My computer keeps shutting down?

Question

I have had my computer repaired several times for this matter.
My computer keeps shutting down and rebooting its self!
please give me some ideas of what might be wrong .My fan seems to be working if this helps to eliminate that problem.


Thanks April

Answer 1

if it reebots itself out of nowhere then this might help..

1) Start
2) Control Panel
3) System
4) Advanced ( TAB )
5) Startup and Recovery ( Choose Settings )
6) Un-Check Automatically Restart
7) Click OK
8) Click Apply
9) Click OK

and your done. hope this helps :)

Answer 2

PC Problems:

There are many possible causes for PC problems:

Hardware failure
Disk/File corruption
Virus, Malware, Spyware, Trojans, Bot Hi-jack
Registry corruption
Windows O/S corruption

And many more...


>>>>>>>>>>>>>Hardware Failure<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Check all of these!

Make sure you use a Surge Protector.

This kind of problem is often hardware
related though not always.

Could be a power supply problem.

Could be other hardware problem.

Sometimes the motherboard, RAM, or the
video card causes this type of problem.

Make sure you have the latest BIOS flash
and device drivers.

Could be getting too hot also.

If you are running XP disable

Disable Automatically Restart
in Settings for Startup and Recovery
under Advanced tab in System Properties.
See Control Panel.

Next time it happens look at Event
Logs to see if a reason shows.

If you are getting a STOP message you
can probably find some help here,
http://aumha.org/win5/kbestop.htm...


>>>>>>>>>>>>>Disk/File Corruption<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Try all of these,

Double left click on My Computer
Right click on your disk drive
Left click on Properties
Left click on the Tools tab
Left click on Check Now, check both boxes, left click on Start,
then reboot your system. Be patient this will take some time.
Repeat to get to Tools then left click on Defragment Now, left
click on Defragment. Be patient this will take some time.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>Windows O/S corruption<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Try this:

Windows XP Repair Installation

At some point you may need to repair the installation of Windows
XP. This is preferable to a clean install in many cases since it
attempts to only repair your copy of windows without having to
delete all the files on your computer first. In many cases a
repair installation is enough to fix the problem. A repair install
deletes the files normally installed by windows XP and then
reinstalls them off the disc. A repair install will not rebuild
your computer's registry, delete applications and user settings,
or fix problems caused being caused by a program.

1. First you have to boot the computer with the Windows XP cd in
the cd tray. You will see a black screen and it will ask you
to press any key to boot from the cd so press the spacebar
and your computer will boot from the CD.

2. After a moment you will be taken to the Windows XP Setup
screen. Though the second option says to repair do not press
R. Instead press enter to select the setup for Windows XP.

3. Next, you have to accept the license agreement from windows.
Once you've done that it will search for your existing
installation of windows.

4. Once it has finished detecting the installation you need to
select the XP installation you want to repair. You can repair
the installation by pressing R. If you don't see the repair
option you will need to do a clean installation. Your version
of windows may have been damaged in a way that it cannot carry
out a repair.

5. Setup will then copy the files it needs to the hard drive and
reboot the computer. A message will come up asking you if you
want to boot from the cd, don't press any keys and just let
the timer run out. The set up will continue and look like is
doing a clean install but all of your applications and
settings will be intact when it finished.

An important note is to not activate your windows over the
internet right away. Always enable the XP firewall to protect
yourself.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>System Recovery<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
If you are using Windows XP you could also try a
System Recovery:

Left click on Start
Left click on All Programs
Left click on Accessories
Move mouse pointer over System Tools
Left click on System Restore

Follow the instructions and pick a restore date
when you did not have the problems you are now
having.


>>>>Virus, Malware, Spyware, Trojans Infection<<<<

Try all of these!

Free Security Analyizer:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/tools/mbsa2/default.mspx

Free Anti-virus:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
http://www.free-av.com/
http://www.trendmicro.com/hc_intro/default.asp

Free Online Virus Checks:
http://onlinescan.avast.com/
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
http://support.f-secure.com/enu/home/ols.shtml
http://www.kaspersky.com/scanforvirus.html
http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs/default.asp

Free Anti-Adware/Malware/Spyware protection:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1 Get ewido!!!
http://www.safer-networking.org/...
http://www.download.com/ad-aware-se-pers...
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security...
http://www.superantispyware.com/...

