Ta - I have downloaded 'HeavyLoad' and will see what it says when I get time.

Have a look at the 'wake on lan' section in the bios. Just thinking that it might have a setting for 'shut down after 30 mins of no network activity' and the fact that the NIC has disappeared is triggering it?

You might also check that the network socket hasn't been damaged in the move, causing the vanishing act.

try to do this in CMD.

c:\>shutdown.exe -a

lol..

will wait for the result of your HeavyLoad

cheers!

bog - a good thought. Waiting for 'an appointmemt' at No2 son's mansion. He is coping at present using a laptop and 30 minute 'Windows' on Windows on the problem desktop.

Not to hijack BOAC's thread, but I have a similar problem with one of my more gastropodic users' Sony VAIO* laptops going to standby after 5 mins of inactivity.
Checked power saving settings, BIOS, even wiped the whole machine with fresh no-OEM-crap OS - no change :{
* procured before the start of my reign

BB - welcome aboard! The more the merrier. 2 Q's
1) Is this EXACTLY 5 minutes
2) Does it occur in the BIOS set up page?

Thanks old bean!
1. Yes, timed it
2. Haven't checked, good point. Although this thing has no BIOS, it is UEFI-based :hmm:

Does the Vaio do this with mains and/or only on battery?

Boogle - I'm well out of date! However, my system has a 'EFI System partition' on the C drive which I understood to signify uefi, but boots into a 'Bios' page (Gigabyte mobo)

BOAC, UEFI is really 'bios mkII' and can be a useable operating system in its' own right. Some have a basic browser and basic programmes built-in. (A media centre etc..). My current pc has it, but I've had a look and can't see any settings that might be tripping Booglebox up.

A previous machine had a much more complex UEFI, but I don't have it here to play with.

Bb mentions that he's checked the 'bios', but it might be worth re-setting via the jumper/cmos battery if not already done.

Understood, but my 'puzzle' is that I appear to have UEFI but boot into 'Bios'???

Some of the Uefi 'flavours' look like the bios that we're used to, but technically they aren't bios. Unified as opposed to basic, and partly backwards compatible, but it's splitting hairs really, I'm happy to call it bios if you are!

What's in a name. I have a 'CMOS type battery - does that alter things?

Uefi/bios, prezactly.

But here we go again! It's not a cmos battery. You have a cell that keeps a chip (which may be cmos) from losing its' memory. Ramnesia. It's also a cell for powering all sorts of things, and may even be used in stacks of more than one to become a battery.

Have you attended to the needs of your Son and his computer yet?

- no, I have an application for a meeting in his busy schedule.....

EDIT to add: His main work is property photography and the processing of the images for his clients. He is 'managing' with 30 minutes of Win7 and his Laptop which has all the stuff he needs, so the pressure is there but not high.

Got an 'appointment' today. With everything out, just mobo, CPU and keyboard, there is no monitor output nor boot up, just cycling on/off of CPU fan. If we plug in lad's Graphics card and connect to that - normal display, boots into Windows7, but still shuts down at 30 mins either in BIOS screen or Win, all temps normal. Still 'missing' the NIC too.

Conclusion is mobo FUBAR. Would the glitterati agree?:)

Which motherboard and what processor?

Some of the recentish AMD socket boards won't run graphics without a specific cpu, and have to have a video card gpu to do that. You'd think that it's a duff board, but it isn't.

As I posted on another thread, I have had that start up/shut down shuffle twice.

Once m/b and once it was power supply.

You could try a cheap power supply and and see if it stays awake with that, which may eliminate one or the other.

If the ethernet connection is broken it sounds as though a new m/b is required anyway.

I suspect a capacitor is breaking down - can you see any bulging of capacitors on the m/b.

Just try with the bare minimum or you may overload it - even linux on a usb stick if you want a temporary operating system to test with.

Not sure whether previous poster is thinking about AMD APU's, the later ones sometimes need bios updates before they will run.

I don't think that is your problem.

Ta both - Mobo is a Gigabyte GA-H87M-HD3, which has, I think, an on-board VGA chip. No sign of capacitor problems and we have tried a new PSU. Currently investigating warranty!

Finncapt,. I was reading between the lines re: BOAC's mentioning the video not working wothout a graphics card. It is gotcha with some recent AMD boards. (I found out the hard way).

BOAC. That motherboard won't accept a dsub/dvi adapter from the onboard chip. You will need a graphics card if you are using a vga monitor. DVI and HDMI will work from the onboard chip. So don't write the board off if that's the case.

Have you checked the network socket for damage (crossed/bent contactor springs)? I still think that it may be causing the shut downs, and wonder whether your offspring used it or a wireless connection?