Solved Vista shuts down by itself after login

Lebon14

Lebon14

Member
Last week-end, I finalized someone's PC. It had a video card problem (fan incorrectly placed on the card... stuck with tape). So I replaced it by my GeForce 7950GT and sold it to him. I'm 100% positive that the card works.

Now, he called me again. He said that his girl played SIMS3 all week-end after I installed the PC. She said that the PC went #1 and all-of-a-sudden, the next Monday, the computer started to shuts itself up after login' in. He says that he can still hear it running though.

I have no idea what would it be. I suspect a video card driver problem but... those are the latest one. here is the config from what I remember :

AMD Athlon X2 2.9GHz
1 GB of DDR2 RAM (800MHz)
GeForce 7950GT
Vista Home Basic

It can't be a malware since it doesn't have Internet and all I did on the machine is install the drivers, updates, some popular softwares and backup the data.

Any ideas?

P.S User doesn't seem able to access F8 boot menu to get in Safe mode...
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P35-DS3R
    Memory
    Kingston 4x512MB 667MHz DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce 8500GT 512MB
    Hard Drives
    1x Maxtor 200GB
    1x External LaCie 250GB (USB 2.0)
    1x Western Digital 500GB
    All are 7200RPM
Hi Lebon, besides the possibility of software problem, it could be your ram. First of all 1GB is insufficient for Vista. Another you can do is remove the GPU to see if the problem persists.
Good luck and post back.
Bruce
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    E6850
    Motherboard
    EVGA 122-CK-NF67-A1 680i
    Memory
    4 x OCZ Platinum 1GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB
    Sound Card
    SB X-Fi X Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 23" 5MS
    Screen Resolution
    2048 x 1152
    Hard Drives
    2 x Barracuda 7200.10 320GB RAID 0 / 1 x 500GB Maxtor
    PSU
    Seasonic 600W M12
    Case
    CM Centurion 5
    Cooling
    air
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
I said "finalized someone's PC" but I explains myself badly... I switched the Defunct GeForce 9400GT to a working GeForce 7950GT, save the data & format the system...

I will post back tomorrow. Keeps the ideas coming.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P35-DS3R
    Memory
    Kingston 4x512MB 667MHz DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce 8500GT 512MB
    Hard Drives
    1x Maxtor 200GB
    1x External LaCie 250GB (USB 2.0)
    1x Western Digital 500GB
    All are 7200RPM
Lebon14 said:
... She said that the PC went #1 and all-of-a-sudden, the next Monday, the computer started to shuts itself up after login' in. He says that he can still hear it running though.
Click to expand...

More info would be useful. Is this a "graceful" (but unwanted) shutdown of the sort you see when you purposefully click "shutdown", or does the box just power itself off without seemingly going through the usual shutdown sequence?
 

My Computer

System One

H2SO4 said:
Lebon14 said:
... She said that the PC went #1 and all-of-a-sudden, the next Monday, the computer started to shuts itself up after login' in. He says that he can still hear it running though.
Click to expand...

More info would be useful. Is this a "graceful" (but unwanted) shutdown of the sort you see when you purposefully click "shutdown", or does the box just power itself off without seemingly going through the usual shutdown sequence?
Click to expand...

According to him, it's the second option.

EDIT

The computer shuts down right after he logs in.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P35-DS3R
    Memory
    Kingston 4x512MB 667MHz DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce 8500GT 512MB
    Hard Drives
    1x Maxtor 200GB
    1x External LaCie 250GB (USB 2.0)
    1x Western Digital 500GB
    All are 7200RPM
Lebon14 said:
H2SO4 said:
Lebon14 said:
... She said that the PC went #1 and all-of-a-sudden, the next Monday, the computer started to shuts itself up after login' in. He says that he can still hear it running though.
Click to expand...

More info would be useful. Is this a "graceful" (but unwanted) shutdown of the sort you see when you purposefully click "shutdown", or does the box just power itself off without seemingly going through the usual shutdown sequence?
Click to expand...

According to him, it's the second option.

EDIT

The computer shuts down right after he logs in.
Click to expand...

Again, "shuts down" is ambiguous because it implies the OS "shut down" sequence. I know users can be difficult to deal with, but you might want to get him to describe to you exactly what happens, step by step.

