Computer off, power light blinking

For my system configuration, see my signature.
I have a dekstop, not a laptop.

Yesterday, I experienced a strange problem.

My computer had been up for about 2 hours.
The internet was on and Bitlord was running along with anti-virus & firewall.
I left the computer running and took a break. I had turned off the monitor.

After about 10 minutes, I noticed the computer had shut down.
But it's power light was blinking with an interval of about 2-3 seconds.

Everything else connected to computer was off.
Even the SMPS was off & it's fan wasn't running.
When I pressed the reset and power buttons, nothing happened.
I tried moving the mouse and pressing keyboard keys but nothing happened.
I eventually had to turn off the UPS to shut down everything.

The Windows Event Viewer shows nothing related to this problem.
I have checked the power settings & everything is fine.

This problem has occurred for the first time.

What could have happened?

Come on guys...
Is there no one who could have possible explanation?????

What a strange prob.. which is ur MOBO... give some detailed specs ..

it happened to me once , but came back after some thoka- piti .... just a hit and trial method

Looks like your computer has gone to Sleep or Standby mode (S3 or so state) and is unable to wake up. Try disabling Standby and see if it solves the problem. This may also be due to graphic drivers. Try updating them.

infra_red_dude said:
Looks like your computer has gone to Sleep or Standby mode (S3 or so state) and is unable to wake up. Try disabling Standby and see if it solves the problem. This may also be due to graphic drivers. Try updating them.

No, I don't use the standby mode (affects HDD) & keep it disabled. But even if it had gone into standby mode (which it didn't), the system power light shouldn't have been blinking.

This may also be due to graphic drivers. Try updating them.

I am using the latest graphics driver.

ssdivisiongermany1933 said:
it happened to me once , but came back after some thoka- piti .... just a hit and trial method

Since the problem has happenned for the very first time, I won't do it. But if it again occurs, I might consider it.

Gigacore said:
What a strange prob.. which is ur MOBO... give some detailed specs ..

My motherboard is MSI K8N Neo2-FX.
*asia.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=proddesc&prod_no=174&maincat_no=1

At least in my laptop the LEDs blink when in standby mode. Just ensuring that Standby in Windows is disabled won't do. Check your BIOS for Power Management settings.

Well, the problem happened again tonight.
But this time, it occurred while I was working.
The computer, just, turned off as if someone cut-off the power to computer.
And the power light started blinking.

infra_red_dude said:
At least in my laptop the LEDs blink when in standby mode. Just ensuring that Standby in Windows is disabled won't do. Check your BIOS for Power Management settings.

Well, it's a desktop, not a laptop. I have set no specific setting regarding power management, neither in Windows nor in BIOS.

ax3 said:
this might b standby or hibernating ........ check it out .........

I keep standby setting disabled. But I still checked & it was disabled.
As for going in hibernation, it can't be possible & is not that.

I have put my PC in hibernation many times previously.
In case of hibernation, Windows saves the environment & shows the progress after which the computer turns off, along with power light.
But in my case, the computer just turns off without any warning or prompt or error even while I'm working. And the always on power light starts blinking.

Plz, Plz, Plz..... Help me!!!!

Doesn't look good. I had this problem two months back. Would return to find my pc in the same state as you mentioned. Had problems with the SMPS, got it fixed. Then SMPS got spoilt again, bought a new power supply unit. Finally ended upgrading processor, motherboard, RAM, hard disk

Yeah check the SMPS. Also check the power connector of the HDD.

may be some voltage fluctuation..and system turned off.

NucleusKore said:
Doesn't look good. I had this problem two months back. Would return to find my pc in the same state as you mentioned. Had problems with the SMPS, got it fixed. Then SMPS got spoilt again, bought a new power supply unit. Finally ended upgrading processor, motherboard, RAM, hard disk

So you're saying that the root of the problem was SMPS?
But then why did u end up upgrading u'r processor, motherboard, RAM, hard disk? Did the faulty SMPS damage your hardware?

ravi_9793 said:
may be some voltage fluctuation..and system turned off.

I use APC UPS which has inbuilt AVR.

