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I have an HP Pavilion 6604y desktop. It is a dual core 2.8GHz, 6GB, 1TB HDD. I updated to Windows 8.1. My problem came before I upgraded though.
A few months ago I was on my computer when it randomly shut off. It restarted just fine, and didn't do it for a while. Then it started to do it frequently... I could go 4-6 hours on it and not have a problem (I do web design as a side hobby) and then other times it could literally go an hour and then shut off. I do believe its the PSU, because one day I had opened the case after it power failed. When it wouldn't turn on, I slapped the PSU out of frustration and it fired on only failing seconds later! :) But when it fails now, I can't just restart it. I have to unplug the cord, wait a few minutes and then plug it back in.
^^ This does sound like a PSU issue.. right? Just so you know, my Power Supply is very quiet, never any noises. My mother board doesn't have any voltage monitors built in, and I don't own a multimeter.
Either way, it only has a 250w power supply (stock) and needs to be upgraded anyhow. However, I don't want to upgrade it if the motherboard is shot.
This is the PSU that I want to get, I just want to know if it's compatible. It appears to be a slim case, so I need to make sure it will fit of course. But the one inside the box right now doesn't look 'small,' it looks pretty standard to me.
---Edit---
I found that if something stops the CPU fan, it will throw out a random BSOD (w8.1) alarm and restart. I removed heatsink and there is still clean thermal paste. Placed it back on and it fired up, so far so good. So I guess the CPU is the issue right? and what are the chances it damaged the motherboard? I know how to add a CPU, but never had to replace a CPU before.
MrJustin
Posted 2013-12-06T19:35:42.880
Reputation: 138
I don't think there's enough evidence to point to the PSU as the issue. The system could just simply be over-heating, and the delay you're experiencing could just be time for something to dissipate some heat. – ernie – 2013-12-06T19:47:09.993
All my fans are spinning (case is open now) and everything is nice and cool. All my plugins are secure.. I do notice that sometimes when I'm loading up something heavy that it will shut off (but not always). So I didn't know if that could have been a CPU issue, or PSU issue due to lacking of getting enough power. – MrJustin – 2013-12-06T19:49:28.100
Just that the fans are spinning doesn't indicate everything is nice and cool - maybe your CPU is overheating? I don't have a source for this, but I recall reading somewhere that once a CPU has had several thermal failures/overheats, it becomes more and more likely to do so. For all you know, the fans are spinning slower than they used to, moving less air due to dust in the fans or the intakes being affected, ambient temp could have gone up, thermal grease could have degraded on the CPU/fan interface, etc etc. – ernie – 2013-12-06T19:52:17.897
:D There is hardly any dust in the case. 95% of the dust is on the back of the PSU (fan intake). The other 5% is on the bottom of the case. The walls are clean when I run my finger a long them. Even the additional fan is clean. Should I try adding additional fans? I had my computer on for 5 minutes today before it shut off (that's what made me post on here). I was just doing some windows updates when it decided to power down. – MrJustin – 2013-12-06T19:57:04.097
My original point was just that the fact that slapping the PSU turned the system back on is not indicative of a PSU issue. I detailed thermal issues as an alternative explanation, which could be the issue. You could try adding a fan - poor man's way to check this might be to open the case, and run it with a desk fan blowing across everything. If it's under a desk, you might try moving it out, which could change the airflow as well, etc etc. Lots of possible issues here, and I don't think it's been isolated. – ernie – 2013-12-06T20:01:12.307
Oh and I will throw out there because I'm reading guides, my fan on my PSU has very little air. It's a cheap stock 250w so I can't imagine it being superb enough to do thermal detection and kick the fan in high gear when it's needed (it could though, I've been wrong before) That's funny you say that! I do have a floor fan running on it at the moment, because a buddy at work suggested that. It stil has power outages while doing so. The PSU fan has warm air coming out of it, not hot, but warm to the hand. My case fan has more air flow than my PSU fan does. – MrJustin – 2013-12-06T20:03:18.123
Not likely you're PSU is overheating - if anything is overheating, it'd be the CPU. Another possible reasons for random shutdown could be dirty power coming in . . . i.e. fluctuations in the voltage or current from the wall. – ernie – 2013-12-06T20:05:36.543
I have moved the computer from one side of the house to the other since then, so that should rule that out. I also have my custom built PC that has 0 problems. I've also done my tests (BIOs) on my hardware, and they always green check for me. It doesn't check PSU though, how can I thermal on CPU? Is there an accurate software to do so? My fan has EXCELLENT air flow coming off of the CPU and is cool, not even luke warm. + I have this big floor fan blowing directly on the side of the case. It literally shut off on me 5 minutes ago. – MrJustin – 2013-12-06T20:21:48.710
Well heres something new! I stuck my hand down by the CPU fan (while not looking) to check for warm air. The fan hit my thumb and literally gave me a flesh wound! So it's moving good, BUT, it gave me a windows 8 INTERNAL_POWER_ERROR blue screen and restarted itself! – MrJustin – 2013-12-06T20:26:53.503
Added additional information to Edit on post ^^^ – MrJustin – 2013-12-06T20:46:17.320