A Computer Problem,,, Crashing....?

Question

My computer keeps turning its self off, crashing. It can be running something then just turn off. to get it back on I need to turn the power off at the wall to reset it. Often if it’s in the middle of a scan, or running an on-line game. It has even shut down while it is sitting on the desk top , with no programs running.
The hard drive is not full, and I don’t think it’s over heating. This is an intermittent fault, but it is getting a lot worse.
When looking at the task manager it offer says it’s only running at 7-10%.

Does anyone have any help or guidance they could give with this problem.

If I have missed something of the detail please email me and I will give any info that may help, in a diagnoses.

WinXP home, sp2, it’s about 3 years old.

Thanks in advance.

The power supply and the case fan have both been changed and up-graded, and a small case extractor fan has also been added.

O, and no blue screens, just the crash.

Answer 1

Two changes to settings that will help.
Yahoo games use virtual memory to play.Running low or out of virtual memory causes game to freeze. Increasing your virtual memory helps with the freezing/getting booted problem. You can increase your memory by going to start button, settings, control panel, system, advance tab, performance, advance tab, virtual memory, change it, make it 1000 kb or higher,In both boxes, click apply then ok .If it’s not listed as Kb,” Some are not.” Just double the number listed. (Needed for games like Chess or any long games)

Keeping PC defragged, and running C Cleaner (free from http://www.filehippo.com ) this utility really works fast I use it all day long. Defragging every 8 hours works great also, really helps with speed. If done this often it takes about 2 minutes. If you have neglected
doing this it will take awhile the 1st time. Doing this Really helps! If your using XP. Go to start, run, type in msconfig, click start up tab. Uncheck everything BUT your anti virus program. Reboot, now all those programs are not running automatically but will only start when needed.

Answer 2

You could check the event viewer and see if anything is reporting errors or warnings just before the computer shuts itself off.

To get to the event viewer:
* Open the control panel
* If you are in the classic control panel skip this step, if you are in the new control panel (says "Pick a category") then click "Performance and Maintenance"
* Open "Administrative Tools"
* Open "Event Viewer"
* Check the various logs, especially System, for any errors or warnings that occurred shortly before the computer shut off.

This is probably unlikely to turn up anything but it's worth a shot.

Answer 3

Hi. It might be a power supply problem. The cheap ones can fail. If you want to keep the machine then a new one should be less that $50, even for a good one. Get a friend to help you replace it. Take a few pictures first. The cables only go in one way!

Answer 4

It could be the pwr supply, a good power supply can go bad,the HDD going bad, on the video card, if you have a separate video card check to see if the fan on the GPU is spinning. If it's on-board video then that GPU could be over heating and cause these problems. Is the HDD making any noise?

4 years old.........take the cover off and check all connections and make sure none have worked loose.

Answer 5

I really doubt it but if this a desktop that you are
referring to your CMOS battery could be depleting
or even your power supply is not sustaining the right
amount of voltage to support your system..

Try moving your desktop somewhere else in your home
or location using a different output..I had a client with a
situation sort of like the one you speak of and I determined
that he needed a new power supply everything was fine
after I installed it..

Answer 6

from what u say it might be heavily infected with viruses. Try installing macafee or symmantec( these 2 anti viruses do not consume musch space) and run a scan. if its all difficult, copy all important files onto a different drive, and re install windows.
U can do it youself, but plz have the assistance of aperson who knows to do it. have all backup cds u got with ur computer purchase.
Reinstalling windows should involve formatting of the hardisk.

Answer 7

I agree with the first poster, definitely a problem related to the power supply. If you haven't done this already, get a surge protector. You can pick one up at any electronics store. Also, are you absolutely sure your pc isn't overheating? Maybe your fan/heatsink is shorting out.

Answer 8

Something is always running i.e. explorer.exe and or svchost.exe are always doing things in the background even when you just have the desktop displayed. In theory you should be getting a BSoD (Blue Screen of Death) or if you auto-reboot it should be sending an error report to Microsoft.

Check Event Viewer via Administrative Tools in Control Panel and see if you are getting any Errors.

Answer 9

Short guess sounds like an over heating problem.

Answer 10

i think its overheating it will turn itself off so that no damage is done if you know what you are doing take panel off and try blowing it with a hairdrier on cold if that dont work take it to a comp shop for repair hope this helps