New M17xR2 Randomly shut down. Help needed

Hi all,

I'm using my new M17xR2 with the specs in my SIG for about 3 weeks now. loving it, but this problem is making me go nuts. i've got a new replacement coming in next week, but still, if i can make this problem go away, it'll be great.

ok, my current system is shutting down all by itself randomly, and by randomly, it could be anything from browsing internet, gaming, watching video, left it idle, etc. no warnings, just pop and everything goes off. it's like the system lost power all of a sudden. sometimes it happens after 1-2 hours from cold boot, sometimes after 6-8hours, sometimes even minutes and it could happen once/twice a day. i have no idea what's happening and here are the things i've done so far.

1. i first suspect that the touch sensitive panel with the power button is defective, so i removed it after i switched on the system and still it pops.

2. my next suspect is overheat. so i changed the cpu thermal paste (AC MX2) and monitor the temps, run heavy benchmarks. even when the cpu temperature nears 100C, the system runs perfectly fine. and not to mention, the shut down happens even when the system is left idle.

3. next i tear down the system apart thinking it could be some loose cable or assembly problem. put back everything bit by bit and carefully, Twice. still it happens.

4. next i thought the power supply could be problematic, since it's flextronics and not delta. so to test this, i inserted the battery to act as a UPS if the power supply cuts the power randomly. but still, it happens which means the power supply is fine.

5. so my next suspect is the fan, because the fan is rattling now at low rpm after less than one week of use. but i have no replacement part to test this.

i tried searching the forum but has never seen anyone who has the same problem. any advice would be great.

 

Hmm, you've been thorough with the trouble shooting, so you have me stumped. I would suspect a bad mobo at this point. I doubt it happens to the new system. Before you send in your old system (if your mailing it) I would recommend verifing that all the parts in the new system match what is in the old system. And if your returning by mail, keep your old system for 2-3 days to see if it happens with the new system. I would also try your old HDD in the new system. Just swap them and send the others back, unless you want to do a fresh install. If it happens again with the old HDD and not the new HDD then i would do a clean install. But I seriously doubt it's software related.

 

thanks. im thinking of the same thing too, i will only return the current system after 2-3 days receving the new replacement just to be sure. right now im totally out of ideas on what i else i can do on my part without having to replace hardware. even if it's really hardware issue, i have no clue where to start. it could be anything. so far i have A08 BIOS installed, with latest 5870 dell beta driver and new vBIOS. crossfire is up and running well in games, everything seeems normal apart from the annoying random power off. what are the chances of a brand new mobo causing random shut downs like you suggested?

 

Could be a faulty battery. What if you remove it and boot on PSU? Will it still happen?

 

yes. actually I hardly use battery during normal use, and the problem persist with or without battery.

 

gotta be a faulty mobo then as DR650SE mentioned.
BTW, does it shut down or restart ?

 

totally shut down like someone pulled the plug and lost power all of a sudden. if it's restart, I might suspect bad memory. also, no OC whatsoever, not even 5% BIOS OC.

 

Like Aikimox said, main suspect is the mobo, but i'd also try to pull out the memory sticks one by one and check that.