computer turning off

[Jo-Anne]

My WinXP Dell desktop computer, which I've had for seven years, has started
turning itself off at night. I thought at first that a program was simply
freezing the screen, but that's not it. It's fine when I leave it at night;
but when I come back in the morning, it's off. At that point, the fan isn't
running; and when I turn it back on, the fan starts up.

Is there anything I can do to troubleshoot the problem myself, or do I need
to take it to a repair shop? I'm in the middle of a work project right now
and would like to keep the computer running for at least another month or
two if possible; then I'll have the time to research a new one. I do have a
laptop that I can use while this one is being worked on.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

 

[Bob Willard]

My WinXP Dell desktop computer, which I've had for seven years, has started
turning itself off at night. I thought at first that a program was simply
freezing the screen, but that's not it. It's fine when I leave it at night;
but when I come back in the morning, it's off. At that point, the fan isn't
running; and when I turn it back on, the fan starts up.

Is there anything I can do to troubleshoot the problem myself, or do I need
to take it to a repair shop? I'm in the middle of a work project right now
and would like to keep the computer running for at least another month or
two if possible; then I'll have the time to research a new one. I do have a
laptop that I can use while this one is being worked on.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

For starters, check the power options for your XP PC: Click on Start,
then on Settings, then on Control Panel, then double-click on
Power Options; make sure the Power scheme chosen is Always On. You can
select a time to Turn off monitor and (if desired) a time to Turn off
hard disks. At least initially, select the Never setting for
System standby.

That may fix your problem. Good luck.

 

[Jo-Anne]

For starters, check the power options for your XP PC: Click on Start,
then on Settings, then on Control Panel, then double-click on
Power Options; make sure the Power scheme chosen is Always On. You can
select a time to Turn off monitor and (if desired) a time to Turn off
hard disks. At least initially, select the Never setting for
System standby.

That may fix your problem. Good luck.

Thank you, Bob! The power scheme was Home/Office Desk (not sure what that
means). I changed it to Always On. Also, regarding the monitor, would I want
to turn it off at all? It would be turned off when the computer is turned
off, of course, but otherwise, wouldn't I want it on as long as the computer
is on?

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne

 

[Bob Willard]

Thank you, Bob! The power scheme was Home/Office Desk (not sure what that
means). I changed it to Always On. Also, regarding the monitor, would I want
to turn it off at all? It would be turned off when the computer is turned
off, of course, but otherwise, wouldn't I want it on as long as the computer
is on?

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne

Letting the system turn off the monitor after 10-20 minutes of non-use
will reduce your electric bill and probably make the monitor last
longer. Some folks also let the system turn off their hard drives,
but I don't: the power saving if minimal, and drives have a somewhat
limited spec on number of power on/off cycles.

 

[Jo-Anne]

Letting the system turn off the monitor after 10-20 minutes of non-use
will reduce your electric bill and probably make the monitor last
longer. Some folks also let the system turn off their hard drives,
but I don't: the power saving if minimal, and drives have a somewhat
limited spec on number of power on/off cycles.

Thank you, Bob!

Jo-Anne

 

[Jo-Anne]

Letting the system turn off the monitor after 10-20 minutes of non-use
will reduce your electric bill and probably make the monitor last
longer. Some folks also let the system turn off their hard drives,
but I don't: the power saving if minimal, and drives have a somewhat
limited spec on number of power on/off cycles.

Hi, again, Bob,

The computer turned itself off again. Guess it's time for repair or
replacement.

Jo-Anne

 

[Bob Willard]

Hi, again, Bob,

The computer turned itself off again. Guess it's time for repair or
replacement.

Jo-Anne

One of the most common causes of a PC powering down is overheating.
If you feel comfortable doing so, you may want to open up the case
and do some housekeeping: clean the air filters (if your case has any),
blow the dust out of the CPU (and other) heatsinks, and make sure all
of the fans are turning.

In this non-airconditioned environment, I need to clean the innards
of my PCs at least every year; for my main PC, it lowers the CPU
temp. by several degrees C.

 

[Twayne]

In

One of the most common causes of a PC powering down is
overheating. If you feel comfortable doing so, you may want to open up
the case and do some housekeeping: clean the air filters (if your
case has any), blow the dust out of the CPU (and other)
heatsinks, and make sure all of the fans are turning.

In this non-airconditioned environment, I need to clean the
innards of my PCs at least every year; for my main PC, it lowers
the CPU temp. by several degrees C.

Or see if the power settings are still at "never". If somethiing changed
them,, then suspect malware of some sort.

HTH,

Twayne`

 

[Jo-Anne]

One of the most common causes of a PC powering down is overheating.
If you feel comfortable doing so, you may want to open up the case
and do some housekeeping: clean the air filters (if your case has any),
blow the dust out of the CPU (and other) heatsinks, and make sure all
of the fans are turning.

In this non-airconditioned environment, I need to clean the innards
of my PCs at least every year; for my main PC, it lowers the CPU
temp. by several degrees C.

Thank you again, Bob! My husband opened the case yesterday and vacuumed and
blew out as much dust as he could. After that, the computer ran for the rest
of the day, which enabled me to back it up. I've put just about everything
on my laptop, which I'm using now. The computer is going in to the repair
shop today anyway, since it and my old printer are no longer communicating
(started happening after a nearby lightning strike that knocked out my phone
line and my husband's electronic weather station); they should be able to
say if the fans/power supply are OK. I've noticed, though, lately that the
fan is very quiet, although still running...

Jo-Anne

 

[Jo-Anne]

In

Or see if the power settings are still at "never". If somethiing changed
them,, then suspect malware of some sort.

HTH,

Twayne`

Thank you, Twayne! I did check, and the settings hadn't changed. I'm
guessing too much heat. As I mentioned to Bob, yesterday my husband cleaned
out the computer as best he could, and it worked for the rest of the day. I
backed everything up and put as much as I could on my laptop, which I'm
using now. The computer is heading for the repair shop for an evaluation of
this problem and its inability to communicate with my printer (after a
possible power surge). It's 7 years old and has worked really well all this
time, but I've been having some hard drive problems too. It may have reached
replacement time.

Jo-Anne