Computer Shuts off by iteself! HELP?

Question

Alright, my POS Dell Inspiron is 100% virus infested.
I have about 30GB of data I need to back up so I can wipe out the system and reinstall XP.
The problem is, as I'm trying to backup data to my new Maxtor 300GB External, the computer just up and shuts off without provocation after about 6 or 7 minutes.
Not hibernate, not stand by, it SHUTS DOWN.

I dont have time to baby sit the damn thing and spoon feed files to the external, and I cant write to a CD-RW since the damn thing doesnt recognize CDs anymore.

Anyone know why it's doing this or what virus is causing it to do this so I can try to delete it?
I tried to install Norton to scan the system, but like I said, the ******* Dell doesnt know how to read CDs.

Answer 1

It does sounds like it could be a: A variant of the blaster worm (sasser, nachi, ect). or b: could your computer be overheating? I know this happens a LOT to people who smoke by thier computers. The tar gunks up thier fans. (A friend I have repaired computers for a living at staples... smoke is a computer's worst enemy). Could also be years of dust buildup.

Get a can of compressed air and clean it out.

Answer 2

Sounds like my Dell laptop. It draws in cigarette tar and dust and then after about 2 years overheats. When the processor becomes too hot it will automatically shut down without warning. Any lengthy think like a virus scan or a Windows update will cause it to overheat in a hurry and shut down before completion. Also, my computer needed a different material which conducts the heat away from those delicate parts (the replacement 'gunk' was called something like 'Artic Silver'. The cleaning of the computer and replacing the heat-transfer-material requires you to take the computer apart to get to the various places to clean.

When I did this, the computer was fine for another two years. That is when I discovered a cooling pad helped some but did not totally eliminate the problem but it helped more than I would have thought.

What has been stated is not just guesswork but is from genuine experience.

Answer 3

Although a virus CAN shut down the pc, I have a different suspicion.. when you are doing extensive use of a hard drive, or a set of hard drives in a continuous fashion like when yer doing a HUGE backup, your computer uses MUCH more energy than normal.. I suspect you have a faulty power supply which is giving up the ghost as it gets too hot. I think if it were me, and I absolutely NEEDED the data, I would go find a much larger power supply and use that until I could get the data transferred..

Answer 4

Without actually checking out your computer myself, I cannot tell you exactly what is wrong, but I can give you some pointers. It sounds like you are on the right track by backing up and formatting, but you may want to do a scandisk and defragment your hard drive to get it to run more efficiently. Make sure that you do a full scandisk by going into 'My Computer', right click on 'C' and go into 'Properities', click on the 'Tools' tab, and then click on the 'Check Now' button by 'Scandisk'. Check both of the boxes that come up, and click on 'Yes' to reboot, and then reboot. The scan may take up to 90 minutes depending upon the size of your hard drive.

Also, look for a freeware registry cleaner. This will definitely speed things along, and help if your computer is shutting down during low memory times. If you think you have a virus, try downloading AVG-Free, which is freeware virus software that can scan and protect your computer. Also, you may want to try downloading Ad-Aware, which is a free spyware scanner. Hopefully some of this will do the trick! :-)

Answer 5

There is a setting in the BIOS which if not configured will shut the System down if there is any error discovered at any time during its operation.
You may want to check that !
Virus infection per say is not a problem. Scan it online, list the viruses , download patches on to another computer, burn it on a CD and run them on your computer. You can be safe.
There is a feature of System Restore in XP. Check the saved sys restore and see if you can identify a date when your system was clean and restore it after cleaning your PC of viruses.
Alternatively disable the OS update feature in your OS.
Check your lithium ion batt in your Computer !

Answer 6

May be dueto viruses.I suggest that, better; you adopt a system restore operation. It is safe and the problems can be rectified. You have to carefully select the date of restore. Ensure that the PC was functioning normally on the selected date for restoration. If you want to know an effective procedure for system restore please visit the following site.
http://tinyurl.com/ylr2cl
After successful repairs
Delete all temp internet files including off line content, delete all temp files . Go to add/remove progras and delete all programs that are not required. (These can be done in many ways including disc clean up option) Then defrg the PC.
If you are successful then, select a standard antivirus and an anti spy ware and install in your PC so that the problem does not occur again. There are a number of antivirus and anti spyware in the market. Some are free some are to be purchased. Please visit the following site and select a suitable free antivirus.
http://tinyurl.com/ymctqq
You can visit the following site, if you want a more effective antivirus . You have to pay for it!
http://tinyurl.com/ykzjyp
You also try to select and install a suitable spyware from the following link to protect the Pc against spyware attacks.
http://tinyurl.com/ygvyzh
After succesful installation of the protective wares create a system restore point.

Answer 7

It could be a virus, but from what you are describing, it sounds like your system may be shutting itself down to thermally protect itself. Be sure that your systems fans are clean. Use some compressed air and blow your system out to aid in better airflow and see if that helps your problem.

One other solution would be to remove the hard drive from the machine, and hook it to another computer to first run a virus program as you do not wish to copy any infected files.

Answer 8

Could be any number of viruses so no one can help you there. I would suggest you try safe mode (F8 during boot up) but that may stop you being able to access your external hard drive.

If this were my system and I needed to back up the 30gb of data, I would set up another hard drive and then slave the infected one. Transfer over the 30gb of data and then format the original hard drive.

Good Luck

EDD

Answer 9

I had the same thing over a year ago. Turned out to be the Sasser virus and I needed to get a professional to get rid of it- had to reformat the hard drive because of where the virus was located. In the process, he transferred my files to another computer, I think connected to mine with a cable. No CD was needed.

Answer 10

How do you know it's a virus? 90% of computer issues are related to hardware failures, corrupt software files, or malware.

Have you tried logging on with a different user account?
Keep in mind that Windows can be configured to shut down as opposed to Blue Screening.