I upgraded to Vista about a month ago and since then my computer (used as a
PVR) just keeps crashing. It is not even crashing with a blue screen, it
just completely shuts off. After one of these crashes, I can't just power
the PC back on either, I have to disconnect the power supply, flip the power
switch, reconnect the power supply then boot. I'd swear it was just a HW
problem myself but something is telling me it is a driver issue of some sort
as I can boot into Safe Mode and it never seems to happen (I have all the
latest drivers as well). I've looked through event viewer and I can't find
any error relating to what causes the crash either. It used to do it a
couple of times a week but is doing it fairly regularly now so I'm leaving
it in safe mode to see if it happens there, but again, now it seems to have
stopped.

Any idea on where to look to troubleshoot? If I could just troubleshoot it
down to a piece of HW I could replace it but the only thing I have is my gut
telling me it is the video drivers. Would like some better evidence.

Thanks,
D

Are you sure the computer is shutting down and not just the graphics card?
Learn to restart your computer using only key strokes starting with the
windows button then tab tab and the letter U key so that the next time it
appears to shut down you can try restarting it.
"Don Deacon" wrote in message
...
I upgraded to Vista about a month ago and since then my computer (used as a
PVR) just keeps crashing. It is not even crashing with a blue screen, it
just completely shuts off. After one of these crashes, I can't just power
the PC back on either, I have to disconnect the power supply, flip the
power
switch, reconnect the power supply then boot. I'd swear it was just a HW
problem myself but something is telling me it is a driver issue of some
sort
as I can boot into Safe Mode and it never seems to happen (I have all the
latest drivers as well). I've looked through event viewer and I can't find
any error relating to what causes the crash either. It used to do it a
couple of times a week but is doing it fairly regularly now so I'm leaving
it in safe mode to see if it happens there, but again, now it seems to
have
stopped.

Any idea on where to look to troubleshoot? If I could just troubleshoot it
down to a piece of HW I could replace it but the only thing I have is my
gut
telling me it is the video drivers. Would like some better evidence.

Thanks,
D

If you have to unplug the machine, it is a hardware problem.

Make sure your components are seated correctly, and that your power supply
is powerful enough for all of your devices.

I would troubleshoot in the following order:

1: Re-seat all components in the system (cables, memory, processor)
2: Check the mfgr website for updated BIOS
3: Replace the power supply for the computer

Most people don't realize that the power supply is one of the most common
devices on the machine to fail - and they often don't completely fail, but
simply become flakey.


"Don Deacon" wrote in message
...
I upgraded to Vista about a month ago and since then my computer (used as a
PVR) just keeps crashing. It is not even crashing with a blue screen, it
just completely shuts off. After one of these crashes, I can't just power
the PC back on either, I have to disconnect the power supply, flip the
power
switch, reconnect the power supply then boot. I'd swear it was just a HW
problem myself but something is telling me it is a driver issue of some
sort
as I can boot into Safe Mode and it never seems to happen (I have all the
latest drivers as well). I've looked through event viewer and I can't find
any error relating to what causes the crash either. It used to do it a
couple of times a week but is doing it fairly regularly now so I'm leaving
it in safe mode to see if it happens there, but again, now it seems to
have
stopped.

Any idea on where to look to troubleshoot? If I could just troubleshoot it
down to a piece of HW I could replace it but the only thing I have is my
gut
telling me it is the video drivers. Would like some better evidence.

Thanks,
D

This is a hardware problem. Probably either the cpu overheating, or more
likely the power supply shutting down due to over-current or
over-temperature.

SteveT

Many of the better power supplies have a thermal overload. To reset the
overload you have to unplug the power supply from the mains and allow it to
cool off for a while.

The big problem is WHY is it tripping out. It is usually due to a short in
the computer somewhere. On my computer it was a capacitor that had failed on
the M/B that was tripping the thermal overload in the P/S.

--

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience


"Don Deacon" wrote in message
...
I upgraded to Vista about a month ago and since then my computer (used as a
PVR) just keeps crashing. It is not even crashing with a blue screen, it
just completely shuts off. After one of these crashes, I can't just power
the PC back on either, I have to disconnect the power supply, flip the
power
switch, reconnect the power supply then boot. I'd swear it was just a HW
problem myself but something is telling me it is a driver issue of some
sort
as I can boot into Safe Mode and it never seems to happen (I have all the
latest drivers as well). I've looked through event viewer and I can't find
any error relating to what causes the crash either. It used to do it a
couple of times a week but is doing it fairly regularly now so I'm leaving
it in safe mode to see if it happens there, but again, now it seems to
have
stopped.

Any idea on where to look to troubleshoot? If I could just troubleshoot it
down to a piece of HW I could replace it but the only thing I have is my
gut
telling me it is the video drivers. Would like some better evidence.

Thanks,
D

I will open it up tonight and have a look but there is definitely something
about being in Safe Mode that is keeping it from happening. It shut off
about 10 times this morning in Normal mode so I put in in Safe Mode in the
late morning. It has been running stable since then without a burp in safe
mode.

I suppose something in Normal mode could be triggering it to overheat and
trip the PS.

Don

"Richard Urban" wrote in message
...
Many of the better power supplies have a thermal overload. To reset the
overload you have to unplug the power supply from the mains and allow it
to cool off for a while.

The big problem is WHY is it tripping out. It is usually due to a short in
the computer somewhere. On my computer it was a capacitor that had failed
on the M/B that was tripping the thermal overload in the P/S.

