Auto shut-down

[Syed Zeeshan Haider]

Hello Everybody,

I have WinXP Pro machine. Last night I left my computer running and slept. I
woke up after 4 hours only to see my computer turned-off without my consent
and any apparent reason. I tried to turn it back on. I tried three four
times without any success. Then I removed all cables connected to the CPU
except mouse, keyboard and monitor. Tried to turn it on again. Guess what?It
worked and now I am using my computer to send this post.
I have tried to sort out the reason of auto shut-down but haven't been
successful.

Is it possible for a WinXP machine to auto shut-down without any apparent
reason and when the computer is almost idle?
Is there any chance my computer was hacked?

Thank you,

 

[dutchgoldtony]

It will auto power off if left idle for long enough depending on what
you have in your power settings, right click on desktop -> Screensaver
-> Power settings (or something similar). You can also do this using
"Power Options" in control panel.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...docs/en-us/pwrmn_managing_power.mspx?mfr=true

As for not being able to switch it back on, it might have been
hibernating rather than shutdown?


Tony
www.tohalloran.co.nr

 

[Syed Zeeshan Haider]

Thanks for the response!

The power settings that I have set forbid the computer from shutting down or
hibernating on its own. That is the confusing thing. It was the first time
it shut-down (or hibernate) by itself.

Thanks again!

 

[Wesley Vogel]

The machine may have had a problem and tried to automatically reboot and
could not reboot, so in affect it shut down.

Look in the Event Viewer.

Event ID & the Event Source are very important.

To open the Event Viewer...
Start | Run | Type: eventvwr | Click OK

For any Events that seem related to the problem...

Double click the event in Event Viewer | Click: the button below the second
arrow (looks like two pages) [[Copies the details of the event to the
Clipboard.]] | Paste into Notepad | Also click on:
For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

Read all info | Copy and paste to Notepad | Click the [+] Related Knowledge
Base articles | Follow any links that might be useful

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308427

Event Viewer overview
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/.../xp/all/proddocs/en-us/event_overview_01.mspx

This can also be very useful.
You need to have the Event ID & the Event Source.

To view Windows XP Events and Errors, type the Source (for example, Print)
and/or the Event code (for example, 20) into the ID field, then click the Go
button. Source and Event codes may be found in the Event Viewer logs.

Windows XP Home/Professional Events and Errors
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/support/ee/ee_advanced.aspx
----

This won't fix your problem, but it'll keep your machine from rebooting.

Unless the rebooting is caused by a hardware problem.

It may also help reading a BSOD. Blue Screen Of Death.

Choosing recovery actions if Windows stops unexpectedly

Right click My Computer | Properties | Advanced tab |
Click the Settings button under Startup and Recovery |
Under System Failure | UNCheck: Automatically restart |
Click OK | Click Apply | Click OK

Automatically restart
[[Specifies whether Windows will automatically reboot whenever the system
stops unexpectedly.
You must be logged on as a member of the Administrators group to set
recovery options.]]

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[John Smithe]

Did a screen saver kick in? Maybe you were looking at a blank screen but
the PC was still on? Does your display ever power down as part of a power
saving mode?

 

[Wesley Vogel]

No. No. No.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Syed Zeeshan Haider]

No. It wasn't a screensaver. I am sure becasue of three reason:
1. I can easily distinguish between blank screensaver and turned-off
computer screen.
2. I have a really noisy computer and my room was very quite.
3. Different lights on CPU indicating power were off.

Thanks for asking

 

[Frank]

Hello Everybody,

I have WinXP Pro machine. Last night I left my computer running
and slept. I woke up after 4 hours only to see my computer
turned-off without my consent and any apparent reason. I tried to
turn it back on. I tried three four times without any success.
Then I removed all cables connected to the CPU except mouse,
keyboard and monitor. Tried to turn it on again. Guess what?It
worked and now I am using my computer to send this post.
I have tried to sort out the reason of auto shut-down but haven't
been successful.

Is it possible for a WinXP machine to auto shut-down without any
apparent reason and when the computer is almost idle?
Is there any chance my computer was hacked?

Thank you,

This may have been caused by a power brown/black out.