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What would cause a desktop to shut off by itself?

Alrighty, so I have a Dell Dimension E521 Desktop computer, running Windows Vista. It has recently started shutting off by itself at random. I’ll be say online, and all of a sudden, the browser closes out. And then it starts preparing to shut down, no warning messages or nothing. It shuts down, and then it restarts. Its really weird. Anyone think of a reason why?

Oh, and note that it is a DESKTOP.. which is different than a LAPTOP.. which has a BATTERY which mine being a DESKTOP does NOT.

Sorry I had to say that, someone would say “Oh its the battery”.

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Answer #1

it may be your ram sticks or something else in your computers hardware. try - if youve still got some warranty (right word?) on it, to get the shop you bought it at to look at it. else if you know someone who knows a lot about computer to get to look at it and see if they can figure out whats wrong! but else you can just as I wrote at the start of this answer if youve got 2 or more ram sticks try to remove one start the computer (make sure its not turned on when removing ram sticks) and see if it keeps doing that. or else you can just buy some all new ram! 2*2gb ram sticks doesnt cost that much and it will probably make your computer much faster… ofcourse only if the ram sticks are the problem but it probably is so try that and see if it works :D feel free to send me a funmail if you need help with anything!

Answer #2

and you can try also this program, for scanning -trojan remover I hope that will do something. too.

Answer #3

If that option doesn’t work, I suggest that you scan your computer for malware. It’s quite possible that you have a virus that’s doing it. (I had the same issue once before. I was horribly infected.) If you don’t have a good scanner or would like to try some additional ones, here’s a small list of programs that I find good (which are free):

  • Spybot Search & Destroy
  • Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware (Free version)
  • avast! antivirus Home Edition

For best results, scan your computer in Safe Mode. (Restart your computer and hit the F8 button as soon as it starts up.)

Make sure that you update all definitions BEFORE scanning.

I hope that helps!

Answer #4

I’ll try it, doubt it’ll work. Only cause its junk.

Answer #5

control panel - power options

set it to not close down ;)

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