Windows keeps shutting down without asking it to, does anyone know

[Barbara]

I have been constantly having a problem with my computer shutting down
without my asking it to shut down. I'll be in the middle of doing something
on the computer and the next thing I know it's rebooting. I've tried
narrowing it down to see what is causing it and cannot pinpoint the problem
because I'm not always in the same program when it happens. We've tried
doing a scan disk, we've tried defragging the computer, we've tried repairing
it and a few other ideas and nothing is working. Can someone please help me
figure out what the problem is and how to fix it?

 

[Malke]

I have been constantly having a problem with my computer shutting down
without my asking it to shut down. I'll be in the middle of doing
something
on the computer and the next thing I know it's rebooting. I've tried
narrowing it down to see what is causing it and cannot pinpoint the
problem
because I'm not always in the same program when it happens. We've tried
doing a scan disk, we've tried defragging the computer, we've tried
repairing
it and a few other ideas and nothing is working. Can someone please help
me figure out what the problem is and how to fix it?

Time to do hardware troubleshooting since your symptoms indicate hardware
failure and/or overheating.
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

Standard disclaimer: I can't see and test your computer myself, so these are
just suggestions based on many years of being a professional computer tech;
suggestions based on what you've written. You should not take my
suggestions as a definitive diagnosis. Testing hardware failures often
involves swapping out suspected parts with known-good parts. If you can't
do the testing yourself and/or are uncomfortable opening your computer,
take the machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your local
equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If possible, have all your data
backed up before you take the machine into a shop.

Malke

 

[Chris Geerlings]

Get a aircan, or some cottonswab.
Start cleaning your airfan(s), cpu fan and or videocard fan.

Sounds like overheating issues.

Regards,

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have been constantly having a problem with my computer shutting down
without my asking it to shut down. I'll be in the middle of doing something
on the computer and the next thing I know it's rebooting. I've tried
narrowing it down to see what is causing it and cannot pinpoint the problem
because I'm not always in the same program when it happens. We've tried
doing a scan disk, we've tried defragging the computer, we've tried repairing
it and a few other ideas and nothing is working. Can someone please help me
figure out what the problem is and how to fix it?

Two points:

1. If your computer is restarting spontaneously, you are presumably
blue-screening, and you are set to the default of rebooting whenever
that happens. It's a poor default setting and you should change it.
Right-click My Computer, and choose Properties. On the Advanced tab,
click Settings under Startup and Recovery. Under System failure,
uncheck the box "Automatically restart.

Now when the problem occurs again, instead of restarting, you will get
the blue screen with diagnostic information. Post back with those
details for more help.

2. This is almost always a hardware problem, rather than a Windows
one. Overheating is a common cause of this.

 

[Barbara]

OK We tried cleaning the fan yesterday and so far so good, it hasn't shut
down spontaneously since so thank you very much for the suggestion.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

OK We tried cleaning the fan yesterday and so far so good, it hasn't shut
down spontaneously since so thank you very much for the suggestion.

You're welcome. Glad to help.