PC switches itself off

[Booldawg]

For no apparent reason my PC just switches off on me; no warning, no proper shutdown from Windows. Also I dont get the message when I re-boot to say it hadnt shutdown properly.

Its at random, can sometimes happen after an hour or several hours. It also wont turn on for about an hour after this occurance.

Is it over-heating maybe?

[Buenchico]

You appear to have answered your own question! It's almost certainly an overheating problem.

First check that the vents in your PC housing aren't blocked. (A friend of mine placed a bar towel on top of her PC tower, so that she could put her coffee mug on it. Unfortunately the towel was also draped over the rear vents of the tower and she couldn't work out why her PC was dong odd things!). Then open up the case, identify where the fans are located, and (while keeping your hands and the cat's inquisitive nose well out of the way) power up the PC. The chances are that you'll find a defunct fan. (Whether you do or not, it would also be a good idea to get rid of as much dust as possible - with the PC switched off again! - while you've got the case open).

Chris

[Buenchico]

PS: I should have stressed that, except while you're actually examining the fans, the PC should be completely unplugged from the mains. (Do NOT just use the 'off' switch, as there's no guarantee that doing so will disconnect power from every part of the PC).

[NoMercy]

I had this as an ongoing problem, Booldawg... both in Spain and at my friend's house. It ceased as suddenly as it started. Both time I noted that I was using various other electrical items in the same area at the same time... ie... too many thing plugged into one particular area.

[Booldawg]

Thanks all. I'll take the side off the case and give it a good hoovering and also check if the fans are spinning.

[squarebear]

Try reseating the memory too, if you feel confident about doing it.

[Booldawg]

Popped the side off the case. It was the CPU fan thats not spinning. Will pick one up off amazon.