Help! My Desktop Computer Keeps Shutting Down

[M.D. Holloway]

My Wife has a Compaq Presario 6000 and it wont stay on. I unplugged it and then plugged it back in, turned it on and it sounded like it was booting up then after 2 to 3 seconds it shuts down. The green power light in the back is still on. I figuered that maybe an internal fuse went or the cooling fan has shorted out and as a predcaution the CPU powers down if their is a chance of over heating. We have had it for 4 years now.

Any ideas?

[TerryH]

Sounds like the power supply might have failed. Easy to replace. Does the exhaust fan start up with the computer?

At 4 years, it's time to think about upgrading before spending money on a relic.

[HardDrive]

+1

I wouldn't invest more than the cost of a cheap power supply, and keep your receipt to take it back if it doesn't work. You can get the data off the drive by mounting it in a new machine, or putting it in an external drive enclosure.

[M.D. Holloway]

Nope, fan doesn't start.

[scottmandue]

Check all the fans and blow out any dirt that may be blocking air flow. Like you said a lot of computers have a thermal safety shut down feature. Check any internal fans, many computers have a separate fan on the processor. I even had a computer here that was shutting down because the fan on the video card was clogged with dust.

[scottmandue]

Sound like power supply, do you know anyone with an old computer kicking around the garage you could grab the PS out of?

[slodave]

Test the power supply. Plug it in and use a volt meter to see if it is working.

Dave