windows ME machine keeps shutting down

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September 15th, 2007, 21:31 PM
harrytb

windows ME machine keeps shutting down

i have a packard bell desktop pc at home,its about 10 years old.
i wont post the spec as i think the problem has little to do with the spec.
heres the thing...
its run for years without any problems,
no new hardware or software has been added prior to the problem starting.
when booted up from cold (i.e,when its been off for a few hours),
it stays on for a couple of mins then,either reboots its self or freezes.then when booted up again,its stays on a bit longer before rebooting or freezing.
only after a few boots does it work ok.
ive taken the memory out to make sure its seated ok.
ive also taken all the pci cards out,again to make sure they're seated ok.
they're fine.
ive run antivirus and trojan apps,nothing wrong there.
im at a loss ,if any of you guys have any ideas,id be glad to hear them.
thanks in advance,harrytb.
September 15th, 2007, 21:42 PM
Reverend

Could be a temperamental CPU fan or PSU fan.

Have you tried cleaning them, could be some dust or fluff thats preventing them from spinning properly until they have had a couple of boots to get up to speed.
September 15th, 2007, 22:31 PM
harrytb

yes,ive tried that.
i even took it to work and gave it a blow-out with an air-line.
the fan spins freely.
?????????????.
cheers though rev.
September 15th, 2007, 22:57 PM
Conan

Perhaps the memory went bad? Try running memtest: http://www.memtest.org/
September 16th, 2007, 04:21 AM
usergame

maybe the power supply is faulty or you have an overheating problem or maybe the MB is bad. Check for leaking capacitors.

Freezing? Is there a safe mode or way of starting only necessary services running?
September 16th, 2007, 17:15 PM
piaqt

http://www.aumha.org >win9x>startup and shutdown problems
September 16th, 2007, 18:59 PM
harrytb

thanks guys,
ill work my way through your suggestions tomorrow when i have some free time.
thanks again.
September 17th, 2007, 07:41 AM
harrytb

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conan

Perhaps the memory went bad? Try running memtest: http://www.memtest.org/

finally got round to running memtest.
all clear there,no problems found.
thanks though Conan.
???????
September 17th, 2007, 16:10 PM
Conan

Quote:

Originally Posted by harrytb

finally got round to running memtest.
all clear there,no problems found.
thanks though Conan.
???????

So you didn't have the booting problem when you loaded memtest?
September 17th, 2007, 20:35 PM
harrytb

Quote:

Originally Posted by Conan

So you didn't have the booting problem when you loaded memtest?

yes,still had problems.
so i booted it a couple of times before doing memtest.

update........
i swapped out the HD into another M/C to see if it booted ok from cold,it did (so,H/D ok).
i then put it back into the original M/C and unplugged every thing...I.E,
cd drive,dvd drive,lan card,sound card all the usual,
in the end all that was in the m/c was the m/b and h/d oh,and the psu.
still wouldnt boot from cold so,it must be the M/B i presume???????
anyway,looks like its heading for the bin.

thanks guys though for your suggestions and what have you.