Strange power problem

[JimG]

My PC shuts down (no power) randomly. When I change the power plug to a new outlet, the PC comes back on, then shuts off again. Sometimes it stays on. This can happen when pluged directly into a wall socket or a surge protector. The problem seems to come and go. It will hapen for a few days, then nothing for weeks. Any ideas as to what might be causing this?

WindowsXP home
2.4GhZ
1000 Ram

[Whyzman]

Welcome tohttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif Forums!

How old is your computer? Is this problem something recent?

[JimG]

Thanks for the reply. The computer is aroud two years old. The problem has occurred, off andon, since I got the computer. Since it doesn't do it all the time, it is hard to diagnose in the shop.

[Whyzman]

Are there any error messages, or does it just up and quit?

[JimG]

o error messags. Power just goes off. Almost like a circuit breaker going off.

[Whyzman]

My hunch is that it is probably something mechanical rather than software related. A couple of thoughts in this regard. First would be the CPU fan which could be having difficulties. This would result in the RPM sensor shutting things down due to fear that the CPU is not being cooled...

The second would be the Power Supply.

Just for giggles, I would suggest running the harddrive diagnostics and also a RAM tester such as Memtest86. Harddsrive diagnostics can be downloaded from the harddrive manufacturer's web site...