computer shuts off!!

For sometime now I have been having a problem with my computer shutting off on it's own.
I can't run any antivirus scans or updates it will shut off.
Some times I can be on for hours and no problems at all and then other times I it shuts off every 10 mins or so.
I have to unplug it from the wall and wait a few seconds before it will turn on again. Then it does a disk check.
It's driving me mad!!
I have looked high and low for a reason.
I guess I may have to format and reload windows...but I still would like to know why it's doing this!

 

it sounds like this may be a hardware problem, particularly the power supply or possible overheating. What leads me to this conclusion is that you have to disconnect/reconnect it from the wall to get it working again.

Can you look in the bios for cpu/chassis temperature.

Also, do you have access to a spare power supply?

 

Is you CPU far away enough from walls, etc, to get fresh air? Is the cooling fan, or the openings it uses for fresh air, dirty or clogged? Sounds simplisitic but it can cause overheating.

PS (Again I apologize for butting-in.)

 

Hi, and thanks for the response.
I am not sue how to look at the bios, I know I have done it before but can't remember how.
No it's not close to the wall and I just cleaned it out a week ago. Fans are running fine.

 

To access your BIOS, typically you press F1 or delete or some similar key immediatey after you power on you machine.

It should present you with a list of menus, assuming that nobody has set a password on it.

 

There you are again Mada_Milty!

You sure you are a Private 1st Class?

Sorry to butt-in.

 

Please stop replying to threads in the tech forums unless you can specifically address the thread starters question. If you can't resolve their problem stay out of the thread.

Additional note: Do not direct members to start identical threads in another forum 'in case' it's another issue, re: hardware, etc. If it is determined the issue at hand would be better addressed in another forum we will move the thread there.

 

I am truly sorry. Just trying to help.

 

I was not aware that this site was watched so closely. Although I am fairly new here, my experience has been, to this point, that you could post whatever until you made the administrator mad. I do apologize and hope you will forgive and forget this trespass, especially if I stepped on any toes. I just thought a referral was in order for the software issue. It will never happen again! The rest is dumb.
Again I am sorry AbbySue.

 

on some PC's when you turn them on it tells you which key to press to enter bios.

If it doesn't, look at this link http://www.techadvice.com/tech/B/BIOS_Enter.htm

Once in the bios, look around until you find a screen showing your system temperatures.

By the way, the best time to do all this is after your system has been running for a good period of time That way it has plenty of time to heat up and will give us a good indication if your system is overheating or not.

 

I had this problem a couple years ago too. My computer kept shutting down like yours and I found out that my harddrive died. Dont know how, just did. So I bought another harddrive and re-installed windows and it worked again.

But first follow majinbuu intructions on the system temp.

controlmind

 

I Havent Been Able To Find The Bios Yet, But Did Get Into Setup. I Didn't See Anything About Temp.
My Plan Is To Format My Drive And Hopefully Solve This Problem, But I Can't Load Windows....as Soon As The Loading Of The Drivers Is Done And Installing Windows Comes Up It Shuts Off.
So My Question Is..how Do I Format My Drive First Before Loading Windows?

 

let me get this straight, you have already tried to reinstall windows?

if so, what steps did you take to reinstall. Did you boot off the cd and perform a repair install, or did you delete partitions and do a clean install.

Also, if you have a hardware problem, a reinstall will not fix it. I still lean towards you having an overheating/psu/memory problem. Crashes during reinstalls only reinforces this.

 

Yes I have tried to reinstall windows but 2 mins into this it shuts off.
I can't download any anti-virus or ad ware, it shuts off half way through.
I don't think my computer heats up that fast, and I have had it on other times for hours and no problem, other times a few minutes and it shuts off.
I thought it maybe the windows, since I can't do any updates either.
I really appreciate your help everyone, sorry I am not the best at this.
I will again try to reinstall windows and if no luck I will take it in and have it looked at.
Thanks again,
Sorry to be such a pain.

 

My does the the same thing... not sure why... I can boot to CD and it will stay running for a week at a time... but if I boot or try to boot to windows it shuts down and I have to unplug it from the wall for 10 seconds or so to restart it..... I've tried replacing the power supply with 2 new ones... most voltages stay within .1-.2 of the main values.... cpu running at 110F +- 5F

It had ME on it so I loaded XP wSP2 and still have the same problem... all power management is disabled... so I think it is related to either the HDD or the OS... like I said it will run the XP CD startup and sit there for days with no problem... but the minute you try to boot the OS it dies... I removed the drive and put it in a external case and connected it to one of my servers and ran AVG, Norton, Spybot, AD-Aware and a few other utilities... defragged and scan disked it....... any body got any ideas ???

When I first got it the CPU was running around 165-170F ... old paste... cleaned it and applied new... been running around 110F since... like I said will run for days on CD but dies on OS boot.... longest it ran was right after WinXP installed... booted and went to user screen for about 2 minutes... then died... now it won't even stay running that long... runs WinXP logo screen then dies

 

Please start your own thread! This one is ancient (last post was 08-25-05 22:37), and will most likely be overlooked. You're always best to create your own thread.