The link to the logon suggests a software trigger. Does it happen in safe mode? What if a different account is used for testing purposes? Is there anything in the event logs to coincide with the "power down" symptom?
 

My Computer

System One

H2SO4 said:
The link to the logon suggests a software trigger. Does it happen in safe mode? What if a different account is used for testing purposes? Is there anything in the event logs to coincide with the "power down" symptom?
Click to expand...

I wanted to know if it would happen in safe mode.... but he doesn't seem able to access the F8 boot menu...
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P35-DS3R
    Memory
    Kingston 4x512MB 667MHz DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce 8500GT 512MB
    Hard Drives
    1x Maxtor 200GB
    1x External LaCie 250GB (USB 2.0)
    1x Western Digital 500GB
    All are 7200RPM
Lebon14 said:
H2SO4 said:
The link to the logon suggests a software trigger. Does it happen in safe mode? What if a different account is used for testing purposes? Is there anything in the event logs to coincide with the "power down" symptom?
Click to expand...

I wanted to know if it would happen in safe mode.... but he doesn't seem able to access the F8 boot menu...
Click to expand...

bcdedit /set safeboot minimal
 

My Computer

System One

If I can't boot... how the hell should I set that... btw, I am NOT in front of the problem PC. Tomorrow I will.

EDIT

I use my own computer atm.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P35-DS3R
    Memory
    Kingston 4x512MB 667MHz DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce 8500GT 512MB
    Hard Drives
    1x Maxtor 200GB
    1x External LaCie 250GB (USB 2.0)
    1x Western Digital 500GB
    All are 7200RPM
Lebon14 said:
If I can't boot... how the hell should I set that... btw, I am NOT in front of the problem PC. Tomorrow I will.
Click to expand...

Ah, yes, that would be difficult :)

I don't know why F8 doesn't work for him but I suspect PEBKAC.

Otherwise, if there's another computer around and both have network connectivity, you might be able to use PsExec (sysinternals) to remotely do the BCDEDIT thing, without logging onto the target box, and thus set it to boot into safe mode.
 

My Computer

System One

What is PEBKAC? And, no, this is the only PC. And, even if I bring it him at my home, I won't be able to make a network since I'm directly connected to my cable modem without any routers or switch.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P35-DS3R
    Memory
    Kingston 4x512MB 667MHz DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce 8500GT 512MB
    Hard Drives
    1x Maxtor 200GB
    1x External LaCie 250GB (USB 2.0)
    1x Western Digital 500GB
    All are 7200RPM
Lebon14 said:
What is PEBKAC? And, no, this is the only PC. And, even if I bring it him at my home, I won't be able to make a network since I'm directly connected to my cable modem without any routers or switch.
Click to expand...

"PEBKAC" = I think the inability to enter safe mode is most likely just him being unable to press F8 at the right time.

If you really can't get the machine to boot into safe mode, and you'd rather not reinstall the OS from scratch, then organising network connectivity becomes a priority. You can run many tests remotely, view the event logs, edit BCD settings - all without logging on at all.
 

My Computer

System One

He is NOT on the Internet... well... he is 56K... which I think is REALLY REALLY not enough for remote stuff...
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P35-DS3R
    Memory
    Kingston 4x512MB 667MHz DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce 8500GT 512MB
    Hard Drives
    1x Maxtor 200GB
    1x External LaCie 250GB (USB 2.0)
    1x Western Digital 500GB
    All are 7200RPM
Alright. I solved the problem and the problem is something that we didn't expect.
There is ONE thing they forgot to tell me : they heard a big "POK" then the CPU ventirad went crazy then the computer shut down.

I opened the case of the PC and in less than a second, I seen the problem : the CPU fan got off of its socket!!! Wow... the PC couldn't boot because the CPU was overheating. Plugged it back, closed the lid and connect the PC. 100% working.

Case closed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P35-DS3R
    Memory
    Kingston 4x512MB 667MHz DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GeForce 8500GT 512MB
    Hard Drives
    1x Maxtor 200GB
    1x External LaCie 250GB (USB 2.0)
    1x Western Digital 500GB
    All are 7200RPM
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