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Resolved Question

PC shutting down and power up on it's own

Mar 12, 2018 4:15PM PDT

I have a custom built gaming PC running windows 10 (and Linux, I don't use that much though) my brother gave me a while back. Lately randomly while I'm using it it will shut down. It isn't just cutting straight to black like an overheat would do, it says "shutting down" first, as if I clicked shut down. And every little while it will power on by itself as well, as if I pressed the power button.

So I've been leaving it unplugged while I am not using it, and I can only use it for a little while before it shuts off. Sometimes it shuts off as soon as it boots up, sometimes it takes about ten minutes, sometimes it takes five.

I cleaned out all the dust inside with compressed air and it did nothing. At one point when it shut its self off it had a blue screen telling me I needed repair tools, but I was able to turn it on again after that anyway. What should I do? Does it need a factory reset? How would I prevent this in the future?

Thanks in advance.

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house_fish has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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My first thought.
Mar 12, 2018 4:19PM PDT

Can't see age of PC, but did you replace thermal paste on all heatsinks?
Dafydd.

Post was last edited on March 12, 2018 4:19 PM PDT

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Reply
Mar 12, 2018 4:23PM PDT

Would a need to replace the thermal paste cause the PC to power on by itself?

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Certainly cause it to power off.
Mar 12, 2018 4:28PM PDT

What is the age? Could be as things cool down, it powers on. Replacing paste is so cheap, that's my first move.
Dafydd.

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Reply
Mar 12, 2018 5:35PM PDT

I can't confirm the age at the moment, but it is probably between 3 and 5 years old. I'll try the thermal paste like you said. Thanks!

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As I said...
Mar 12, 2018 5:45PM PDT

cheapest thing to try first. If no go, time to look at hardware.
Dafydd.

Post was last edited on March 12, 2018 5:48 PM PDT

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Answer
Dust
Mar 12, 2018 7:53PM PDT

When you cleaned out the dust did you give the psu a few shots of air from both directions?