My PC keeps switching off on its own every five minutes. Does anyone know why?

Question

The PC stays on for about 15-20 minutes and then gets powered off as if somebody switched off the UPS. Then I have to switch off teh UPS and wait for 2 minutes before powering it back on. The time period that the PC stays on for keeps decreasing as you keep using it further.
What could the problem be?

The system is clean. the same problem occurs even when i put it on standby after about 20-30 seconds.. i am using nod32 antivirus.

Answer 1

By the sounds of it, your UPS. It's faulty. I recommend you take it to a PC shop for repairs.
Test it by plugging your pc directly into your wall socket.

If its your PC, here's my advice on what to look for:
(I'm a PC technician and this is my list.)

1) Are all your fans still running at max speed? Both processor and power supply's??
(The fan on your motherboard and the one at the back of the pc where you plug in your power.)

2) Dust.
The computer enemy, check your motherboard and clean it with a blower, and also blow out your power supply every now and then (from the INSIDE of the computer, there are openings on the power supply).

3) Heat.
Remove the side panel and feel the temperature. Do not touch the motherboard directly, be careful, but feel with your hand the temperature of your pc while its running.
BE CAREFULL.

4) Check your wiring.
Both your power cable and those of the power supply connecting to the motherboard. Check this while the pc is turned off!

5) If you are technical... Try replacing your power supply.
It is the usual culprit in 60% of the time.
30% of the time it's the processor overheating or a badly seated heat sink.
10% of the time its the motherboard. :-(

6) Check your caps.
On your motherboard, there are these littly cyllinders. The top parts of these cyllinders/caps are silver with (mostly) a X etched into it. These tops MUST be flat. If they look like they are bursting, then you will have to replace your board.

These are the things I usually look for.
If the above things are all tested and passed, try these:

Viruses usually cause a system restart on conditions (like opening MS Word or after a specific time. Anti-virus should help.

Try booting into safe mode (hit F8 key during start up repeatedly and select SAFE MODE.)
If it's not restarting, then your problem is the operating system.

Feel free to either criticize or elaborate.

Answer 2

OK, at the risk of being redundant, here is my diagnostic approach.

1) Did anything recently change on the system (hardware or software)? If yes, can you revert back to a previous state? Are other people with similar hardware or software experiencing similar issues? (Consider any operating system patches here too)

2) Did the system pick up a virus? Ensure anti-virus software signature files are up to date. Ensure anti-virus engine is up to date.

3) Did the system pick up any malware (not to be confused with a virus)? Some malware will "fight" to ensure it is on the system and will initiate reinstallation/reboots. Consider applications like SpyBot Search & Destroy to add to your system defense.

4) Is any hardware failing? Reboots could be the result of several different component failures. If you can check the System Events Viewer, you may be able to tell if the OS logged the hardware problem (common to see disk or memory errors rather than CPU or power supply failure). Does the motherboard manufactorer have utilities to monitor CPU temperature? Does the BIOS support CPU temperature display (might be in one of the advanced sections)? Upon reboot, doe the system run slower than normal? If so, the CPU could be throttling to protect itself. Maybe the CPU fan is failing. As others said, you could also have a power supply failure (if you are running a standard system, 350 Watt power supply is often adequate...check the existing one though to verify).

Unfortunately the problem isn't always easy to diagnose. If this is an older system and you find that you are going to spend over $200, it might be time to think about upgrading to a newer system too.

** Edit **
Christopher makes several good points, especially on the UPS being a possible culprit.

Does the system or UPS make any beeping sounds (other than the usual ones at startup)?

Answer 3

I have experience with those pesky UPS things. You don't have a virus that is causing this shutdown.
First, what is plugged into the UPS? Only the computer and monitor should be... If your power goes out, you don't need your printer, hub, and everything under the sun still running. (Okay, you may need your hub, but consider a second UPS if you are in the IT environment.)
The most common problem that you are describing is the laser printer is sapping all the power from the UPS.
The second most common problem is that the UPS is failing, probably the batteries.
good luck

Answer 4

It could be a virus. Depends on the age of your computer also--meaning when was it last updated off the internet, I assume you use Windoze Virus XP or Windoze Virus Vista?

Run antivirus software and scan for virus. If none are found,
other problems may be your power plant is failing; your cpu is getting too hot, check the fan on the cpu and see if it is working properly (this solved a problem I had) if it is not, replace the cpu fan; one Windows update actually caused the problem you describe and the only remedy is to get another update. Make sure you are not running software that powers down the computer--some allow you to set parameters for computer use by children--sets time on and off.

Answer 5

This is usually a sign of a failing power supply. If you are having to wait to re power the unit, then you need to replace the power supply.
It's only held in by 3-4 screws, and would cost you about $30-48 Dollars.
It's a pretty easy job, just remove the power wires from the hard drives and motherboard, Fans and then remove the screws holding it in remove and reverse to install new one.

Answer 6

This sounds like a power problem that could be associated with the a/c adapter in the case of a laptop, or with the power supply itself, in the case of a desktop. Have it checked out by somebody who knows how to troubleshoot these particular issues.

I can't yet rule out a virus as the cause, but you've not said enough to point in that direction yet.

Answer 7

The computer may be overheating; check the fans. It may be a hardware problem with the motherboard or processor. If so, they'll have to be replaced. If the processor or motherboard have overheated in the past, they might be permanently damaged. It could be a bad device driver, although this is unlikely. It could be malware infection (viruses, etc.). If so, you may need to clean the machine or reinstall the operating system, or have someone do this for you. It could be a failing power supply.

Answer 8

Hi,

It sounds like your computer is overheating because of dust buildup. Either take it somewhere to have it cleaned out or try doing it yourself using a blow dryer on the cool air setting. You need to get the air directly in on the main circuit board and CPU. There should be holes on the back or bottom to do that

Good Luck,
Howard

Answer 9

your processor is overheating....
your processor stops working after its temperature crosses a particular temp...this is happening either cause ur processor fan is not working or cause sm1 overclocked the cpu (maybe ur techie brother).....
the reason why you need to wait for 5-10 mins before booting up again is cause the cpu core temp drops below the threshold limit in this time.....after you boot up , it takes lesser time to reach that level again and shut down.....
you should hv it seen by a technician asap....if u really desperately want to use your computer anyway, you can increse the core shutdown temp from the bios but this is highly dangerous and can damage ur processor and maybe ur motherboard beyond repair...

Answer 10

You might have a worm or a Trojan, I would run cleaning systems and anti viruses. Make sure you are updated with the latest service packs.

programs I recomend that are free are
AVG Virus scan
CCleaner
Spybot