...the hell?

[shirenomad]

My computer spontaneously powered down this afternoon and wouldn't start back up again. It powered up normally when I tried again an hour later.

Possible factors:
- The computer had been on for about five hours at the time, although the most intensive program it ran during that period was an anti-virus scan.
- It's a moderately warm day, though I've had warmer.
- I'd just plugged in my cell phone to recharge when the power-down occurred. The phone recharger goes into the same socket.
- The surge protector had NOT shut down, at least not for more than a second. It's possible I jostled a plug somewhere when I plugged in the cell phone, but my monitor and speakers were showing power afterward.

Anyone have an idea what hit me?

Comments

[thunderphoenix.livejournal.com]

It doesn't like you!

[westmarked.livejournal.com]

I'm inclined to agree with thunderphoenix.

I don't see why the computer for being on for five hours has to do with anything. Since a slight accident last Christmas, my video card occasionally gets loose enough to count as being "out of socket" when I boot up--but not when I reset, oddly enough--so I haven't turned my computer off in days. I also have my cell phone charger in the the same power strip as my computer. And I certainly don't see why something would cause it to go offline and stay offline, and then simply go away later. (Assuming it's not a power issue, which you discounted.)

It's quite interesting. I'm curious to see what caused it.

[chubbypanda.livejournal.com]

Buy a can of compressed air, open up your case, and dust everything. Make sure to spend extra time declogging the cpu and case fans. Also, check to make sure both fans are actually working.

There could be any number of factors and sadly enough, no real way to pinpoint the cause until something in your machine dies. Until then, the most likely culprits are:

a) Overheating due to lack of proper ventilaton
b) Metallic grit causing a minor short
c) RAM dying
d) CPU dying
e) Virus

The dusting will take care of a and b, you've already scanned for e, and you'll just have to see if c or d develop.

[tomax.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'm a fan of vacuum cleaners rather than canned air. But, yeah, overheating sounds like a highly possible culprit, so cleanliness is always a good thing. Also, unless you have reason to worry about physical damage, leaving the cover off the case is a good idea. Less dust-suckage, and easier to get at whenever you're vacuuming the room.

[chubbypanda.livejournal.com]

Difficult to get into the cpu fan and other hard-to-reach areas with the vacuum, but I agree. A vacuum cleaner with a wand attachment is another excellent tool for this purpose.

[tomax.livejournal.com]

Also cheaper. And nice if you happen to get irritated by dust in the air. Some light-gauge sheet aluminum and duct tape make some real handy custom attachments.