HTPC cuts out

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mattyb

254 posts

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#166173 4-Mar-2015 21:05

My HTPC has been cutting out recently. Just dies with no warning or blue screen or anything. Could be a heat issue? after it dies I can only seem to restart it if I unplug it from the wall and re plug. Which makes me think it's some kind of static buildup problem
Don't know really. Ordinarily it's a very stable machine, AMD processor, win7, 4GB ram etc.

Any ideas?

Apologies if this is posted in the wrong forum.

Thanks in advance.

Batman

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#1251352 4-Mar-2015 21:12

umm ... could be ANYTHING

any more clues?

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#1251353 4-Mar-2015 21:12

from the description - the wall plug is loose. that's why it will only restart when you push it back in.

freitasm

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#1251355 4-Mar-2015 21:14

It could be a overheat issue (dust on vents, dust on heatsync, fan stopped working, etc) or could be a power source that is dying.

Gozer

184 posts

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#1251363 4-Mar-2015 21:32

first thing to do is run a temp monitor of some description and see what the temps are

mattyb

254 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1251590 5-Mar-2015 11:52

joker97 - will check the plug tonight, but it's connected via a 10 way power board and none of the other sockets have any problems.

freitasm - gave it a good dusting a couple of weeks ago so this is unlikely. Perhaps you're onto something with the power supply though...

Gozer - Have been running speedfan to control the fan speeds via internal temps - will see if I can post the detail of temps tonight.

This is my system specs if it makes any difference:

AMD A8-3870K 3.0GHz (onboard ATI HD6550 graphics), 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD + 2TB Hard drives, Hauppauge PVR150 (Analog), Hauppauge WinTV-NOVA-S-Plus (DVB-S), Hauppage HVR 1200 (DVB-T), Windows 7 64 bit

It just seems odd that it will die, and I can't boot with the button on the front of the PC, or the switch at the power supply, but it consistently restarts when I unplug the power cord at the power board and re-plug.

Thanks for the comments regardless.

ubergeeknz

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#1251593 5-Mar-2015 11:54

mattyb: My HTPC has been cutting out recently. Just dies with no warning or blue screen or anything. Could be a heat issue? after it dies I can only seem to restart it if I unplug it from the wall and re plug.

It sounds to me like a loose plug (check both ends, those IEC connectors have a way of coming loose) or (perhaps more likely) the power supply is on the way out. Are all the fans running correctly? Cleaned out the dust bunnies?

Batman

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#1251599 5-Mar-2015 12:07

if you power cable is bent beyond recognition is most likely has an internal fracture

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mattyb

254 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1252338 6-Mar-2015 15:25

Found the fault... CPU fan has been locking up intermittently by the looks of it. Not sure why or how yet, seems clean and spins ok when I give it a turn manually. Perhaps as I was unplugging and replugging the CPU thermal protection circuitry was being reset?? I'll keep an eye on it and might replace the fan if it happens again.