My machine:
Dell XPS 400
Windows XP, SP3
Pentium D 3.0 ghz processor
2 GB of ram (1 gig was original and I added a gig last year)
Stock dell PSU (I'd have to look up the specifics)
Asus EN9600GT 512MB video card (recently up graded from a GeForce 7800 GTX)
My problem:
A few months ago I started to get some hang ups while playing games or any video intense applications. My machine would lock up with a wierd orange screen on the monitor. A power down would fix the problem but no intense apps could be ran for a bit. The problem was completely random and the machine could run for days without repeating. I updated drivers, reinstalled components and all of that jazz but the problem still persisted. Again, this was completely random and actually went away for a couple weeks before resurfacing.
Since then and since the new video card has been installed, I don't get any of the hang ups I was having. However, now what seems to be occuring is that my computer just randomly shuts down. I thought I was having a heat issue but I've checked all of the fans, cleaned the dust, left the case open and yet it will still shut down at times. The strangest part of the whole thing is the shut downs are happening when the computer is not in use (at night, while I'm at work, etc.). When I have been around to witness them, Windows actually closes all open programs and goes through the shut down process.
To complicate matters even more, the last 2 times the machine was turned off when I approached it (twice in the last 4-5 days) it would shut back off immediately open reaching my desktop. Then it would proceed to try and turn itself back on.
So to sum that all up: Random shut downs and/or restarts have been occuring for the last few months. None of these seems to be tied to applications as it's happening when the computer is idle. I've run Memtest, cleaned dust, check all the fans (to clarify there are no temp sensors on this machine), updated drivers, run virus apps and nothing has produced any result. Could this be a faulty power button since it's closing apps? Is it overheating? Could it be the PSU?
Dell psus = rubbish.
Get a Decent good Quality 650W in there Like the Corsair TX or the Thermaltake toughpower / Seasonic / PC Power & Cooling.
