Computer shuts down automatically while watching video files

For the past 2 months or so, my computer has been shutting down at random when I watch any kind of movie file. This happens with either windows media player, or VLC..and I have the latest K-lite codec pack installed. I've checked to make sure all the fans inside my tower are running, and free from dust (which they all are). I also checked the capacitors on my mobo, and I don't see any issues there with bulging/leaking. Could it be some kind of software issue?

OS is Win 7 ultimate, specs:

Corsair 520W PSU
AMD X2 4200 Manchester @2.77GHz w/Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro
XFX 8800GTS 320MB
ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe
OCZ Platinum EL PC3200 1GB 2X512MB DDR400
Seagate Barracuda SATA 250GB

Temps pic:

Attachment 116040

Quote:

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Originally Posted by S!X

For the past 2 months or so, my computer has been shutting down at random when I watch any kind of movie file. This happens with either windows media player, or VLC..and I have the latest K-lite codec pack installed. I've checked to make sure all the fans inside my tower are running, and free from dust (which they all are). I also checked the capacitors on my mobo, and I don't see any issues there with bulging/leaking. Could it be some kind of software issue?

OS is Win 7 ultimate, specs:

Corsair 520W PSU
AMD X2 4200 Manchester @2.77GHz w/Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro
XFX 8800GTS 320MB
ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe
OCZ Platinum EL PC3200 1GB 2X512MB DDR400
Seagate Barracuda SATA 250GB

Temps pic:

Attachment 116040

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I have seen this before, the fast answer is you haven't rebuilt your O/S in a long time and a rebuild will resolve it. Your whole machine will benefit from the rebuild anyway, since with a fresh install the registry will be more compact and the computer will physically be faster.

You can try and repair the offending codecs/dlls that are causing the shutdown, but the time and effort since this may be a time consuming trial and error process since there are several possible causes, as opposed to a rebuild which fixes the problem(s) and speeds the PC up overall ,which takes 2-3 hours (install + drivers & apps). So it is a question of where you want the effort to go?

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Originally Posted by Artemis

Quote:

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Originally Posted by S!X

For the past 2 months or so, my computer has been shutting down at random when I watch any kind of movie file. This happens with either windows media player, or VLC..and I have the latest K-lite codec pack installed. I've checked to make sure all the fans inside my tower are running, and free from dust (which they all are). I also checked the capacitors on my mobo, and I don't see any issues there with bulging/leaking. Could it be some kind of software issue?

OS is Win 7 ultimate, specs:

Corsair 520W PSU
AMD X2 4200 Manchester @2.77GHz w/Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 Pro
XFX 8800GTS 320MB
ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe
OCZ Platinum EL PC3200 1GB 2X512MB DDR400
Seagate Barracuda SATA 250GB

Temps pic:

Attachment 116040

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I have seen this before, the fast answer is you haven't rebuilt your O/S in a long time and a rebuild will resolve it. Your whole machine will benefit from the rebuild anyway, since with a fresh install the registry will be more compact and the computer will physically be faster.

You can try and repair the offending codecs/dlls that are causing the shutdown, but the time and effort since this may be a time consuming trial and error process since there are several possible causes, as opposed to a rebuild which fixes the problem(s) and speeds the PC up overall ,which takes 2-3 hours (install + drivers & apps). So it is a question of where you want the effort to go?

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I was actually planning on doing a reformat, just to see if that would fix the issue....but I don't know where it lies. Haven't reformatted my computer for quite a while now (my guess would be about a year).

In 99% of the cases a reformat/rebuild of the O/S will resolve this problem, and it will do it alot quicker than trying to fault find the offending codecs that have become corrupted. As I said I have seen this particular problem quite a few times before, in virtually every case a rebuild resolves the issue. If not there are some serious hardware issues at play, but this is VERY unlikely.

Most likely to be the splitter working at the lowest level . VLC uses its own codecs.

I agree best to format . Next time avoid codec packs . Vlc does not need any so just install the exact ones you need for Windows media player .

I just did a reformat, seems that Apple QuickTime player has a .mp4 in it, so right now I'm able to watch my downloaded shows. Gonna give it a run and see if it shuts down again.

EDIT: About 3/4 of the way through watching a tv episode, it shut down again. :frusty::angry:

By shutdown, do you mean a full shutdown (process), a BSOD, or it just abruptly cuts out like it lost power?

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Originally Posted by mjmacky

or it just abruptly cuts out like it lost power?

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This.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by S!X

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mjmacky

or it just abruptly cuts out like it lost power?

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This.

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Which is unfortunate. But now that we have eliminated the most likely software problems I have some bad news for you. The problem you are now describing (after eliminating the O/S and codecs as the source) is hardware related. While I said it is very unlikely it still happens, and you are one of the lucky winners. This problem is specifically caused by thermal overload and is due to one of the thermal sensors detecting too much heat and shutting the system down as a protective measure. The first thing you need to do is physically inspect the motherboard for dust and in particular the CPU Heatsink/Fan since the most likely sensor is the C.O.P. or CPU overheat preventer. Also though check for dust build up on the motherboard specifically around the RAM modules and inspect inside the PSU with your eyes to see if there is too much dust in there as well.
The best way to remove extraneous dust from components is to buy an air duster can from your local electronics store and spray it at 15cm from the surface you want to remove the dust from in short bursts.
Without in anyway trying to be harsh though, these components are quite old, you may be looking at an end of life component failure.

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Originally Posted by Artemis

Which is unfortunate. But now that we have eliminated the most likely software problems I have some bad news for you. The problem you are now describing (after eliminating the O/S and codecs as the source) is hardware related. While I said it is very unlikely it still happens, and you are one of the lucky winners. This problem is specifically caused by thermal overload and is due to one of the thermal sensors detecting too much heat and shutting the system down as a protective measure. The first thing you need to do is physically inspect the motherboard for dust and in particular the CPU Heatsink/Fan since the most likely sensor is the C.O.P. or CPU overheat preventer. Also though check for dust build up on the motherboard specifically around the RAM modules and inspect inside the PSU with your eyes to see if there is too much dust in there as well.
The best way to remove extraneous dust from components is to buy an air duster can from your local electronics store and spray it at 15cm from the surface you want to remove the dust from in short bursts.
Without in anyway trying to be harsh though, these components are quite old, you may be looking at an end of life component failure.

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Disappointing news. I've already sprayed the inside pretty well with "Dust-off"...I'd like to know what exactly is causing this, cause as you can see from the temp screenshot I posted, everything looks alright. :unsure: