Computer shuts down by itself

[salata]

anyone know what problem this could be? I searched yahoo, and it seems that it could be power or motherboard. I dont think it is power. Before i turn in for the night i shut my computer down, and then when i wake i turn it on.

Now this is when i have trouble, it turns on for like 10-15mintues but then shuts down. Then when i use say like macromedia it turns off more often, and at times could just be random when i'm just surfing the net.

When i try and turn it back on, it trys to start but shuts down. The best way to describe this is like trying to start a car. It trys to start and shuts down, and i try and start it about 4-5 times and it does the same. I wait like a full mintue and try again and it works.

I doubt its a virus b/c i have it on guard 24/7 and scans regularly. Any idea? And if it is the motherboard should i start saving my important files and documents on an external harddrive? I'm not that computer literate, so any advice i do appreciate.

[Kirk Y]

Maybe it's overheating?

[salata]

Originally Posted by Kirk Y

Maybe it's overheating?

i dont think so, it occurs right in the morning when i turn it on. I went as far as putting a fan by the computer and still no change.

[Dean C]

I presume you're using windows. It could be a driver issue, but by default XP installs don't have blue screens turned on. Click here to find out How to turn on blue screens in windows XP.

Once you've done this, when your PC crashes you can find out a bit more information

[salata]

Originally Posted by Dean C

I presume you're using windows. It could be a driver issue, but by default XP installs don't have blue screens turned on. Click here to find out How to turn on windows blue screens.

Once you've done this, when your PC crashes you can find out a bit more information

Thanks. Now i'll just wait till the next time it shuts down.

[Wayne Luke]

If you have blue screen notification off in Windows XP, it initiates a restart not a shut down. Could still be a driver issue but I am going to go with overheating. 10-15 minutes is more than sufficient for the processor to overheat and trigger a shutdown if you have a bad or dust clogged cooling fan on it. Adding a fan blowing on the outside of the machine will have very little if any affect on cooling the interior and no affect on cooling the processor sitting under 3 inches of heat sink.

Couple the time and the fact that restarting the computer initiates a shut down, then it really does point to overheating. You need to pop the cover and inspect the fans. Your CPU heatsink it probably clogged with dust which prevents any air flow from moving through it.

My computer was off this morning, wouldn't start, unplugged and pluged back in power cord. Computer started, booted up, runs about 3-5 min. and shuts off again. have to go through the same process and it continues to shut down. I am runining Vista business, any ideas.
Thanks

[MnTom]

That sure sounds like an overheating problem to me. I had one computer that did something like what you described. I puller the case apart and used a can of compressed "air" to blow out the fan and heatsink. End of problems.
Tom