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Well there's your problem!
You only use the whole chicken with the blindfold! 
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952)
Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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Hi All,
Had a bit of quandary with Parents PC this weekend. It is an old(ish) XP box they got from me, that has been very loyal and is enjoying a hard earned retirement. The issue was the machine when powered on did the memory check displayed the POST screen got to the XP booting Splash and then powered off... pulled the tower out checked the vents for blockage (disturbed a spider colony clearing the fan on the side of the case!) finally got it too boot to safe mode then restarted it and got it too boot to XP cleanly, defragged the hard drive (not needed but..)
Looked it up on Google and found that the behaviour is usually the heat sink on the processor...  I have never needed to alter this can the processor, could it be this or has my google fu missed again.
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Unlikely - unless you or someone else, this weekend or in the past, removed the cooler and heat sink and did not re-install properly. I've never seen the thermal bond between the cpu and the heat sink break down.
If this machine is as old as I think it is, I would suspect a failing power supply. It's a cheap fix.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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charlieg wrote: I've never seen the thermal bond between the cpu and the heat sink break down.
...and there speaks a man who never owned an XBox 360... 
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952)
Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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There is one of those in my house, and I hate it  . Makes my kids stoopppidd. The only thing worse is watching me try to play it, I just don't have the fingers.
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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If it's a store-bought PC, the thermal compound could have been applied incorrectly at the factory, or they used the compound that was on the heat sink from the CPU manufacturer. I ALWAYS use Arctic Silver when installing a new heat sink.
0) Install the CPU in the socket ensure the surface of both the CPU and the heat sink are clean.
1) Place a small dab of compound on the CPU
2) Spread it out so that you have a thin, even coat covering the entire surface of the CPU.
If you ever remove the heat sink, completely clean off the surface of the cpu and the new (or old) heat sink, and repeat the steps described above when re-assembling.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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A controlled power off during normal running (including on startup) is usually a failsafe on the processor – if it's overheating, it will shut down to avoid permanent damage. In my experience that's usually because either the fan is broken or its intake has become clogged with fluff (particularly if it's down at floor level with its back to a wall, as many computers are). The spider colony was probably the problem.
The processor heat sink is very tightly coupled to the motherboard and is quite a sturdy physical item, in most cases. It would be hard to damage that connection I'd think.
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I've seen several old boxes die of random power offs shortly after boot that weren't related to power supply or cooling; in two of the three cases it was a the pair of machines that went at about the same time such that I wasn't able to swap parts around to make a working system from the wreckage. My AMD 1400 box was a clear case of capacitor plague, but there was nothing visibly wrong with the Athlon 800/900 boxes, or the pair of amd 939 boxes. Both pairs of boxes also shared similar motherboards (Compaq brand in the former, nVidia NF4 in the latter), so I'm not sure which component to blame for the system's deaths. (In the latter case, the NF4's poor reputation for longevity makes me lean towards it; but with both boxes having worked when I last used them a year or two before finding them dead who knows...) I don't have any reason to believe this was an AMD specific problem; but during the period in question I didn't own any Intel boxes to compare against; although my 6yo LGA1366 systems might give failure datapoints if I don't decide to scrap them both in the near future.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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Is it possible? Not really, unless you were a bit sloppy with too much interface material.
I always use Artic Silver but you MUST be careful with that stuff since it's electrically conductive!
Other materials will have varying degrees of electrical conductance so this may or may not be the cause. The only way to be sure is to pull the proc clean it and the heat sink up with 99% rubbing alcohol and carefully reapply.
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The common blends of Arctic Silver aren't conductive, but some are capacitive...
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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Huh. You're right. It's bee a few years since I built a machine.
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Dave Kreskowiak wrote: The only way to be sure is to pull the proc clean it and the heat sink up with 99% rubbing alcohol and carefully reapply.
Yep. For best effect, use a combination of nylon carpet and wool cloth when cleaning and buffing the processor!
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952)
Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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Personally I find applying high proof alcohol to the user works miracles.
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PC does run any faster, but the user doesn't give a 4X!
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I remember that sometimes an improper shutdown would leave the machine in a weird state, where, once powered back up, it would then continue with the shutdown (once the splash screen displayed.) I'd chalk it up to something like that.
Marc
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As Bob says, it's likely to be the PSU - there are all sorts of components in there which age badly, and they tend to dry joint a lot as well.
New ones are cheap - from about £20 on FleaBay - but...I've found that when they fail, they can "spike" the whole machine, leading to failures later (my PSU went, then the HDD a few weeks later, then the memory, then the whole thing went in the bin).
It might be better to get them a more modern pc - with a supported OS so they aren't quite so vulnerable online.
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952)
Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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glennPattonWork wrote: Looked it up on Google and found that the behaviour is usually the heat sink on the processor...  I have never needed to alter this can the processor, could it be this or has my google fu missed again.
It most certainly can be caused by the heatsink.
0. Heatsink clogged with dust and fluff (Most likely)
1. CPU Fan stuffed (Likely)
2. Thermal paste dried and cracked (Possible)
3. Heatsink is corroded and entire unit shite (Have seen this recently)
More often than not a good blow out with an air compressor (stuff those stupid over priced tins of compressed air) will get the fluff out of the CPU Heatsink. the GPU Heatsink, the intake fan, the exhaust fan, the PSU and the case in general. Amazing how much sh*t gets in there and how much difference a clean out can make.
HWMonitor (can't be arsed getting a link) is a great tool for checking various temperature sensors and the voltage of the PSU.
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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I thank you good sir, how are the colonies today? 
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glennPattonWork wrote: I thank you good sir, how are the colonies today?
Terrible. We had the start of Winter last Saturday and the temperature only reached 20 degees celsius during the day. I may soon have to put on the long shorts and thick T shirt.
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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mutter, mutter,  !!
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All true, but he said heat sink "gunk" - so I took it to mean the thermal paste. Once thermal paste sets up, I have never seen the thermal bond break down.
What usually happens is your items - the heat sink is completely jammed up (reducing convection), the fan is plugged (reducing cooling capacity), etc. Once the furballs are removed from the machine, some people just have to remove the heat sink from the processor. If not cleaned and replaced with new thermal compound, the cpu will rapidly overheat. Astonishingly fast (don't ask me how I know).
Charlie Gilley
<italic>Stuck in a dysfunctional matrix from which I must escape...
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." B. Franklin, 1783
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” BF, 1759
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charlieg wrote: All true, but he said heat sink "gunk" - so I took it to mean the thermal paste. Once thermal paste sets up, I have never seen the thermal bond break down.
See my Point 2, I have seen the thermal paste harden and crack/separate. Not common and have only had it once or twice. Cleaned up with mineral turpentine and then with methylated spirits, apply new quality thermal paste and all was good again.
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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I have seen something related but that was with very old AMD processors and only during high load. After running a chess calculation for 2-10 minutes (environment temperature ![Beer | [beer]](https://codeproject.global.ssl.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/beer.gif) may have been a factor) the whole thing overheated and switched off. But if you used that box a lot then... then I would bet my money (as others before me) on the power supply.
Life is too shor
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Problems with improperly applied thermal paste will generally manifest themselves almost immediately, not years down the road; I'd look elsewhere...others have already mentioned the more likely causes.
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