Computer problems

[osprey]

Hope that someone out there can help me. My computer keeps on shutting itself down. It started a couple of days ago when I was moving the mouse that I had just bought. Thinking it may be the problem, I switched back to te previous one and there were no problems for a few hours and then it shut down again. I have had to restart the computer several times and it has been working OK in half hour spells but since yesterday evening as soon as it starts up it shuts down again. I am NOT connected up to the internet so it is not a virus of any kind so I am lost as to the problem. I am writing this from a Library computer so any help will be gratefully received but will not be replied to for at least a day so please don't think I am ignoring any replies.

[rojash]

Sounds like overheating. Check that all the fans are working - particularly the CPU fan

[vehelpfulguy]

Agree, something is getting too hot.

Are all the fans working, has the case got room around it to dissipate the heat, is there any dust or dirt blocking the air vents.

If you are happy to do so, open the PC case (outdoors) and blow out any dirt or dust with a hair drier. Gently remove any fluff or dust from the fans (with a pencil but not metal) and from the air vents.

Remove any dust from the heat sink above the CPU.

Have one final blow and put the cover back on. Then try again.

[dodgyshirt]

I'm inclined to agree with pcwork particularly since the problem coincided with the installation of a new mouse together with, presumably, the necessary drivers for it .
I do not believe in coincidences and would uninstall the drivers for it in the first instance.
Thermodynamics play a large part in computer functions but the heat dissipation of a CPU is mainly due to the heatsink with the fan playing only a minor part.
This old chestnut of dust accumulating can largely be ignored as a reason for a sudden spate of problems, particularly if the PC is shutting down before anything has had a chance to reach operating temperature as seems to be the case with yours.

[osprey]

I've given the air vents a thorough cleaning and all the dust etc has been removed. Tried again and the same problem - as soon as the computer has started up and I think that all is OK it shuts off again and starts to reboot itself. As for uninstalling anything, I just which I could have the chance to do so but I can't get that far. HHHHEEELLLPPP!!!!!!!!!

[rojash]

Have you actually taken the cover off and checked that the fans are rotating?

[osprey]

Yes and they are.

[rojash]

Can you start it in safe mode? If so, try this:
Right-click My Computer, and select Properties
Click the Advanced tab
In the Startup and Recovery section, click Settings
In the System failure section, uncheck "Restart"
That way you may get an indication of what is causing the problem, rather than just a restart

[osprey]

When it does start up and doesn't turn itself off immediately I think everything is OK and then as soon as I click an icon it turns off again. I'm leaving the library now but will be back again tomorrow morning from 10 until 12:30.
Thanks for everyone's advice - much appreciated.

[zigzag]

hi osprey,i,ve been having problems big time just lately,
my computer crashed totaly after symptoms similar to yours and had to reboot from my recovery disc.
i lost everything from my hard drive.
i then managed to to get it running in a fashion,
jumping to all sorts of conclusions and running every antivirus check i could find.
after having read this thread i went with rojash and vehelpfulguy,s advice.
i found the cpu fan clogged badly and had to remove it to clean it'
i'm no expert but it seems to be running fine now (fingers crossed)much quieter too
glad i read your thread and best of luck,
thanks all.

[osprey]

zigzag - thanks for your missive. I hope that you have more success that I did. I carried out the advice given but to no avail. I'm sorry to report that I had no option in the end but to buy a new computer as the motherboard had burnt out on the old one causing complete failure of everything including all the info stored.

[zigzag]

thanks for your reply osprey
wern't expecting it as your thread was from 02/11/06
sorry to hear of your loss but i,m pretty sure your post saved mine in the nick of time
great site and some great advice is on hand
from other users
thanx again all