I'm having another problem. Could it be related to this problem?
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72164

How can we exactly say about the problem.you were not present with your system..may be any kid in your family has done something.

You continue computing your system, if in between your work it shut down, than there is some problem.

Overheating is also a cause of unwanted shutdown.

ravi_9793 said:
How can we exactly say about the problem. you were not present with your system..may be any kid in your family has done something.

You continue computing your system, if in between your work it shut down, than there is some problem.

What r u, blind????

I guess u didn't read my previous posts. In my third post, I have clearly mentioned that the second time, the system turned off while I was working on it.
BTW, there is no kid in my family & no one except me in my home is awake at night at 12 am.

If system turn off suddenly without any reason, than over heating may be a cause.If possible add a extra fan to your cabinet.

Check SMPS , processor, cabinet fan.Also clean cabinet and processor fan.

Also see my last post in this thread
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71166

ravi_9793 said:
If system turn off suddenly without any reason, than over heating may be a cause. If possible add a extra fan to your cabinet.

Check SMPS , processor, cabinet fan.Also clean cabinet and processor fan.

Well, I keep one side of the cabinet open. And BTW, it's cold here (Winter's almost "officially" here). So, overheating can't be a problem.

If only I can find out why the power light constantly blinks indefinitely after sudden "shutdown", maybe that'll help me determine the problem.

I can clean processor fan but not SMPS fan.

Ok, I've just changed the IDE cable.
Apparently, it was causing another problem which got solved when I replaced it.
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72164
I hope this problem too was due to the faulty IDE cable & gets solved after this.

^^^^^^^^^
congrats for having a healthy system

ravi_9793 said:
^^^^^^^^^
congrats for having a healthy system

I never said my system was healthy again.

For starters, since past year, my hard disk has been making a click noise everytime I start my PC. It never happenned before that.
Secondly, something from my PC is making a large vibrating sound which gradually dies out.
Thirdly, my new optical mouse's pointer is jumping.
Last, but not least, is my combo drive which is able to read all readymade/pre-written DVD's (read software, movie, magazine DVD's) but not the DVD's burned by me or my friends.

Do u still say that my PC is healthy??

g_goyal2000 said:
Last, but not least, is my combo drive which is able to read all readymade/pre-written DVD's (read software, movie, magazine DVD's) but not the DVD's burned by me or my friends.

Maverick340 of this forum, a friend of mine, was facing the same problem about a week ago. he got his drive replaced since it was in guarantee period. is ur drive in guarantee period? if yes, get a replacement

xbonez said:
Maverick340 of this forum, a friend of mine, was facing the same problem about a week ago. he got his drive replaced since it was in guarantee period. is ur drive in guarantee period? if yes, get a replacement

No, it's not in warranty period. Well, it sometimes read my custom burned DVD's (read 1-2 times out of 10 times).
But I also have a DVD writer, not much problem except that I can't make direct copies of DVD's. I have to copy an image on my HDD & then burn it. :???:

check ur laptop manual for different blinking status/troubleshooting indications... AFAIK its blinks when in standby mode.

yes, the power light is supposed to blink when in stnd by mode. but his prob was obviously not that since the comp is supposed to wake up when u press the power button...

vish786 said:
check ur laptop manual for different blinking status/troubleshooting indications... AFAIK its blinks when in standby mode.

I think u didn't read all my posts. I have a desktop, not a laptop.

xbonez said:
yes, the power light is supposed to blink when in stnd by mode. but his prob was obviously not that since the comp is supposed to wake up when u press the power button...

Correct.

Ok, today it happened again.
Any suggestion, solutions please.

Why don't you try replacing the SMPS? This might be at fault. For your hard disk, time to get a new one. Your HD is taking it's last breath. It might crash anytime and your data might not be recoverable. So, take care!

Ok, I'll get my SMPS checked.
As for my HDD, the problem was with IDE cable which turned out to be faulty.
I replaced it & all the HDD issues are gone.

Pretty late to post a reply but will still do.

The problem was with SMPS.
It's fan, capacitor & a few PCB's had gone nuts.
Got the SMPS repaired, problem gone.

Thanks everybody for u'r help.