So Frustrated

[El Fangel]

Ok I know that alot of you are computer savvy, and I am getting incredibly frustrated by my computer.

I started using it back on Oct 1st, around nov 1st, It shut off by itself and would not turn back on, I got this checked out, and it turns out my power supply was messed, I got a new one, and then 2 weeks later, my computer started shutting itself off, at seemingly random times but more often then not when I was watching a video, playing a newer game (Doom 3, Unreal Tournament)

This is a brand new computer. I had opinions given

- A really hateful virus - This could be the cause, as for a month or two now, whenever I run an anti-virus scan the comp shuts itself off halfway through. Also I have tryed scans with CA, AVG, Avast!, and spywars with spybot search and destroy, and they all result in the comp turningg itself off.

- Overheating - I know the cooling sysyem isn't that great, and it seems to turn off when ever I have alot of stuff running, but it shouldn't happen with a gig of ram, and a new comp shouldn't overheat in 10-15 minutes of playing Unreal Tournament, also my girlfriend said to vacuum the dust out, and it shits off alot less now, so it may very well be overheating, but everytime I run an anti-whatever program, it shuts itself off.

- Power Supply - Most Logical IMO, since it started doing this almost after, I got my power supply replaced with a "new" one (not 100% sure it was new). Also I screwed around with the voltage settings on the back when it first screwed up to see if that was what was wrong with it. And I don't remember what it was set at 160volts or 230 volts, so that may be the problem

So what do you people think, has this happened to you or anyone you know before? any help will be appreciated and result in rep as its all I can give you :-\

[DS]

Sounds like a definite overheating problem. Most antivirus programs, or even spyware programs, use a lot of CPU usage due to it having to scan so many files. What did you do when you messed around with the voltage? If you turned it up on anything then I really can't see looking any further than overheating. On top of that, video games take a lot of power from your video card and cause a lot of heat.

Try taking off the side of your case and letting some air in that way. If it's a new computer and you know the motherboard type then you could download a program such as Motherboard Monitor and watch your temperatures.

Sounds like overheating to me.

[El Fangel]

Thanks alot, also when I switched the voltage I switched it from 110 - 230 or 230 - 110, I don't know which it was, its on 110 volt right now. Should it be on 230 volt? .

[DS]

If you only switched it once and you know what you switched it from, switch it back. Could be a problem where you're not getting enough power as well.

[El Fangel]

I am not sure which, I switched it from, if you can take a look at the back of your comp, above the power switch there should be a voltage switch if you could tell me which one its set on (which voltage number that shows. ) That would be great, also a virus was detected which I deleted but since then the computer has shut off when doing absolutly nothing!

[DS]

Oh, you changed it from there. That depends on where you live. North America/Japan use 110, Europe and most others use the 230.

[El Fangel]

Yeah the thing is, I can't tell which one its on, I tested it, and when its to the right (with 230 volts) It doesn't work, when its to the left (110 volts) It does.

Anyways, I tryed playing UT after taking the side panel off, it worked for about 10-15 minutes, then shut itself off, I then unplugged it, and felt around to find what over-heated, and my graphics card was very hot, almost to the point that it hurt to keep my fingers on it (Would that be whats over-heating?) And if so, explain what I did next

I put my fan up next to the computer, directed at the graphics card. UT played for roughly the same amount of time, and the graphics card stayed cool. But it still crashed/turned off/or whatever you call it. So what do you think?

[DS]

If it's just turning off it's probably your processor overheating. If it was just the video card overheating your computer would most likely just freeze or turn black. But if the computer actually turns off then your processor probably isn't getting enough cooling. Most computers, if not all, have a safe temperature shut off which means that once your processor hits a certain temperature that is too high, the computer will shut itself off to avoid being fried.

Here is a link to a small program called SpeedFan: http://www.almico.com/speedfan431.exe

If you run that it will show you what your CPU temperature is at. You can change it to Fahrenheit if you would like by going to configure > options and it would be at the bottom. Usually if you see anything around 50C or 120F+, you're going to have a heating problem and that's most likely the case here.

[El Fangel]

Ok here is a screenshot of the heat thing. Tell me whats wrong if you can, alot of temps there, and not sure which one I shoudl be worried about.

[El Fangel]

Has anyone ever used the speedfan program, that DS mentioned. If so could you tell me what each of the temperatures refer to?

[DS]

I don't see a screenshot in that post. It should be labeled like Temperature2 or something like that.

[Vietnamese Crippler]

The hottest temperature should be the CPU
The second highest is most likely the motherboard