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I was just about to work on a new story, at 3 am PDT (USA), I think about 11 am GMT. Suddenly the computer went dead. At first I thought it was my wireless mouse, but after I mucked about for nearly an hour, I found that unplugging it all, letting it sit, and re starting everything, it is all fine.
I did order a new mouse since the led in my present one no longer works.
Ahabidah, Gwen Brown
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Rather use wired peripherals
Due to the incredible crowding of the radio spectrum with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, satellite navigation, satellite communications, TV, radio, air travel navigation, etc. that are constantly at war with each other over interference, we are starting to see more devices that have problems functioning. That is the main reason why I prefer peripherals with a hard-wired connection.
Not to mention that wire-less peripherals also need a constant re-supply of batteries. And that is definitely NOT green or environmentally friendly.
Modern times …
… see more and more computer mice with LiIon accumulators.
While I still use wired keyboards only (preferably Cherry), I have switched to a wireless mouse that supports a 2.4GHz receiver and two Bluetooth connections and has an LiIon acccumulator. It also works via the USB-cable that is used for charging. So, there are sensible alternatives to wired mice available.
This is the model, also in a nice color: https://www.seenda.com/products/iwg-sgm01-ergonomic-mouse?va...
That's true but ...
... using a wired connection to my RC model aeroplanes would need a very long wire which would soon tangle, so I use a 2.4gHz transmitter/receiver which frequency hops to avoid interference from other RC transmitters :)
I've been involved with electronics all my life (literally, we lived at the family radio/electrical shop when I was born in 1940). I've been involved with computers since 1961 (I had to go to the public library to 'Google' computers before my interview) and thing have certainly changed. WiFi in our house (a 200 year old stone cottage) is very hit and miss because of the wall thickness so wired connections tend to get used but wiring is a pain (especially as scrambling about I find physically difficult these days).
I do use wireless mouse and keyboard with the desk-top (repairable) PC I use for 90% of my internet surfing. I almost never use my not very smart phone for internet access because I hate the tiny touch screen and keyboard. I certainly don't do anything financial on my phone - too easily lost.
unplugging, letting it sit, and re starting everything, is fine
There were three engineers driving from Portland to Seattle when suddenly the car just quit running. The electrical engineer, who was driving, pulled over to the side of the road and tried to restart it to no avail. He then turned to the mechanical engineer, who was riding shot gun and began to explain how it had to be an electrical problem, but the mechanical engineer maintained it had to be mechanical.
They debated the issue for some time without coming to an understanding. Finally, the turned to the computer engineer, who was in the backseat and asked what he thought they should do.
He said, "I think we should turn it off and all get out and close the doors; count to fifteen and get back in. It'll probably be just fine then."
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann
Most likely overheating
The fact that it died, then came back to life after you left it a while says to me that some part of it was overheating.
I suggest that you take the lid off and have a look. Doesn't need serious engineering knowledge, just see if any visible fans (including the one or more in the power supply) are turning when the box is powered on. If any fan isn't turning it will need replacement, and take it to someone knowledgeable to do that, not a big store who will try to sell you a(n unnecessary) replacement for the whole box.
If the CPU has a heatsink, there may be a fan on top of that. The heatsink fins may have become clogged with dust. With it all powered off, blow clear with a reversed vacuum nozzle ( or just blow!). That should be enough to fix it for a while.
Penny
I agree.
My PC is in my study/workshop, it's often filled with balsa dust and the heat sinks get clogged. I also replaced the power supply with a more powerful one so it wasn't working so hard.
If there was a power surge,
If there was a power surge, the power supply of the PC (if a full desktop/tower) can lock itself out for protection. Don't ask me the exact functionality, I've never dived that far into the boards, but I've found that they'll stay in "off" mode until you completely drain power from the power supply. That means unplug and walk off for 5 minutes, or unplug, then push and hold the power button for 30 seconds.
I see that all the time. I can't even count the number of times I've told a customer to just unplug their machine, wait 10 minutes, and plug it back in. Almost every time, it fixes the issue. The very few it doesn't, those I had to do more, such as replace the power supply, motherboard, or CPU. (Or in at least a couple of cases, all three. )
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.