My 4-year-old Dimension 4600 is periodically shutting itself off (not
rebooting, it's completely powering off). It then starts up ok, and
runs with no apparent problems. I've vacuumed it out and checked the
fan, seems to be running normally. Just wondering if it's getting
ready to fail, maybe it's time to buy a new one...
--
Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear
but forgetting where you heard it.
The problem could still be heat-related, the usual cause of a quick shutdown. A
vacuum is not nearly as thorough as a can of compressed air for dislodging and
removing the dust and dirt. Q-tips work well, too, to loosen the caked dirt.
.... Ben Myers
On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 15:27:01 -0800, Steve <hde@wbn.inv> wrote:
>My 4-year-old Dimension 4600 is periodically shutting itself off (not
>rebooting, it's completely powering off). It then starts up ok, and
>runs with no apparent problems. I've vacuumed it out and checked the
>fan, seems to be running normally. Just wondering if it's getting
>ready to fail, maybe it's time to buy a new one...
> The problem could still be heat-related, the usual cause of a quick shutdown. A
> vacuum is not nearly as thorough as a can of compressed air for dislodging and
> removing the dust and dirt. Q-tips work well, too, to loosen the caked dirt.
Also - check the capacitors around the processor - if any are slightly
bulging or you can see any "leakage" it may be indicative that they've
gone bad.
My previous motherboard (ECS K7S5A) was getting intermittently flaky
over a period of about 6 months, and I noticed a single capacitor
wasn't perfectly flat on top like the others. I'd pretty much ruled
out any other possible cause (software / hardware) by replacing as
much as possible, and using bootable ISOs.
On Jun 18, 4:27 pm, Steve <h...@wbn.inv> wrote:
> My 4-year-old Dimension 4600 is periodically shutting itself off (not
> rebooting, it's completely powering off). It then starts up ok, and
> runs with no apparent problems. I've vacuumed it out and checked the
> fan, seems to be running normally. Just wondering if it's getting
> ready to fail, maybe it's time to buy a new one...
>
> --
>
> Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear
> but forgetting where you heard it.
>
> ...Laurence J. Peter
Others have mentioned heat, and capacitors. Which are good places to
look.
With only a handful of exceptions in the Optiplex line (4 models,
total), Dell's aren't prone to capacitor failure. But it's not
impossible. If you're going to look for caps, look at ALL the caps, as
if you've got a bad one, you need a new motherboard. Caps are bad if
they're bulging or leaking. Even a little bit.
to test the heat hypothesis, put your hand on the heatsink of the
processor, once it's been under load for a while. If it's *painfully*
hot, it's a problem.
prime95 is a good program to put your cpu under load. (not what it was
designed for, but it just happens to be a good sress test)
I will add the possibility of a failing power supply to your list of
possible gremlins. This unfortunately is a pit harder to prove a
failure. As yours is running the computer, mostly, the cheepie power
supply testers will just say it's good. But keep it in mind if the
other suggestions don't pan out. In this generation, dell uses a
standard ATX power supply. (hooray)
Power Supply and is cheap and easy to replace.
P.C
"Steve" <hde@wbn.inv> wrote in message
news:2v4e73t3r34fkk5eq4ns0osj1jlr3qtrhp@4ax.com...
> My 4-year-old Dimension 4600 is periodically shutting itself off (not
> rebooting, it's completely powering off). It then starts up ok, and
> runs with no apparent problems. I've vacuumed it out and checked the
> fan, seems to be running normally. Just wondering if it's getting
> ready to fail, maybe it's time to buy a new one...
>
>
> --
>
> Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear
> but forgetting where you heard it.
>
> ...Laurence J. Peter
"Colin Wilson" <REMOVEEVERYTHINGBUTnewsgroup@phoenixbbsZEROSPAM.c o.uk> wrote
in message news:MPG.20e13d8747c8b90598a164@news.individual.ne t...
>> The problem could still be heat-related, the usual cause of a quick
>> shutdown. A
>> vacuum is not nearly as thorough as a can of compressed air for
>> dislodging and
>> removing the dust and dirt. Q-tips work well, too, to loosen the caked
>> dirt.
>
> Also - check the capacitors around the processor - if any are slightly
> bulging or you can see any "leakage" it may be indicative that they've
> gone bad.
>
> My previous motherboard (ECS K7S5A) was getting intermittently flaky
> over a period of about 6 months, and I noticed a single capacitor
> wasn't perfectly flat on top like the others. I'd pretty much ruled
> out any other possible cause (software / hardware) by replacing as
> much as possible, and using bootable ISOs.
the cap problems where generaly on 'cheapo' motherboards like that K7S5A
still worth checking though..
"Steve" <hde@wbn.inv> wrote in message
news:2v4e73t3r34fkk5eq4ns0osj1jlr3qtrhp@4ax.com...
> My 4-year-old Dimension 4600 is periodically shutting itself off (not
> rebooting, it's completely powering off). It then starts up ok, and
> runs with no apparent problems. I've vacuumed it out and checked the
> fan, seems to be running normally. Just wondering if it's getting
> ready to fail, maybe it's time to buy a new one...
>
>
> --
>
> Originality is the fine art of remembering what you hear
> but forgetting where you heard it.
>
> ...Laurence J. Peter
In addition to what has already been posted...are you using a UPS? If that
is going bad, it can also cause a system to shut down on it's own.
System close to failure? 
Linear Mode
