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From: Rick on 11 Jan 2010 16:01
John P. wrote:
> My system will just completely power off after about 10-15 minutes of
> running, but I can open up the case side and put a box fan blowing directly
> on it and it will run for as long as I want. It's been working fine for
> about a year and just started doing this about a week ago. Unfortunately
> both the front and rear fans are spinning as well as the one on the CPU and
> the powersupply so I'm at a loss as to how to figure out what's
> over-heating... and unfortunately I do not have any spare parts to try... is
> there anything else I can look at or check to help locate the problem? I
> really don't have the cash laying around to start replacing things.
>
>
get a can of compressed air open you to get to the components and spray
each them and see which one is hot

--

Rick
Fargo, ND
N 46�53'251"
W 096�48'279"


Remember the USS Liberty
http://www.ussliberty.org/




From: Paul on 11 Jan 2010 17:31
John P. wrote:
> "Paul" <nospam(a)needed.com> wrote in message
> news:hifn2i$lh7$1(a)news.eternal-september.org...
>> John P. wrote:
>>> My system will just completely power off after about 10-15 minutes of
>>> running, but I can open up the case side and put a box fan blowing
>>> directly on it and it will run for as long as I want. It's been working
>>> fine for about a year and just started doing this about a week ago.
>>> Unfortunately both the front and rear fans are spinning as well as the
>>> one on the CPU and the powersupply so I'm at a loss as to how to figure
>>> out what's over-heating... and unfortunately I do not have any spare
>>> parts to try... is there anything else I can look at or check to help
>>> locate the problem? I really don't have the cash laying around to start
>>> replacing things.
>> Speedfan can give you some temperature readouts, but that won't tell
>> you everything.
>>
>> http://www.almico.com/speedfan440.exe
>>
>> (screenshot)
>> http://www.almico.com/images/mainwindow.gif
>>
>> The computer should have a sensor for the CPU, and perhaps
>> one for the motherboard or chipset. The HDD may also have a
>> temperature readout (but that isn't going to shut down the PC).
>> (You can't believe the labels in Speedfan - it knows there are
>> sensors, it reads them out, but the label as to which does what,
>> might not be correct. Sometimes two sensors will be swapped.)
>>
>> So you can at least check the CPU temp and see if it is over 70C.
>>
>> Some older computers use a separate chip to monitor overtemp. My
>> S462 AthlonXP motherboard had an 8 pin DIP chip, whose only job
>> was shutting off the computer if it got too hot. That chip connected
>> to a diode inside the CPU, as a means to monitor the temperature.
>> Sometimes, a chip like that can be mis-adjusted, and is tripping
>> at too low a temperature. On modern systems, a more reliable
>> scheme may be used, where the "THERMTRIP" signal comes right from
>> the CPU itself. So the CPU tells the motherboard in that case,
>> when it wants the power shut off.
>>
> Thanks, I'll check the BIOS tonight to see what sort of diagnostics it has
> and I'll give that software a try... hopefully I'll get lucky!
>

If it isn't a CPU temperature problem, it could always be the
power supply which is shutting things down. They have protection
features and can do that if there is a problem.

Do you have to toggle the power switch on the back of the system,
to get it to start again ? And if so, if the system is still warm
and you run it again, does it shut down faster the second time ?

Paul
From: Bug Dout on 13 Jan 2010 00:20
Rick <fholbrook(a)nospam.cableone.net> writes:

> get a can of compressed air

Good.

> open you to get to the components and
> spray each them and see which one is hot

Eh, why bother. Use the can of compressed gas to clean out ALL the
intake openings, they've clearly gathered dust and junk and even though
your fans are running they're not moving much air through the case
interior anymore. So blow out all the openings and it will be a lot
happier. Don't waste time trying to figure which component is hot and
bothered, the whole interior is too hot. While you're at it, blow out
the heat sink on the CPU and its fan.
--
When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong you
cannot be too conservative.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
From: Rick on 13 Jan 2010 14:09
Bug Dout wrote:
> Rick <fholbrook(a)nospam.cableone.net> writes:
>
>> get a can of compressed air
>
> Good.
>
>> open you to get to the components and
>> spray each them and see which one is hot
>
> Eh, why bother. Use the can of compressed gas to clean out ALL the
> intake openings, they've clearly gathered dust and junk and even though
> your fans are running they're not moving much air through the case
> interior anymore. So blow out all the openings and it will be a lot
> happier. Don't waste time trying to figure which component is hot and
> bothered, the whole interior is too hot. While you're at it, blow out
> the heat sink on the CPU and its fan.
I think that you are assuming that the heat problem is from a lack of
air movement. I think that might be possible but, I have spent enough
time working with PC's to know that components can get overheated--one
would think that cleaning dust, etc. would be the first thing anyone
would do. :)

--

Rick
Fargo, ND
N 46�53'251"
W 096�48'279"


Remember the USS Liberty
http://www.ussliberty.org/




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