My Computer Keeps Turning Itself Off Without No Warning

[minxfishy]

OK its been doing this for a while, for some reason without warning it just suddenley turns off - pooof gone. Turn it back on and it then runs a system check FAT32 whatever that is.

Also cant get it to run a full scan, half way thru the scan it just shuts off - no virus found on Avast or AVG - when it runs them - absolutely hates norton soon as that starts it shuts off - so Ive deleted norton and re-installed AVG.

Any idea what it is, how I can sort it out.?

Have run ccleaner, check the hard drive for anything suspect - cant find anything.

Its driving me nuts - can be half way thru something and then everything shuts off!!!

 

[gaz gun man]

yer big turn-off

Is it a laptop? if so do you have it on your lap/soft surfaces alot?

If it is a PC have you taken the case off to clean off any dust?

Might be over-heating

 

[jimmyringo]

I'm no expert and i'm sure there could be many reasons but could it be overheating ?? If the fan isn't working properly , it could overheat and would then shut itself down.

 

[minxfishy]

It is indeed a laptop - Acer 5630 had it just over a year.

It does sit on my lap alot - kinda one edge on the side of the sofa, the other on my leg, so nothing underneath it, if that makes sense, doesnt get hot either - sometimes does this first thing in the morning, other times at night, its intermitant, but especially does not like running a scan!

 

[raptorrex]

what does the windows error log say happens? sounds like it may be a clash of drivers, or just possibly a trojan or the like. i have had problems in the past of this sort, to be honest i never really looked into it , i just re install windows.

 

[minxfishy]

There's an error log?? When I turn it back on, it says something about the system needing checking FAT32, takes a couple of minutes, then just goes straight to the windows log in page!!

 

[raptorrex]

well yes, if it has been set up:
Open System in Control Panel.
On the Advanced tab, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings.
check the box stating "write an event to system log.
if you can do this, if it is not already set, it may help you track down the problem. the file is named "EventSystem.log in the windows folder.

the fat32 check is simply because windows did not shut down properly. so the system files require checking to find any, possible, corruption.

its also worth checking for any files named "error" using windows search. some programs write error files if they fail!

 

[minxfishy]

Done that, nothing there! Oh well, its not terminal, just annoying, thanks for your help

 

[gaz gun man]

you could getting a can of pessurised air (or a divers bottle, like I use ) and giving all the vents a blast through

does it do it after the laptop has been on for a while? or has it happened within 5 mins of booting up?

I reckon its overheating personally, try running it on a hard surface and see if it does it again

 

[flash22]

software wise its possibly a virus or spyware

hardware wise it sounds like over heating or poss a hard drive dying. normally re-seating ram and the wifi card sometimes does the trick without seeing it its hard to tell

Is the battery charging ok ???

 

[minxfishy]

As I say there is no set time for it to do it, sometimes after only being 5 minutes, others 12 hours, sometimes doesnt do it for a couple of days.

Yep the battery charges fine.

 

[raptorrex]

As I say there is no set time for it to do it, sometimes after only being 5 minutes, others 12 hours, sometimes doesnt do it for a couple of days.

Yep the battery charges fine.

does whether you are connected to the internet or not effect the shut-downs?

 

[Tag2008]

From my experience this sounds like over heating of the cpu, silicon grease can be added between the cpu and heatsink to ensure proper contact so heat can disperse better...or more powerfull heatsink added and pc relocated to somewhere cooler.

Check your bios for settings and cpu temperatures to give you an idea on how hot your running and you should see your cut off temperatures if this is the cause.

If there are no error logs to see try relcocating the PC if possible to a cooler location.

If it is over heating you could look to see your bios settings have not ben tampered with as over clocking can cause this to happen at times.

Some viruses are known to do this to so a good virus scanner with the most recent updates is also woth trying out if you dont already have some good protection..The viruses Ive seen in the past that do this usually throw the PC is shutting down in 30 seconds and counting window which can give you an indication.

A trojan can also do this via a remote user messing around with your PC but you need to be online for this to happen, so a good trojan scanner may be woth trying out also if not done already. You will have needed to have downloaded a dodgy file or accepted a file from someone for this to happen usually.

And as mentioned if the hard drive is on its last legs this can also happen but you generally get an error with this or a blue screen at leeast and your scan disk would normally pick this up but maybe worth doing a full scan disc on your hard drive and do some software diagnostics on it to see if all the sectors etc are ok.

Good luck..

 

[rabbut]

If it were my own machine, it would have been strewn in parts cross a workbench, with all cooling fans checked and all heat-sinks re-seated with fresh Silicone Grease between them and the component they cool. I'd also get out any dust that is in there. Obviously if you aren't hardware competant, I'd leave the hardware side well alone, opting to try out software fixes first. Try a few virus and trogan scanners (only have one installed at a time as they can clash with each other and force system shut-downs ) and if they don't work, try re-installing windows. Also check the Bios if you know your way around it, for signs of anything unusual that could indicate tampering or a failed component. If the fault persists, take the computer to the local computer shop for a looking at to get them to look at it.

HTH
Rabbut