My PC keeps shutting down by itself (again...)

It's a specification to change in the BIOS and/or in Windows power management...
--
1 LINK IS BETTER THAN 2, YOU'LL HAVE IT...
;)

I apologize, I have little time to respond to you tonight, but still this because it is rare for people to express their problem so well.
I'm waiting a bit for your comments on your consumption, but the link with the USB ports is not trivial. I know that some motherboards had a power consumption problem related to the USB port a while ago: this was the case with my Asus P5GDC, among others. Asus proposed a BIOS update that fixed this issue (I imagine it was rather a problem with the driver for one of the chipsets). Is your BIOS up to date? If not, it's worth checking out Asus after you find the exact model name of your motherboard: http://support.asus.com/default.aspx?SLanguage=en-us
If you don't know the name, download SIW or WinAudit. These are two software programs that don't require installation and are more precise than Everest for identifying certain hardware.
On my side, I will try to find answers regarding this excessive consumption issue (if indeed that is what it is) and I will get back to you tomorrow if I find an answer before another friendly contributor. :-)
Best regards.
See you soon

--
Potius mori quam foedari

I was thinking like Orken while reading Mr. Arnahude's problem.

It reminds me of a Windows setting:
"when I press the power button"
and there you can choose "restart", "sleep", "turn off the computer".

A false contact in the front panel case might be to blame and could cause the normal shutdown of the system.
This would agree with the story of USB devices (if they are connected at the front) that are in the same case as the power button; moving them could jiggle the front panel case and affect the power button.
It would also explain the fact that the PC starts by itself, a tiny electrical arc (a voltage spike from the network, who knows?) and boom, it's on.
The same goes for moving the tower.
For sluggish startups like a car in winter, perhaps some contact/disconnection issues of the same nature.
For post #28, it could still be the case. Reconnecting the power supply switch could cause an arc in the power button and thus start the PC.
Same for post #26.

So if that's the case, change your case :-D

Hello and thank you for the quick response,
Here is the probe report issued by Everest:

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003-2005 Lavalys, Inc. ]---------------

Version EVEREST v2.20.405/en
Website http://www.lavalys.com/
Report type Report generator
Computer PRDPRIET-92C915
Generator Proprietary
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Date 2007-03-30
Time 02:11

--------[ Probe ]----------------------------------------------------------

Probe properties:
Probe type Winbond W83627EHF (ISA 290h)
Motherboard name Asus P4GD / P4GPL / P5AD / P5GD / P5P800 Series

Temperatures:
Motherboard 41 °C (106 °F)
Processor 54 °C (129 °F)
WDC WD2000JD-55HBB0 34 °C (93 °F)

Fans:
Processor 1412 RPM
Chassis 2344 RPM

Voltage values:
CPU Core 1.51 V
+3.3 V 3.26 V
+5 V 5.48 V
+12 V 11.86 V
Standby +5 V 4.95 V
Debug Info F 90 EF FF
Debug Info T 41 54 45
Debug Info V A5 DF CC CC FF C3 01 (03)
________________________________________________________

The processor temperature does not exceed 60°. (It fluctuates between 54 and 60°)
However, I will clean my PC as you indicated, it won't hurt it…
(By the way, I will tell you the power supply wattage.)

My PC is just a year old. When I bought it, I added a RAM stick from my old computer, but I removed it a few months ago, thinking my problems came from that. I already had isolated issues at startup: often, nothing happened when I pressed the power switch, or the startup was "lagging." At that time, I took my tower to the repair shop, but everything went fine when he plugged it in his workshop. (None of my personal external peripherals were connected), so I went home empty-handed… I then realized that "tinkering" with the USB ports could affect the startup.
I thought that having too many devices on the same USB port was responsible for these problems, but even when my USB power strip is unplugged, the troubles persist.
My issue of the PC shutting down at startup is recent (Only two weeks at most). But it has become almost systematic.

In terms of external devices, I have retrieved those from my old setup:
- Scanner,
- Printer,
- Graphics tablet,
- Webcam,
I had to update the drivers for these devices when switching from Windows 98 (on my old PC) to Windows XP (on the new one). The system recognizes all my peripherals perfectly.
I diligently perform Windows updates.
I have not acquired any new external devices since, except for my digital camera that I connect/disconnect occasionally but which is perfectly recognized by my system.
I also have two monitors (my graphics card manages the "dual-screen").

Questions:
- I haven't connected my Wifi antenna to the motherboard, could this affect its behavior? (I have a Freebox connected via ethernet.)
- If I had a problem with the power switch, would it coincide with the shutdown after a minute of Windows, abruptly cutting off my programs, but going through the shutdown page?

Thank you in advance for your help.
Best regards.

