Big Trouble - Power

[goon12]

Well for no reason and at random times my machine will just shut off.
It seems like some one just unplugged it, except that the light on the optical mouse stays on, I can open the cd trays. It will not turn back on by pressing the power button on the tower. On my motherboad ( intel DG850 ) The power
light in the middle is staying on. The only way to get the computer to boot back up is to un plug it from the wall, and then plug it back in. Once I plug it back in, it automatically powers on and boots.

This has been happening on all OS's MS98-2000/Xp and many different Linux distrros.

I am thinking it could and hopefully is the power supply, and advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
goon12

[mdwatts]

It could be the power supply.

Have you checked the cpu temperature in the bios?

It also could be a loose pci card (especially the video card), memory, power cables or data cables.

Try removing and cleaning the contacts on all the cards and memory modules. Put them back in and make sure they are seated properly.

Check for dust bunnies in the case and fans and clean the inside of the case.