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Difficulty: HardMotherboard, RAM, CPU, and Power Issues

A technician is troubleshooting a newly assembled desktop workstation. The system boots normally, completes the Power-On Self-Test (POST), and runs administrative tasks without issue. However, whenever a complex video rendering process is executed, the computer abruptly loses power after approximately four minutes without displaying a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) or logging a system crash dump. Pressing the front panel power button immediately following the shutdown produces no response. If the technician switches off the power supply unit rocker switch for 10 seconds and turns it back on, the system powers on normally until the rendering process is executed again. Which of the following is the most likely cause of this symptom?

  1. The power supply unit is tripping its internal thermal or over-power protection circuit under peak system load.Answer
  2. B
    The system motherboard BIOS firmware is continuously misinterpreting POST diagnostic codes during system runtime.
  3. C
    The technician incorrectly installed SODIMM memory modules into the motherboard's main system memory slots.
  4. D
    Dual-channel memory modules were installed into adjacent slots, causing system memory bus saturation.

Answer

The power supply unit is tripping its internal thermal or over-power protection circuit under peak system load.
The correct answer identifies that the power supply's internal safety circuits (OPP/OTP) are being exceeded under heavy processing load. High power draw causes the PSU to trip its safety interlock, which cuts total system power instantly and latches the unit off until main AC power is cycled via the PSU rocker switch.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze symptom timing and operating system response.
System loses complete power under heavy workload without generating BSOD logs, narrowing the fault to a hardware protection circuit.
Software or OS failures produce crash dumps or freeze frames, whereas abrupt total power cuts reflect hardware safety trips.
2
Evaluate power button behavior immediately following the event.
The front power button is non-responsive until the power supply unit is toggled off and on at the wall/rocker switch.
Modern power supplies feature latching over-current (OCP), over-power (OPP), or over-temperature (OTP) protection circuits that require total AC disconnect to clear the latched fault state.
3
Differentiate between CPU thermal throttle and power supply overload.
Confirming power supply load failure as the primary root cause.
CPU thermal protection typically throttles clock frequency or triggers an immediate system restart with fan spin, whereas PSU protection shuts down all standby voltage entirely.

Key Concept

Power Supply Safety Mechanisms and Load Diagnostics
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Motherboard, RAM, CPU, and Power Issues

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