

[Klaustrophobia]

running checkdisk ought to be able to tell you if your harddrive is on its way out.  tick all the scanning options and let it run overnight.

[BloodEagle]

Memtest86+ found no errors.  I'm going to start a HDD check, and sleep through it.

[BloodEagle]

The Problem® either occurred during the last test (test of free space) or just after.  On boot, it said that Checkdisk didn't find any problems, despite the fact that it found indexing errors in one of the early tests.

Does anyone know of a good, free self-boot HDD diagnostic tool?

[Nuke]

check with whoever manufactures your hard drive. i know both segate and western digital have hard drive diagnostic programs for download, not sure about everyone else.

[Klaustrophobia]

indexing errors aren't that bad, and should be fixed by checkdisk.  you're looking for bad sectors if the drive is bad.

[BloodEagle]

Seatools found nothing wrong with the HDD.  Damn.

-Hard Disk
-Power Supply
-Mainboard

Next Test: Plug my PSU into a different computer.

[FUBAR-BDHR]

Another possibility is a grounding issue.  If the motherboard (or another component) is grounding out periodically it could cause those symptoms.  One of the reasons when I build a computer I put electrical tape over the standoffs to insulate them in case the case doesn't line up perfectly or the board comes loose.  Back in the day this used to happen quite frequently with cheap cases.  It's 2 cents of security that's easy to add. 

Have you tired disconnecting everything but the PSU, MB, Vid and HD and running it that way?  Of course anything built into the MB will need to be connected as will the KB/mouse.  If you reduce the load on the PSU and it doesn't happen then you know it's either the PSU or one of the cards/devices you removed.  Hook one back up, try again, disconnect, repeat with next device.