Computer shutting down

[Liz]

Over the past week or so my computer has been randomly shutting down and restarting and I just get a Mozilla Firefox message saying the session closed unexpectedly.

My neighbour (two doors up) is having the same problem so could this be a problem with the telephone line?

[Sapphire2803]

In a word... no.

Ok, are you running antivirus etc? Have you installed anything new lately? Is everything up to date?

[Liz]

Yes have AVG anti-virus. Not installed anything new and everything is up to date.

[Julia]

When it shuts down can you restart it again right away, if not it's likely that it's overheating, it will shut down unexpectedly to prevent damage, dust could be causing it to overheat more quickly, opening the case and very careful cleaning may help (make sure it's unplugged).

You could try downloading a program such as 'speedfan' to check out just what the temperature is. Here is a link to a free download

[Bobinovich]

Common reasons for random shut downs:-

Power supply problems - either with the PC's power supply unit (common) or the mains electric itself (less common).

Another cause can be overheating - either from a fan failing or possibly caused by a build up of dust/fluff (esp. in households with animals where they can get rub against the PC base unit itself) which blocks the fins of the CPU heatsink.

Hardware failure could cause a PC to switch off in certain circumstances, but the above are the most common in my book.

EDIT: LOL Julia got there in front of me - must stop waffling!!!

[Liz]

Thanks everyone.

I don't think it can be due to overheating as it starts up again immediately.

I wonder if it is possibly a power supply problem since my neighbour is having exactly the same problem or is this just co-incidence?

[Liz]

I downloaded the programme which Julia gave the link for and these are the results:-

Fan 1:- 50c
Fan 2:- -55c
Fan 3:- 33c

The temp for fan one seems a bit high? Not sure what to do though?

[Liz]

Ok well I checked the hard disc using the Speedfan and it states that everything is okay.

[Liz]

Me again!

May have spoke too soon as read the report again and it states that' the power cycled more times than max no the average hard disk was' which can put a strain on the hard disk mechanic.
This can be caused by a 'loose hard disk power conector. Make sure it is properly fastened'. confused
Overall fitness was 90% and performance 95%.

[Sapphire2803]

If you take the side off the computer, then at the front of the case, either above or below the cd/dvd drive you will find the hard disk drive (hdd). It has the same connectors on as the cd/dvd drive. One is a flat ribbon cable (for data) and the other is several wires terminating in a white connector (power), give that one a good shove in (seriously, a bit of brute strength won't go amiss, they're quite stiff).

Make sure it's all unplugged before you start obviously, unless you want your hair curled.

[Liz]

Cheers for that Sapphire.