Alim !

USBs are peripherals that demand a lot from the power supply when they are not powered by their own source...

Don't hesitate to get a good power supply:

http://www.choixpc.com/boitier.htm

https://www.ldlc.com/informatique/pieces-informatique/alimentation-pc/c4289/
--
1 LINK IS WORTH MORE THAN 2 YOU'LL HAVE IT...
;)

Hi Arnahude
Check the internal temperatures of your machine, for example by using the Everest tool. If they exceed 60 degrees (and as long as the computer is not new but has been used for at least a few months), it would be advisable to do a little cleaning: Clean the computer with a can of compressed air (much more effective and less dangerous than a vacuum cleaner), especially the fans and air circulation pathways (make sure it is cold before doing this operation to avoid thermal shock that could damage the device).
- Open the case and first try to vacuum as much dust as possible with your vacuum hose to avoid pushing too much into the nooks and crannies of the system: avoid getting too close to the motherboard as the vacuum could remove jumpers. Also take this opportunity to clean the front filter if there is one on your tower (they are often removable from the bottom of the computer).
- Try to prevent the fan blades from spinning while you blow or vacuum as they could exceed their maximum speed, which can damage them and even generate electricity that could harm components: block them, for example, with a toothpick or, better, a finger while taking multiple precautions to avoid damaging anything. This is a delicate maneuver.
- Be careful, certain cans of compressed air contain liquid that will come out if tilted. Always hold these cans upright.
If that's not it, try to identify the power of your power supply (it is always indicated somewhere on the PSU) and let us know, as well as if you have added any peripherals (internal or external) since purchasing the device and what they are.
Good luck!
See you later

--
Potius mori quam foedari

On the way, this will clarify my current setup:

Date 2007-03-30
Time 02:50

[Summary]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
System Service Pack Service Pack 2
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
System Name
User Name Owner

Motherboard:
Processor Type Intel Pentium 4 640, 3200 MHz (16 x 200)
Motherboard Name Asus P5GD1-FM (FSC OEM) (3 PCI, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR DIMM, Audio, LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset Intel Grantsdale i915P
System Memory 1024 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type AMI (01/10/05)
Communication Port Communication Port (COM1)

Monitor:
Video Card RADEON X550 Secondary (256 MB)
Video Card RADEON X550 (256 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI Radeon X550 (RV370)
Monitor Dell E171FP [17" LCD] (7R4153CUEPKJ)
Monitor Iiyama Vision Master Pro 451 A902MT [19" CRT] (110750039554)

Multimedia:
Audio Card Intel 82801FB ICH6 - High Definition Audio Controller [B-1]

Storage:
IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801FB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 2651
IDE Controller Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 266F
Hard Drive Generic STORAGE DEVICE USB Device
Hard Drive Generic STORAGE DEVICE USB Device
Hard Drive Generic STORAGE DEVICE USB Device
Hard Drive Generic STORAGE DEVICE USB Device
Hard Drive Generic STORAGE DEVICE USB Device
Hard Drive WDC WD2000JD-55HBB0 (186 GB, IDE)
Optical Drive PHILIPS DVD8631 (DVD+R9:2.4x, DVD+RW:16x/4x, DVD-RW:8x/4x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:40x/24x/40x DVD+RW/DVD-RW)
Hard Drive Status SMART OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 190771 MB (41790 MB free)

Input:
Keyboard PIH keyboard device
Mouse Logitech USB First/Pilot Mouse+
Mouse Wacom Mouse

Network:
Network Card CREATIX 802.11g Adapter
Network Card Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Ethernet NIC (82.227.116.56)
Modem PCI Soft Data Fax Modem with SmartCP

Devices:
Printer Adobe PDF
Printer Canon i550
USB Controller Intel 82801FB ICH6 - USB Universal Host Controller [B-1]
USB Controller Intel 82801FB ICH6 - USB Universal Host Controller [B-1]
USB Controller Intel 82801FB ICH6 - USB Universal Host Controller [B-1]
USB Controller Intel 82801FB ICH6 - USB Universal Host Controller [B-1]
USB Controller Intel 82801FB ICH6 - Enhanced USB2 Controller [B-1]
USB Device Generic USB Hub
USB Device Creative WebCam NX Ultra #3
USB Device Logitech USB First/Pilot Mouse+
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Human Interface Device
USB Device USB Composite Device

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Hello,
This could be a good lead regarding this BIOS update... especially since it's over two years old. Thank you for this lead!
However, while trying to resolve this, I encounter the following problem:
I have an ASUS P5GD1-FM motherboard (FSCOEM)
And a BIOS AMI 1000510 made by American Megatrends Inc.

