Why my computer always shuts down without warning?

[950]

It is an older computer given to me by my friend. It was working great until last year or so.
Now it always shuts down when I am in the middle of writing a long e-mail or a job application. It is so frustrating. Do you think it is due to old computer or do I need to change something in the program?

[jamie]

If your computer previously worked fine, without any issues, I would suggest that you run both an antivirus scan, as well as an antispyware or antimalware scan, in order to see if there are any viruses or other malicious files or programs on your computer that may be causing it to randomly shut down.

If you need a free antivirus program, I would suggest that you try using Microsoft Security Essentials, which was created by Microsoft, and can be downloaded from the link below.

http://Microsoft.com/Security_Essentials

As for a free antimalware program, I would recommend that you try using MalwareBytes, which can be downloaded from the link below.

http://MalwareBytes.org

Just so you know, if you have more than one antivirus program installed on your computer at the same time, they may end up conflicting with each other, causing false-positives and potentially other issues.

Because of this, if you would like to try using a different antivirus program, such as MSE, you should first uninstall your current antivirus program.

However, it is alright to have both an antivirus program, as well as an antispyware or antimalware program installed on your computer at the same time, without any issues.

Additionally, perhaps you should try using either Mozilla FireFox or Google Chrome, both of which are safer than Internet Explorer and can both be customized with a variety of add-ons and themes. If you'd like to try using either of these browsers, you can download them from the links below.

http://Mozilla.com

http://Google.com/chrome

If, after you have scanned your computer for viruses and other malicious files and programs, it continues to randomly shut down, you may want to consider taking it to a repair shop or a place like Best Buy's Geek Squad, in order to see if this is a problem related to a hardware failure (hard drive, etc.).

Should nothing turn up after performing the scans, I would suggest that you back up your files and data, just in case your computer shuts down and doesn't want to start back up.

Best of luck and I hope I helped you!

[Thomas]

Sounds like its crashing from a trojan virus or something.

[chris b]

This has nothing at all to do with the "program" unless your updates are not at all current in Windows! It is, most likely, the age of the PC and it may be overloaded because of it's age. Try cleaning it up a bit and getting rid of things you don't need. There are probably many, many things that can be deleted on there including documents that are not yours to begin with, unused and outdated programming, music or even photographs. Your RAM may be being eaten up by unnecessary functions, your C Drive may not be large enough and both probably need to be optimized. When working on long forms or letter it is ALWAYS a good idea to save your work at intervals so it can be recovered when you boot back up again. Don't forget to delete any drafts when you've finalized your writings! Go to cnet.com and choose a good utility clean-up program. There are many free programs out there to help you maintain your computer and a few are already built into Windows...like Windows Clean-up & Defrag. You can access these from Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools. Take it from there. BTW...a good way to keep a back up of your C Drive and add functionality is to buy another EXTERNAL Hard Drive of 500 gigs or better you can utilize for back-up and to keep large files taking up too much space on your computer. Check out how much of your internal C Drive is still available for use and take it from there. Open up your tower and give that a good cleaning as well...dust accumulates on fan blades over time and can shut you down quickly. Cans of high powered air cleaner are available anywhere locally or online.

If you do not use an anti-virus or anit-malware programs get them...they are free and can save you many headaches. Also make certain your Windows programming is up to date. If you're running XP, for example, all Windows support will be ending in April so get to the Windows update site and download all necessary fixes and updates NOW!

[Defiant]

If windows is showing shutting down message, then this could be caused by a malware on your system, Download Kaspersky trial version and run a complete system scan.

If the system shuts down suddenly without even showing any messages, then this could be caused by a faulty hardware like harddisk, ram etc. If this is the case you may need to take your computer to a hardware service shop.

[Sangmo]

If you mean it just suddenly turns right off, or suddenly reboots, without any warning, then it could be a hardware problem. Maybe the computer has become very dusty/dirty inside - which most do over time - and this is causing problems for cooling fans, or even causing electrical leakage. What I would do is give it a very thorough clean up, taking out the RAM and all add-on cards to clean them and to clean the sockets on the motherboard that they fit into. Be gentle but thorough, take your time, and make sure you are earthed to minimise the risk of static electricity. Don't remove the CPU fan or CPU unless you are familiar with what is involved. I use the smallest brush on a vacuum cleaner to suck away dust (very slightly moistened to reduce the risk of static), and an aerosol can of compressed air to blow dust out of any little crevices and sockets. After the clean-up, when everything is reinstalled, check that all fans are working properly. If this doesn't solve the problem, it is possible that there is some sort of failure developing in one of the electronic components. It may be possible to work out which component is failing by trying to use the computer without non-essential parts like communications cards, or with substitute parts. If there are two RAM modules, try using it with just one, each in turn. If you do this systematically, one part at a time, you may find the particular part that is causing the problem, and it will probably be very inexpensive to replace. Only if the problem is with the CPU or motherboard will it be a bit more tricky to deal with. But there's a good chance you will be able to sort out the problem relatively simply by doing what I've outlined. It's good to keep those old PCs going. Best of luck!

[573]

Got another power supply you can swap in for testing? If not debris in the case, could be a power supply failing.