my computer keeps shutting down out of nowhere! HELP!!!

[conrad96]

ok, i have an Emachines W3080. i have no idea how old this thing is.(my dad got it from a friend) and about every two weeks or so it will spontaneously shut down. it will be running just fine and turn off. this has happened four times in the last hour. (i'm typing this from my parents computer) i managed to run a quick virus scan and it appears i have no viruses. any ideas what might be causing this?

[Fraggle]

It's possible that your computer is overheating for some reason or another... Do you find that it spontaneously shuts down quicker if it's been on for a while?

Similarly, do you get a long period of time without a shutdown if it's been off for a good few hours?

~Fraggle

[conrad96]

today i had just turned it on. everything was fine (xfire logged on, got on the internet etc.) about maybe 10 mins in it shut down. i have gone about 12 hours playing long sessions of halo and crossfire. i do have a 42 in. plasma as my monitor. it gets hot after an hour or so and my room will get warm. normally it won't shut down even if it has been on for hours. the computer is pretty well ventilated (i have an enourmous power source in the case with a large fan on it)

[BFM_Kiwi]

I agree, mostly likely overheating.  Check the fans.  If you know how to check the Event Logs (under control panel >> administrative tools) you may see a message about why it shut down (giving a hint if it's memory, hard disk, graphics card). 

This happens a lot with laptops, but also can happen with towers.  My desktop started doing that, and it turned out to be my graphics card overheating - I got a new one and it was fine.

There is a freeware utility that you can install that will tell you the internal termperatures - can't remember what it's called, but search through the tech support board for overheating and maybe someone's posted it.

[conrad96]

k thanks guys. turns out it was overheating. needed to dust the insides out and put a fan up to it. hope it works. thanks again.