[=nsn=Captpat]

this is actually the first PC I bought instead of building, I got it from ABS computers. Thats why the PSU makes sense too cause I know a lot of these places skimp on the PSUs. I would have to buy one because it came to me that the extra PSU i have is not compatible with the SLI board I now have. So i would have to buy that too LMAO cant catch a break on this one.

[Horsepower]

Pat, u can eliminate the PSU as being the problem easily. From what I remember of you, you have a technical backround so this shouldn't be hard. Go get a dirt cheap multimeter. EDIT: I will just link you to a site instead of explaining this. Just make sure you run the probes not just only while the computer is running, but at startup and, if you can, during disk activity(file transfer). http://www.driverheaven.net/guides/testingPSU/

You might also have a bad drive controller. Take the disks and slap them into a friends computer to get your files.

[Hyvatti]

Test the disks in another computer that has Linux - or has some windows SMART disk health monitor program. You may need to use "-s on" option before this -a option gives any information on the device. Replace "hda" or "sda" with appropriate device name, like if the disk is second disk in the system, it should be "hdb", "hdc", or "sdb".

smartctl -a /dev/hda
smartctl -d ata -a /dev/sda
smartctl -a /dev/sda

See what the general status says, and some parameters are good to check also: Reallocated_Sector_Ct should be zero for good disks, any reallocated sectors, or if the number is high and increases after self tests the disk is a suspect. Temperature_Celsius is only meaningful in the system you use the disk normally of course, below 40 the disk life is a lot longer than over 50, you can start counting months when the drive fails after that. Over 60, count days..

Then run the offline self test:

smartctl -t long /dev/sda

(Again use the device name and you may need to use -d ata too.) After an hour or so you can again query the disk status with -a and it tells in the self test log and general status how the test went. Also compare reallocated sector count with the number before the self test.

Same commands I am sure you can find in Windows in some SMART tools, but I don't know what they are.

[Dvshadow]

good thing is if the new drive goes bad, it should still be under warranty so you can send it in..

[=nsn=Captpat]

Thanks again guys i will try the ideas. I dont have the patience i used to have for this kind of crap, old age i guess LMAO

[=nsn=Captpat]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone and to let you know it was the power supply
I'm back up and running

[CorrosionX]

Originally Posted by =nsn=Captpat

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone and to let you know it was the power supply
I'm back up and running

Most common problems with computers are the PSU's...so for anyone else having weird problems similar to this would start with checking the PSU first.

[Gemini]

well... speak of the devil

my computer i didnt personally build but i had someone custom it for me with parts i chose... cept for the power supply... i trust them to do well on stuff i dont know about.

anyways... every now and then my computer will just shut off. no bsod just shuts off. usually in a videogame like flight sim. however occasionally it will do it during css, battlefield 2, and even half life (yes the original), and once or twice just being normal...

i called the people i had make it and they said they think that either the video card could be over heating and having the computer shutting down or that the psu could be acting up. both of which they said they could diagnose for free if i brought it in.... however.... i am not in houston texas right now... im in florida and its a little hard to do that.

i was wondering if any of yall ever had that problem and know what it is? like if it is the psu.

oh and i should mention that it is not a frequent event... its not something that worries me much because it happens anywhere from 1 to 2 times every 2 or 3 months...

and the computer is 3 years old now if that helps. and i replaced a faulty videocard once that was just bad from the box with the same exace model and it has run ever since.
i only had the first video card for 1 month before they swapped it for free.

[Horsepower]

^http://www.ninjaserve.org/forums/sho...4&postcount=12

[=nsn=Captpat]

I thought i let everyone know but I didnt. it was the PSU