Computer randomly shutting down

**GabeS** · 01-10-2009, 07:59 PM

My computer shuts down once in a while for no reason. It's been happening more often. Is it overheating? How do I fix it?

**SewerRatz** · 01-10-2009, 08:09 PM

Is it a desktop or is it a laptop?

Most desktops shut down like that when the power supply is going bad. One time in my computer repair days I seen a bad connector from the power supply to the motherboard. Other things that can cause it to shut down is if any of the fans are not working. Air flow is real important. You have to open up the case and make sure the fan on the CPU chip is spinning, as well any case fans. Some of the cheaper computers do not have case fans and rely on the fan built into the power supply which brings us back to a faulty power supply.

Now for laptops, in my experience, if it is shutting down already the damage is done. You can try to make sure their is no dirt or dust build up around the fan on the case, but other than that I wouldn't recommend opening up a laptop unless you know about static safety.

hj · 01-11-2009, 06:32 AM

You could also have your "power options" set to put it to sleep after a certain period of inactivity, and quite often it goes into "coma" mode rather than "sleep" and has to be restarted. Fans can also fail, or get blocked with dust, and overheat the CPU which will also shut it down. Dust on the mother board and in the CPU's heat sink will cause the same problem.

**Scuba_Dave** · 01-11-2009, 09:24 AM

What OS are you running?
What browser are you using?
Anti-virus?
Do you scan for spyware?
Do you have a lot of pop-ups all the time while on the net?

Any software recently installed?

Vista has know problems - IE can leak a lot of memory & can eventually cause the PC to crash. Lack of cooling is another reason

**rgsgww** · 01-17-2009, 05:13 PM

It could be the cpu overheating, open your bios and check temps...or download software like this http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

If its hot, clean it. If its a laptop, take canned air and blow out the vents, if its a desktop, crack it open and clean the graphics sink (if any) the north bridge sink and then the cpu sink.

If its still hot you might need to re-seat the heatsink. There is more to that.

**quinocampa** · 02-04-2009, 09:32 AM

Late in the game and probably won't be read, but you may have a much simpler thing going on. If you get Windows Updates automatically via the web, you could have it set to reboot when the install is complete. That's the default I think. Many, but not all, updates require a reboot. Another possibility is a very quick loss of power in the house. The power on my side of town is unreliable for a big city, and we get drops even on sunny days. I'll wake up and find half the electric clocks in the house blinking, or my PC rebooted.

hj · 02-05-2009, 06:36 AM

quote; if its a desktop, crack it open and clean the graphics sink (if any) the north bridge sink and then the cpu sink.

And, depending on which room you use it in, you might have to clean the kitchen sink or the bathroom sink.

**rgsgww** · 02-08-2009, 06:27 PM

Originally Posted by hj

quote; if its a desktop, crack it open and clean the graphics sink (if any) the north bridge sink and then the cpu sink.

And, depending on which room you use it in, you might have to clean the kitchen sink or the bathroom sink.

Dang, I forgot about the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink. You know, I need to clean them in my computer.

**ladycooper** · 02-10-2009, 08:17 PM

just curious, can this issue be resolved by reformatting the harddisk and reinstalling all the OS and ther required software?

**rgsgww** · 02-11-2009, 04:44 AM

Originally Posted by ladycooper

just curious, can this issue be resolved by reformatting the harddisk and reinstalling all the OS and ther required software?

If it is a virus, or other malicious software causing the shutdowns, then yes.

I would see the temp of everything first, and clean out each part. If I tried everything, I would check the PSU voltage.

**slk230** · 02-16-2009, 07:02 AM

If a desktop. The first thing I would do is take part of the case off (like a side) and see if that makes a difference.

If it does (If it fixes the problem or makes it better) that means you have a heat problem if it doesn't you don't.

If you have ruled out heat then it is most likely your power supply.

When you say it shuts down do you mean "Shuts Off" or "Reboots"?

Is it a laptop or desktop?