PC shuts down

[anat1]

My roommate downloaded webshots and after that the PC started shutting down. Not sure if it is related or not. Sometimes it shuts down right after turning it on. Also tried Spybot S&D and it shuts down in the middle.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

[biddy187]

Hi there mate try using spybot in safemode get BOOTSAFE it will help you choose the right setting for minimal drivers if not try Adaware or something it does sound rather like a classic CPU fault if you can get your hands on another compatibale CPU then pop it in and try it but you never know!

[anat1]

I was able to scan the PC with adaware and spybot and it is clean. I am afraid I am not that familiar with hardware, any other ideas I can try to see if it is software first? The computer can stay on for 20-30 minutes before shut down .

Thanks,
Anat

[dlb]

I don't think Webshots has anything to do with this, and I don't think it's a virus/malware. It sounds to me like the PC is overheating. Unplug the power cord from the PC, open the case up (usually removing 2 or 3 screws will allow the side to come off). Now the PC is open: look around inside and make sure any and all fans are clean and all heat sinks are free of dust and debris and general crud. You may need some canned air to blow the stuff out (do it outside!). Give any fans (esp. the CPU fan) a gentle 'flick' with your finger; they should spin without any hesitation and without any force being applied. When it stops spinning, ideally their will be a little 'bounce back' meaning that it will actually spin backward a tiny bit right when it stops. Check the video card (if you have one) and if it has a fan, check it the same way. Take a look where the power cord plugs into the PC; there's a fan there too. Make sure it looks clean too. Now, with the PC still open, plug it in to the power and turn it on. It'll be OK as long as nothing has fallen into the case. Look at all the fans and be sure they are spinning nice and fast, including the fan next to where the power cord plugs in. 90% of the time when a PC just shuts down after 20-30m out of the blue, with no error messages, it's because it's over heating.... if all the fans are spinning, download a temperature monitoring program and see what the readings are, voltages too, and post them here. PCWizard will give you readings for temps and voltages, it's a free download. There are others available in the Monitoring section here at Major Geeks.
PCWizard http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3846.html
MajorGeeks Monitoring section http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads11.html
Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[anat1]

Sorry this positn is late but I have two computers and was working out of the other one. After trying to unscrew the panel off the laptop I was unable to do so but took a can of compressed air and cleaned the whole PC. This was last week and the PC seems to be working fine.

Thanks for you help.
Anat