Both manufacturers, Asus and American Megatrends Inc., are passing the buck regarding the upgrade of my BIOS: The former (the manufacturer of my motherboard) tells me to go to the BIOS manufacturer’s site and vice versa:
Just look: on the Asus site, I quote: “Warning! All BIOS information posted on this site pertains only to products sold by ASUS. All BIOS of products manufactured by other vendors must be downloaded from their respective support sites.”
http://support.asus.com/technicaldocuments/technicaldocuments.aspx?root=198&SLanguage=en-us

And in the other direction:
the website of my BIOS manufacturer sends me back to my motherboard manufacturer…
https://ami.com/en/error/

What should I do, please? Thank you in advance for your help.

PS: Regarding my power consumption, is there a way to find out? I will check the power of my power supply tonight; I haven't had the chance to do it yet…

Hello Arnahude
I advise you to follow Michel's advice above all, as he is much more competent than I am.

--
Better to die than to be dishonored

In any case, a stronger power supply would compensate for the issues related to poor USB voltage management (if that's really the problem). As for the BIOS, I'm not quite sure what to say. The motherboard you have is marginal; it's probably a board designed for systems built in series (Compaq, HP, Dell, Acer, etc.). Is that the case? If so, there may be an update available on the manufacturer's website. Otherwise, regarding the BIOS and chipset, these links:
BIOS update flash the BIOS
as well as BIOS
and if you haven't installed SP2, you need to install a Windows update related to the following problem:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/822603
The update is here.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=733dd867-56a0-4956-b7fe-e85b688b7f86&DisplayLang=fr

There you go. I confess that I feel a bit overwhelmed by your problem, which goes beyond my limited technical knowledge: I'm doing my best and learning a lot by searching for solutions to others' problems, but I still have a lot to learn. :-)
Anyway, the description of the symptoms leads me to the same conclusion as Michel: I think a good power supply (with stable voltages) of 450 watts or more could solve your problem, but I still have questions about USB management, if only because if there's a problem, it must be consuming electricity unnecessarily and accelerating the wear of certain hardware. I invite anyone more knowledgeable to come and give their opinion.
If I have any other ideas or discover something more, I'll come back to give you the details here. Good luck! Please keep me posted.

--
Potius mori quam foedari

Thank you for your responses (at late hours), I will take into account everything you just told me and assess...
I admit I am also overwhelmed, especially since the symptoms have variations.
I just encountered a new one: while I was slowly sliding my tower to put it away under my desk over a short distance, Windows closed (still going through the shutdown page, but suddenly cutting short my programs) and the computer shut down...
It seems that even the slightest movement on the peripheral connections (or something else??) influences the system...
Yet the computer had been on for more than two hours... This is the first time this has happened to me (I never usually move my tower.)
Can a single power supply issue cause this kind of inconvenience?? Does an underpowered computer shut down suddenly while still going through the shutdown page??
Maybe there are multiple combined issues...

On those pleasant thoughts, I wish you a good night; I will continue to watch for any possible advice...

Thank you very much for your advice and links; I will act accordingly.
One last question: do you have an explanation for the following phenomenon?
Systematically, when I cut the power using the switch on the back of the tower, then turn the power back on (even several hours later), the computer turns on by itself, without me having to press the power button on the front panel...
What gives it this impulse and makes it start? Where does it "find this trigger"?

At first glance, your CPU fan seems to be running much too slowly and the chassis fan as well.
It's likely that your Power Supply is too weak. If your Windows shuts down through normal shutdown, the cause comes from a protection of the PC and the most probable reason is the temperature. I’ve had this issue before and I finally found that the temperature sensors on the Motherboard had become defective and were no longer indicating the correct temperature, thus indicating a much higher temperature than the actual one, which triggered the CPU's automatic protection to prevent it from burning, and the computer turned off by itself... so I had to replace the Motherboard and the problem was resolved. Updating the BIOS is useless if your computer has always worked well and you haven’t changed anything on the CPU and RAM side.

And for your last question, in your BIOS, you probably have a power management option and in that, you surely also have an option for power outages (power failure). And this option gives you choices such as:
If there is a power outage:

-leave the computer off
-Automatically power on, etc.

It’s likely that it is set to the automatic power-on option.

You can try a more performant CPU cooler from the brand ANTEC or Thermal Take but it's worth noting that what is happening with the original cooler is not normal.

Good luck!

