General Window XP PC Question?

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BruisedQuasar · #1 Post by **BruisedQuasar** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 12:38 pm

I am helping someone with a 2002 make Compaq Presario 5000 series desktop PC. It was locked up with malware, viruses, etc. User used Internet Explorer and Kazaa P2P online (broadband) without any security! No virus or spyware scanner, no firewall!

I recovered XP Home to original factory state. System ran fine for hours. It was so dusty, air vents clogged on back of tower. So, the next day I used a vacuum cleaner and still had to go inside to get dust out with alcohol and q-tips. The Celeron 1.3 processor has a heat sync cooler and a fan. Fan dust filled. Removed fan and cleaned it and sync finns, power supply fan, etc. Had to remove the single 256MB DDR to clean it.

When done and we powered on, XP booted fine and suddenly the power snapped off. We repowered several times, only made it to XP desktop once more. Usually make it past Compaq logo and to a screen that says last shutdown was improper ("due to power failure") and suggests we choose "last working session" . often we get shut down before we can pick this.

I do not think it is power supply failure and HP tech tells me Windows cannot boot at all if power supply failure or button battery failure, as system cannot access Bios.

Owner told me power shut off happens occassionaly when online using system but powering on again solved the problem. She says there is a short in the cord of the surge protector box she has PC plugged into but I noticed the monitor always remains powered on & it is plugged into the same box.

Could we have loosened something while cleaning inside that would cause power shut off? I did remove the only memory, a single DDR 256MB module. If the only main memory module is loose can this cause a system to power off?

LtTPfan · #2 Post by **LtTPfan** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 5:02 pm

You might try reseating the memory module and any other plug-in modules like video/audio cards. Also try booting to pure DOS with a boot disk and seeing if it stays on. This will help determine if it's a hardware problem or a problem with the operating system or maybe the hard drive.

Is the CPU fan running? Can you get farther into the boot process if the machine has been powered down for a while? Was there still sufficient and pliable heat sync grease between CPU and heat sync?

#3 Post by **Kyocera** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 5:34 pm

I would still suspect the power supply if the machine shuts off completely, i.e. no lights, fan, anything. I have seen machines run fine for a while and shut down, due to a power supply going bad or a bad AC outlet.

LtTPfan · #4 Post by **LtTPfan** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 7:34 pm

Yeah, ditto on the power supply. That just reminded me of what happened to one of my sons recently, although not your cause. He upgraded video cards and his PC started shutting off, sometimes before completely booting. It turned out the new video card was drawing too much for the power supply. He swapped power supplies with a spare PC of mine and although both were supposedly rated at 450W, mine had a higher amperage rating (which I don't quite understand). Both machines work fine after the swap.

#5 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 7:35 pm

I am not familiar with Compaqs but maybe they have System Diagnostics in the BIOS. Alternatively, if the Compaq came with a System Restore disc(s), there may be diagnostics on that. If you have a Windows install CD (or other bootable CD), you could try booting it and see if the PC will stay on for awhile. Verify that all fans are rotating properly inside the PC. Verify that all connectors are fully plugged in.

Kyocera could likely be right. I think a bad hard drive (or even other bad hardware) could cause this problem - especially if the hardware has an electrical short.

#6 Post by **Kyocera** » Sat Dec 31, 2005 8:14 pm

She says there is a short in the cord of the surge protector box she has PC plugged into

I would ask her to replace this first, but it may have already caused a problem in the system.

440roadrunner · #7 Post by **440roadrunner** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 12:57 pm

Do I understand that this problem cropped up AFTER you did all this work?

I'd suspect a loose connector somewhere---I recently had a fight with an eMachine with loose female pins on the power supply -to- motherboard connector, as well as, apparrently, poor solder connections at the motherboard power pins themselves.

IS IT POSSIBLE that you unseated the cpu cooler? Does it use thermal compound ("grease") or one of those "pads?"

check all connectors for looseness.

Don't discount the power cord ITSELF. I've had trouble with those.

The surge arrestor is easy--just get rid of it, for now.

As someone above suggested, DEFINATELY boot to a floppy to eliminate Whineblows.

General Window XP PC Question?

General Window XP PC Question?

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