computer shuts off
 

my computer randomly shuts off... its been doing it for months.. it just boom its off, windows doesnt shut down.. imagine me pulling out the power cord...

i have reinstalled windows refvormated and all that (for other reasons) so its not software... im thinking either my power supply is borked, it has some auto over heat shutdown theing thats malfucntioning maybe, or maybe my power bar with the fuse thing keeps resetting...

but after it shuts off, i have to go and turn the switch on the back of the computer off for like five minutes before i can turn it back on... any thoughts? is this a fire hazard in any way?

When the power goes out at my house, my computer NEVER turns back on unless I pull out the powercord and leave it for a few minutes. So I know what you're talking about on that aspect of it. Are you sure that the plug-in at the wall you're using isn't broke? I'd try it out at different plug-ins first. Hell, before that, make sure that not too many appliances are plugged into that outlet on a surge protector. Too many plugs going into an outlet will cause them to simply shut down like that.

If none of that stops it, I'd say you need a new power supply. Good luck!

-Lasereth

Might this be the Windows RPC exploit? What version of windows is this? Have you run through all the critical updates from Windows Update?

maybe your system is not stable,

well its happened on windows 2000 pro and now on windows xp... with fresh installs and reformats and all the updates so i dont think it is a software issue... well... oout of the two outlets on the wall i have my printer.. scanner.. monitor.. lamp... black light... speaker adapter(for creative inspire5.1)..PC... and hub... so maybe it is that? (on second thought.. some of that stuff is pluuged into extension cords from another outlet else where) and my lamp and printer and blacklight arent really ever on

i just want to make sure that it isnt a fire hazard if i leave it on over night...

How old of a computer is this? It is entirely possible that the Power Supply is starting to kick the bucket. Also, it may be a weaker power supply, and if you've added more things to you computer that suck up power, it may be causing more stress on the power supply and it can't keep up with the demand and overheats and cuts out. Just some thoughts....

it might be overheating also, and the reason you can't turn it on for awhile is that it needs to cool off. Yes the Bios has a auto-shutdown if the pc gets over a certain temp. so open the case and turn it on, and see how warm it gets also, and make sure the fans work.

its not too old.. like 2 years? about that... i had been running it with the side open and it still did it..

I got the same problem jam161. I generally get it when I start searchin online, and I have visual studio running also.

I had a similar problem - try right-clicking on "My Computer", go to "Advanced" and "Startup and Recovery". Uncheck "Automatically Reboot". Might help.

Sadly, this means you get a BSOD instead...

Anyone know a potential cause for those? I've had:
PAGE FAULT IN NONPAGED AREA
IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL
KMODE EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED

With no particular reason. I've replaced the PSU, and Windows memory diagnostics can't find anything...

If it's happening across two operating systems, it's most likely a hardware issue, and it's likely a powersource issue.

Buy a decent 350 or 400 watt PS. With multiple drives and peripherals and fans etc etc power consumption needs to be smooth and adequate

I always recommend QUALITY power sources, memory, and heatsink/fans. Cheaper versions of these components lead to many mysterious problems! Generally newegg is a safe online source for quality parts and good customer service

The computer is brand spankin new. It basically did it out of the box.

Kind of sound's like something is tripping off ie. .... overheating... and you have to turn off the rear switch to reset what ever is tripping. Would definitely take it to the shop to have the power supply checked. As to it being a fire hazard, the fact that it is shutting itself off would probably mean the hazard is small, if at all.

Remember that defective stuff can be just as defective out of the box as ten years old.

My first thought is power. It could either be your power supply crapping out (or being overly strained), or it could just be that you dont get good clean power, meaning you should invest in a line conditioner.

It could also be some other kind of hardware going bad. I had similar problems for a long time that turned out to be a faulty motherboard. Unfortunately, it could be any number of different things. It really helps to have friends with spare parts so that you can swap things out and eliminate possible problems one at a time--I know I never would have fixed half of my problems had I not.

Here is another tip--dont cheap out on components. It took me three months to get my last computer running stably because I went the cheap route and got a cheap mobo, PSU, etc. Dont do it, it isnt worth the headache.