computer turns itself off when I'm using it

mandrill

Well-known member
Aug 23, 2001
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My computer has started turning itself off about 15 minutes after it's become active. This was initially a problem last October and November. Whenever I turned the computer on, it would work for 15 minutes and then cut out. Sometimes it would restart itself with no problem. Other times, the restart would freeze and I would have to cut power and it would start normally. Once restarted, it would work normally for 24 hours or more and then repeat the process.

On a couple of occasions, I did the full launch restore process and on one occasion that seemed to fix the problem for a week or so. The second time, it did nada.

I took the computer to my computer guy - a pro who usually fixes business computers. I pad $200.00 for him to run some heavy duty anti virus programs. The computer worked fine for 10 days and then the problem returned.

So I decided not to manually turn the computer off and to simply let it go into sleep mode. This "cured" the problem for about 6 weeks. As of 2 days ago, the problem is back and all the same BS is occurring.

Today was particularly disturbing as it kept freezing whenever I attempted launch restore and I had to simply cut power and start normally. (When I do this, it always starts and is fine for 24 hours or more).

Any guesses as to what is going on and how to fix?

I normally stay away from sleazier porn sites, although I do check out X-Art and a couple of the "nicer" sites. I haven't gone anywhere new in the last couple of days.

The only common ground between the last couple of days and last November is temperature. My heating is controlled from elsewhere in the building and it gets chilly in my living room where the computer lives until I switch on electric heaters in the morning. This is not a problem in winter as the landlord keeps the heat cranked up high; but in moderate temperature, his apartment seems to be warmer than mine and the heating is set low.
 

SirWanker

Active member
Apr 6, 2002
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It may be caused by a defective hard drive. Depending on the branding of your system, there may be software tools available to test your unit.
In any case, back-up any important files ( don't forget the Users/(Documents & Settings) folder) if the operating system is Windows) to an external unit before your system becomes in-accessible.
 

onthebottom

Never Been Justly Banned
Jan 10, 2002
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Is it female.....
 

Dick Head

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Jan 13, 2013
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Overheating. check the CPU fan make sure it's running properly. leave the case open and see if that helps.

before you go buy a new cpu or fan (if it's worth it) go to BIOS and reset it all to default. reboot and see if it resolves it.
 

anonemouse

Well-known member
Aug 23, 2002
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Overheating. check the CPU fan make sure it's running properly. leave the case open and see if that helps.

before you go buy a new cpu or fan (if it's worth it) go to BIOS and reset it all to default. reboot and see if it resolves it.
+1

Get a can of the compressed air and clean out your fan and heatsink. It worked for me
 

mandrill

Well-known member
Aug 23, 2001
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I think it might be the opposite to over heating, as the computer is at its coldest when I turn it on in the AM and that is when the problem occurs.

Cleaning it might be an idea. It hasn't been cleaned since I purchased it.
 

Worf

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Sep 26, 2001
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+1

Get a can of the compressed air and clean out your fan and heatsink. It worked for me
Agree with the overheating comment. Many years ago my computer kept turning itself off. It was overheating, but mostly because of the location it was. Not enough air circulation. When I moved it, it worked fine from then on.
 

mtm2011

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Jul 3, 2011
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I think it might be the opposite to over heating, as the computer is at its coldest when I turn it on in the AM and that is when the problem occurs.

Cleaning it might be an idea. It hasn't been cleaned since I purchased it.
No way the computer will be too cold unless your house is like -30 celcius or something.

Next time it shuts off, when you power up your computer again keep hitting delete to enter your BIOS/CMOS. When in the BIOS look for something like PC Health or PC Status, or Monitor System or some such thing and you should find where it will show how fast your fans are going, and the temperature of the CPU. You don't want your CPU to be more than 52 Celcius or so. Around 37celcius to 47 Celcius is good. Also you want your fan to be 1000-3000 RPM or so. If your BIOS is set to use smart fan, this will allow the fan to go faster or slower depending on the heat. This saves energy and cuts noise. You can try turning that off and just having your fan run max.

Please never ever pay some asshole $200 to run anti-virii. You could have downloaded AVG and did it for free, or even spent much less on McAfee or whatever. There is lots of disc images you can downloaded to scan from boot, etc.

You could have likely got a whole new Motherboard and CPU for $200.

I would do a whole backup / reinstall or OS repair for MUCH less than $200. Damn.

Post back how your CPU temp and fans are. You may need a new fan. Also, it is very possible that if the CPU has been overheating for sometime it is perma-damaged. In which case you can just replace the CPU. Cleaning out dust from the computer, fan, heatsync, etc. should be done at least every 6 months. And please don't pay someone extra to simply put in a CPU. If they won't do it for you for free for buying the CPU tell them to fuck off and I'll install it for you for a bottle of vodka or something. ;)

That, or you can do it yourself. It's pretty easy.
 

The Options Menu

Slightly Swollen Member
Sep 13, 2005
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'Spontaneous off' is usually:
1) A heat issue.
2) Some low level firmware, BIOS, or driver issue.
3) Some kind of fault / dead or dying part.

You can try to fix #1 by making sure the vents aren't blocked, and by cleaning all fans. You can try to fix #2 by making sure all vendor (eg. Dell) drivers and firmware updates are installed, all windows driver updates are installed, and all discrete components have the newest driver version (I'm looking at you video card / chip). If it's #3 it could be literally any individual component in the system. You could try hard drive tests and memory tests, try to inspect the internals of the system for charring around connectors and badly pinched wires, and try removing what individual components you can to see if the problem goes away. If it's some motherboard fault that isn't fixed in a BIOS update, you can try disabeling things you don't use in the BIOS.

You should hope it's #2, be OK if it's #1, and may be in for hell if it's #3. Think 'process of elimination'.
 

The Mechanic

Active member
Jan 5, 2007
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Might also be the power supply had the same problem of freezing found out have to much stuff so upgraded the PS been running fine for the last 4 years?
 

The Options Menu

Slightly Swollen Member
Sep 13, 2005
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Might also be the power supply had the same problem of freezing found out have to much stuff so upgraded the PS been running fine for the last 4 years?
That's the 'mysterious component failure', or #3 above. Usually power supplies just die, or get old and burn.

I'm leaning toward a short / component failure, or a bad bit of firmware in a driver / bad BIOS. It really sounds like the system is barfing hard, and since it has problems when it comes back up it sounds like hardware is getting left in some intermediate state. Especially with the 'have to cut power' bit... But that could be pretty much anything.

edit: usually 'just heat' means the BIOS won't let the system start back up at all...
 

mtm2011

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Jul 3, 2011
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Yep, what The Mechanic and The Options Menu said I also forgot to mention, especially the PSU (Power Supply).

If it is not overheating issue and you can get a friend with spare parts test test I would eliminate all hardware issues before software ones. Because if it is not the PSU or overheating, really it is possible that almost anything could be screwing up in there. It can be hair pulling and take several days to figure out what it is lol.
 

WoodPeckr

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May 29, 2002
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computer turns itself off when I'm using it
How old is your PC and when was the last time you opened it up and cleaned it out?
I clean mine out once a year.
PCs get filthy inside over time causing heat problems.
It could be as simple as that.

Had a LF who was saying her PC fans were always running full blast making lots of noise.
It was 4 yrs old and never been cleaned out.
Opened it up and it was FILTHY inside.
Cleaned/vacuumed it out and it ran like new again, nice and quiet without the fans going flat out all the time.
 
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