random shut-downs with AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+

[cagle77]

I'm at the end of my rope on this one...

I have an existing system that has ran great for 5-6 years. Recently it developed a random shut down problem that progressed into a complete hdd failure. Now that I have a new hard drive I have been trying to troubleshoot the root problem. Windows XP Pro installs great, no issues what so ever, the problems start when I load drivers. If I load the Video driver, it will shut down (even on a low resolution). If I load the Ethernet driver it will run fine until the cable is plugged in.

Luckily, I have an almost identical system that I have been able to swap parts out of the check. So far, the PSU is good, RAM is good, Video card is good... and at this point I am suspecting a bad MOBO.

Any pointers would be a life saver!

System Specs are:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ @ 2.21Ghz
A Data Vitesta 2GB DDR2-800
NVidia GeForce 7300GS 512MB on PCI Express x16
Windows XP Pro (was SP3, install disc is SP2)
OCZ Vertex 2 SSD 80GB SATAII
500 Watt PSU

Thank you everyone!

Beau

[New guy]

Have you Ensured that your cooling fans are running properly. Also, if you've had the unit for 5 or 6 years, you may need to apply some fresh thermal paste to the CPU/heat sink.

[cagle77]

All the cooling fans are running great... actually, I replace one of the 120mm fans and a side 80mm fan while recently. I will throw on some new thermal paste... won't hurt.

[ApPy10]

Can you go into bios and check in the hardware monitor if it is showing increased temperature or either the 3.3v or 12.0 something is showing low numbers as such because if it is then it could be a problem with the psu and not with the mobo. Since its a 5-6 year old system you should also check the motherboard capacitors.

[cagle77]

Well after closer inspection I discovered this....



The 3 Resistors have crap leaking out of the tops...

[ApPy10]

You will have to contact a computer hardware repair shop to get that leaking fixed. They normally have all the required tools for same and are expert in same field, you will just have to pay them their minimal charges.

[cagle77]

I ordered new capacitors last week and got them soldered in this morning, so far so good! No random shut downs what-so-ever!

Thanks for everyone's help!

Beau