[mcmah2b0]

The power supply unit went bad on my hp pavilion so I ordered the same exact psu online, swapped it out, made sure all the plugs were installed correctly and turned it on. At first the pc booted up for about 10 minutes, let me login and everything was normal, and then shut down with no warning like the PSU shut itself off. If I try again right away it won't even make it to the login screen before it shuts off. I cleaned the heat sink because it seems like an overheating issue, to no avail. I'm thinking either overheating or PSU was DOA. Any thoughts??

[phillpower2]

There are many different models of hp pavilion DV6 - G6 etc, what model is yours?

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I cleaned the heat sink because it seems like an overheating issue, to no avail. I'm thinking either overheating or PSU was DOA. Any thoughts??

Both are possibilities and there may be an underlying issue for both, is the CPU fan connected to the header on the MB, when the PC is running are all fans running correctly, have you checked the case for stray screws or bared wires that could cause a short!
Are you using an add on video card?

[mcmah2b0]

It's an hp pavilion a6000, fan on header and on back of tower working fine, no shorts in any wires, and no add on video card. everything is stock!

[phillpower2]

How many sticks of Ram do you have?
Did you remove the heatsink to clean it and if so did you clean both the HS and CPU correctly and apply a fresh amount of TIM?

[mcmah2b0]

4 1GB sticks of ram, did remove the fan & hs and cleaned sufficiently but only the TIM that remained on there is what's left. I guess I should pick some up but after it shut off I felt the cpu and it wasn't hot to the touch.

[phillpower2]

I strongly suggest that you do not apply power to the system again until you have cleaned off the old and applied a fresh amount of TIM, many modern MBs have a thermal sensor that will shut down the power to protect the CPU from frying, read the tutorial provided courtesy of Digerati regarding the importance of correctly applying TIM;
http://www.geekstogo...rface-material/

[mcmah2b0]

Would you suggest I pick up a new fan/HS just in case?

I'll apply the TIM and let you know, thanks

[phillpower2]

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Would you suggest I pick up a new fan/HS just in case?

If your present CPU fan is working correctly then no, if however you have room in your case for another fan and an available header or power supply then add an additional fan.

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I'll apply the TIM and let you know, thanks

Ok, below is an example of the type of TIM kit available from all good PC suppliers;

[mcmah2b0]

Ok, I cleaned both surfaces, applied the correct amount of TIM, and no change. PC powered on fine, logged in, everything working fine, and then without notice shuts down (~5 min after a while of not being on, maybe 60 sec if you try right away). Any other thoughts?

[phillpower2]

Try one stick of Ram at a time, start with slot one and try each stick in the slot, repeat the exercise with each stick in each slot until all combinations have been tried, make notes of any specific results/ put good sticks in an envelope for safe keeping until done.

[mcmah2b0]

Ok, I tried all sticks in each slot with no changes. Everytime I powered on regardless of which stick was in, it would take less and less time to shut down. Seems like it's an issue with the new PSU. How would I troubleshoot the power supply? Also, everytime it shut down, it sounded like the dvd drive would shut down a couple seconds before the computer shut off. Further thoughts???

[phillpower2]

Try removing all of the Ram, do you get any error beeps?
We will come back to the DVD drive point when you have tried the above.

[mcmah2b0]

Error beeps were one short then one long

[phillpower2]

phillpower2, on 14 February 2012 - 10:53 AM, said:

Try removing all of the Ram, do you get any error beeps?
We will come back to the DVD drive point when you have tried the above.

mcmah2b0, on 14 February 2012 - 06:45 PM, said:

Error beeps were one short then one long

By no means a conclusive test of the Ram and slots but the error beeps may suggest they are ok.
You may be correct about the PSU being faulty, you also mentioned odd behavior from the DVD and this may also be attributed to the PSU, leave one stick of Ram in slot one, disconnect any/all optical and HDDs from the MB and PSU and then power up the machine, the machine will not boot up for obvious reasons but does it remain on or still shut down?

[Andreib18]

Have u change bios settings?I remeber that are bios setups that can cut the power on errors or something like that,try load optimal defults,after that(if no solve) press f8 after bios and disable automatic restart at system erros(something like that ,and sorry my bad english,or another problem may be by your power supply in your home,i've seen problems like that caused by circuit tension varriation(are light bulbs in house oscillating?)Also u can power up pc and move the cables that are out from psu,if computer shut down /restart is psu problems,but if u're doing this step please be advice of high current/voltage.