Hello, I know that the original message is a bit old, however, as a technician at an assembler, I have already repaired quite a few Fujitsu Siemens Scaleos. The motherboards come from Asus and are not listed because they are produced exclusively for integrators, and they are therefore responsible for updates, etc.
Regarding this specific problem of the PC shutting down randomly, I have encountered this issue with several client machines: the culprit is the northbridge, a chip that only has a simple heatsink and no fan. It's this component that heats up immensely and causes the PC to crash sporadically.
I have faced this problem with Scaleo PCs using both Intel and AMD processors. It's a design flaw in the motherboard that is at fault. I have already tried changing the processor, the RAM, the graphics card, the hard drive, unplugging everything USB, running Prime95, Memtest86+, reinstalling XP, or using Linux from a LiveCD (Knoppix), and I systematically encounter crashes after 20-30 minutes. The problem can arise during internet browsing, when connecting a webcam, during an MSN chat, or while playing a 3D game.
We can try to extend the time between crashes by placing a fan on the heatsink, but that doesn't permanently solve the problem. I generally advise my clients to change the motherboard... 100% success rate. I would like to clarify that this does not affect my trust in Asus hardware. It is really a unique case concerning the motherboards produced for Fujitsu Siemens. Asus also produces specific motherboards for HP, and I encounter far fewer problems with those.
I hope I have been able to shed some light for those who will come here.

Hello everyone!

I wanted to acknowledge the clarity of the speakers, and also react regarding FSC.

First of all, as far as we are concerned, I also owned a ScaleoP with a similar configuration: Asus P5GD1-FM (Fujitsu Manufacturer), Intel P4 530J, Samsung DDR-400 Dual, Ati x600 AiW Fanless. I encountered the same issues: crashes, startup failures, persistent reboots, spontaneous unpredictable reboots.
I replaced the power supply with a more powerful one from the same brand (thinking that the addition of RAM was responsible and that the brand of the power supply mattered).
This is my first remark: a higher wattage stabilized my system. But FSP Group is a mess!!! To put it mildly, it's crap; it's better to invest a bit more for a recognized model with good performance.

Second remark: optimizing the cooling of the case (case, CPU) improved things. But indeed, as previously mentioned, the motherboard overheats a lot. This caused freezes (system freezes, hangs), the more powerful but poor-quality power supply, and the GPU, RAM, and even HDD components 'benefiting' from the excess heat emitted by the chipsets (as both are toasters, Northbridge and Southbridge). It's worth noting that placing your case in a wooden PC desk with a compartment for it is not a good idea since wood does not assist, quite the contrary, in dissipating heat.

Result: an FSP 350W power supply is in the trash, another 450W that is no longer used, a graphics card, a set of RAM, and a SATA cable that seems to have taken a "heat hit" due to a motherboard brand that had motivated my purchase. I must admit that aside from this problem, nothing to complain about; it worked remarkably well back in the day and still works today after some modifications. I have since replaced the motherboard, a set of RAM with a heatsink, and good fans for this MicroATX case before selling it.
I now have another Asus, non-OEM, totally different! It's top-notch.

A rant for FSC. This motherboard has an obvious fault. However, I also own an Amilo FSC notebook, which I've had for over 3 years and it works without a hitch despite the fragile and virus-ridden HDD that I recently replaced.

Final remark regarding the BIOS, given the OEM version of the machine, the Windows XP installation DVD is also OEM, as well as the license, and is therefore not compatible with another non-OEM BIOS (there is a check during installation).

Hello, based on the described symptoms (turning off after 4 seconds and turning off when the tower is moved), I can inform you that the fault comes from the On/Off push button, which likely has a small defect in its casing.
To test it, nothing could be simpler, look for where the button is connected on the motherboard; it should be labeled on the motherboard as "PWRSW".
The easiest and safest way to test is to unplug the POWER SWITCH and plug the RESET in its place, and test it that way.
If there is no RESET, you need to disconnect the POWER SW and briefly make contact (1 second) between the two pins of the powerSW with the tip of a screwdriver. Normally, the computer should start every time.
However, I unfortunately don't have any solutions to repair this, as these are not pieces that are easily found.

Hoping to have helped.

I think you overlooked the fact that the PC turns itself on; personally, I'm sticking to my diagnosis. Even if yours is correct, it's not the case here ;)

There's an idea, but it doesn't explain the USB bug.
But anyway, on a post that's almost 2 years old, we will never know the whole story.
--
No SMS language, please be clear and precise in describing your issues,
No off-topic discussions, and I will do my best to help you.

Hi, I had the same problem with my PC, so it turned into a race against time with my computer. When I turn it on, I had to go to Start/Run/msconfig/Startup tab/disable everything and apply, then it was fine. But in my opinion, it's a virus... I know the topic is from 2008, but if it can help someone!

I had the same problem with my wife's computer; it would turn on and off by itself while going through the Windows shutdown process, sometimes just by moving the computer. I searched for a long time, then I changed the switch and the problems were over.