Free Firewall:
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/co...
http://www.comodogroup.com/products/pers...
Window XP SP2 Firewall

Free Popup Blockers:
Internet Explorer in windows xp has one builtin.
Firefox has one builtin.

http://toolbar.google.com/
http://toolbar.yahoo.com/

Free Host File Protection:
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.ht...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>Registry corruption<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Free Registry Repair:
http://www.download.com/eusing-free-regi...


>>>>>>>>>>>>>Clean O/S Reinstall<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

If all of these software fixes fail you may have
to try to do a complete reinstall of Windows from
your bootable "Recovery" CD's.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=316941

Sorry, wish there was an easier answer but there isn't
"one size that fits all!" Kind of like the car problem
that never shows up when you take it in for repairs.

Have fun but be safe!

Answer 3

its difficult as it may be several things ...firstly is the cpu overheating even with the fan going this doesnt mean you are getting enough airflow to keep it cool ....if it is a desktop model ...take off the side panel ..check for build up of dust inside or on the fans ...try running the computer without the sidepanel on ....even use a desktop fan to blow air directly on to the cpu ....

if this works then it is a heat problem and you need bigger fans etc ....if not ......

next i would check for viruses .....scan with at least two different antispyware programmes such as spybot and adware se ....
it is always advisable to turn the system restore off and scan in safe mode ..to ensure no nasties are hiding in the memory ...


thirdly check the ram memory with a programme called memtest this will check and find any parts of the memory which are faulty ....
it could even be a problem with the power unit which could be faulty or not of a high enough wattage to be stable when under load from the computer .....

and so it goes on ........if after this you are still having problems leave th system restore off and post any error messages you get on this site as they can often give a clue as to the problem .....

fingers crossed !!

Answer 4

The general rule here is that if this happens randomly, it's probably a hardware problem. If this happens consistently it's probably software.
If you've installed software recently, you might want to try 'System Restore' to go back to a time when it was working. If the PC may be overheating you can download software to check the CPU and board temperature. these should not exceed 70 degrees c or 50 degrees C respectively. You may also want to look inside and see how dusty it is as this stops air circulating properly.

Answer 5

I had the same problem a few months ago, and it turned out to be a corrupt driver for my Netgear wireless adapter. I tried everything, even new RAM,nothing seemed to work. Microsoft error reports kept telling me that it was the drivers for my video card/bad VC. Replaced that too. Turned out, that the drivers for the wireless adapter had issues with SP2. I did some research, and found a compatible driver for it and it ran fine for about a month or so, then reverted to doing the same thing(it would mainly restart when trying to download or play online games) I finally got tired of it, and bought a PCI wireless adapter from Airlink that came with WHQL signed drivers. Since then, I haven't had any problems.
Also, go through all your drivers and check to see that they are WHQL signed. That warning that some give can be true about instability issues. Trust me, I've been down that road.

Answer 6

Mine did that a while back. It was a virus. I eventually had to wipe out the whole thing and reinstall windows. It wa a nightmare. Don't know if it's the same thing for you though........also there is supposed to be some settings in Windows that may be causing it. They may have messed with it during the repair but you would have to ask someone who reall yknows about computers to find the section they are in.

Answer 7

I had the same problem a few years back. The fan may be fine, but it may still be getting too hot, even with the fan running. You might want to try replacing the fan and the harddrive, or at least the hard drive.

Answer 8

It's a laptop isn't it? That's not shutting down, it's restarting.. ITS NOT and I repeat myself, IT'S NOT A VIRUS. Something is failing, this isn't typical for a failing hard drive. Similar errors occur with incompatible hardware/failing hardware (bad dial-up modems, RAM, sound cards, and/or Video cards), AGP controllers and/or power supplies. OR If you have a Zune or Ipod plugged in, unplug it/them and restart the computer. Zunes mess with raid, and IPods mess with hard disk controllers. You can plug them back in once windows loads up. If it's not your mp3 player than it's time for a new computer or RAM.

Answer 9

There is an old term called Chip Creep, It's caused buy turning you computer on and off. It normally will not effect newer computers but I've come across it from time to time. Mostly with memory and add on cards (Video, Modem and USB). Try resetting them, ie. pull them out and reinserting them. You may also have incompatatable memory chip set or a bad chip set.

Answer 10

A bad electric outlet can cuase the problem you are describing by causing normal static electricity to build up until it zaps something. Get a three-prong outlet tester at your local hardware store and check the outlet.
http://www.professionalequipment.com/xq/ASP/ProductID.70/id.5/subID.54/qx/default.htm