--

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience


"Don Deacon" wrote in message
...
I upgraded to Vista about a month ago and since then my computer (used as
a
PVR) just keeps crashing. It is not even crashing with a blue screen, it
just completely shuts off. After one of these crashes, I can't just power
the PC back on either, I have to disconnect the power supply, flip the
power
switch, reconnect the power supply then boot. I'd swear it was just a HW
problem myself but something is telling me it is a driver issue of some
sort
as I can boot into Safe Mode and it never seems to happen (I have all the
latest drivers as well). I've looked through event viewer and I can't
find
any error relating to what causes the crash either. It used to do it a
couple of times a week but is doing it fairly regularly now so I'm
leaving
it in safe mode to see if it happens there, but again, now it seems to
have
stopped.

Any idea on where to look to troubleshoot? If I could just troubleshoot
it
down to a piece of HW I could replace it but the only thing I have is my
gut
telling me it is the video drivers. Would like some better evidence.

Thanks,
D

Very likely it is your graphics card which is drawing more power in normal
mode since it is running at a higher resolution than it does in safe mode.
This is why I suggested that you try to restart using the keyboard since
possibly the graphics card was disabled due to it's drawing too much power
in normal mode.
"Don Deacon" wrote in message
news
I will open it up tonight and have a look but there is definitely something
about being in Safe Mode that is keeping it from happening. It shut off
about 10 times this morning in Normal mode so I put in in Safe Mode in the
late morning. It has been running stable since then without a burp in safe
mode.

I suppose something in Normal mode could be triggering it to overheat and
trip the PS.

Don

"Richard Urban" wrote in message
...
Many of the better power supplies have a thermal overload. To reset the
overload you have to unplug the power supply from the mains and allow it
to cool off for a while.

The big problem is WHY is it tripping out. It is usually due to a short
in the computer somewhere. On my computer it was a capacitor that had
failed on the M/B that was tripping the thermal overload in the P/S.

--

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience


"Don Deacon" wrote in message
...
I upgraded to Vista about a month ago and since then my computer (used as
a
PVR) just keeps crashing. It is not even crashing with a blue screen, it
just completely shuts off. After one of these crashes, I can't just
power
the PC back on either, I have to disconnect the power supply, flip the
power
switch, reconnect the power supply then boot. I'd swear it was just a HW
problem myself but something is telling me it is a driver issue of some
sort
as I can boot into Safe Mode and it never seems to happen (I have all
the
latest drivers as well). I've looked through event viewer and I can't
find
any error relating to what causes the crash either. It used to do it a
couple of times a week but is doing it fairly regularly now so I'm
leaving
it in safe mode to see if it happens there, but again, now it seems to
have
stopped.

Any idea on where to look to troubleshoot? If I could just troubleshoot
it
down to a piece of HW I could replace it but the only thing I have is my
gut
telling me it is the video drivers. Would like some better evidence.

Thanks,
D

If your system has been in use for some time, it sounds like hardware.

1. Check that there is no dust mat between the cpu fan and the cooler fins.
If there is, the motherboard's cpu protection will shut the system down with
when the cpu starts to overheat.

2. Is the PSU failing - overheating with fan failure or component breakdown?

3. Are any capacitors or other components on the motherboard failing.

Since you have to reset the power, the PSU's internal protection is a likely
cause. If you know its model number, see if there is any documentation about
this.



"Don Deacon" wrote in message
...
I upgraded to Vista about a month ago and since then my computer (used as a
PVR) just keeps crashing. It is not even crashing with a blue screen, it
just completely shuts off. After one of these crashes, I can't just power
the PC back on either, I have to disconnect the power supply, flip the
power
switch, reconnect the power supply then boot. I'd swear it was just a HW
problem myself but something is telling me it is a driver issue of some
sort
as I can boot into Safe Mode and it never seems to happen (I have all the
latest drivers as well). I've looked through event viewer and I can't find
any error relating to what causes the crash either. It used to do it a
couple of times a week but is doing it fairly regularly now so I'm leaving
it in safe mode to see if it happens there, but again, now it seems to
have
stopped.

Any idea on where to look to troubleshoot? If I could just troubleshoot it
down to a piece of HW I could replace it but the only thing I have is my
gut
telling me it is the video drivers. Would like some better evidence.

Thanks,
D

Please post ur whole config wat is ur SMPS/PSU rating ...???


--
knightrider™
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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View this thread: http://winvistaclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24703

Thanks,
Lots of good questions, here is my config:
Home-built PC with the following:
Kingwin Supernova Case
Kingwin AP-450 Power Supply
MSI K8NGM2 Motherboard, using the onboard video
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ CPU
1 GB RAM
Hauppauge MCE500 PVR Card
250 GB SATA Drive
Linksys Wireless PCI NIC
Vista Home Premium SP1

I am using is strictly as a Media Server/PVR. I was planning on removing the
Wireless NIC as I not have Gigabit Ethernet going to it but haven't gotten
around to it yet (but will now that I have it stripped open).

To address some of the other questions, it was a bit dusty inside though I
have thoroughly cleaned it and it is still crashing. Also, the only app not
running in Safe mode is media center itself, I was connected to the network
and in Safe Mode with Networking. Nothing shows up in problem reports &
solutions (no problems reported or solutions).

D



"knightriderT" wrote in message
...

Please post ur whole config wat is ur SMPS/PSU rating ...???


--
knightriderT
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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View this thread: http://winvistaclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24703