My pc shuts off by itself whenever i use it. It only lasts for 20 to 30 min, what's wrong with it?

Question

My pc shuts off by itself whenever i use it. It only lasts for 20 to 30 min, what's wrong with it?

Answer 1

there are several things that can persistantly crash a computer.

overheating, generally is the first thing. if it's a ...set amount of time before it crashed/turns off.

Causes for overheating.  Fans, that have broken, or stopped working.  dusk... or other hairball type dirt/muck that gets built up in the vents, and inside the computer... cause the fans not to cool things off as well...building up heat.  leading to overheating.   getting some canned air.  and blowing the dust out of fan vents, and along the surface of the motherboard, and internal fans... can clear up the dirt.

Your power supply could also be dying.  Older computers.  ...especially ones used for gaming or high end graphics or intensive programs.  ... need more power to fully utilize the components.  Sometimes those power supplies... are not enough, or degrade... and don't work.  so your computer will crash if the power isn't adequete.  ...if the psu is dying.  replacing it is the only real solution.  you'd need to know the type of computer case you have... and or what sorts of connections your motherboard has... and how many watts you need... on the psu in order to replace it.

...if it's not fans.  or the dirt, or the powersupply.  could be some other component failing.

if you notice the comp crashes when you start up a game... or while playing a game, or doing something that taxes the machine.  could be ram. that's shot... or bad sectors on...or a completely shot hard drive.

there are testing utilities to ...see if your ram is still working right.  just search the web.  ...HD testing utilities are also avail.

if it's not any hardware issue... could be a virus.

lots of viruses were notorious for simply...shutting down your system on you.  or the load a virus or worm causes on a system causes it to crash.  running AV software may check/clear this issue.

Also... sometimes.  buggy video games, or a game that's too advanced for your system can crash a computer.  or same thing with intensive programs.

Can also check other simple things... ie.  the power cables.  are they plugged in all the way.  check the connections on the back of the machine...are they in.  ..screwed in or secure. the wall socket you plug the comp into.  is it on a breaker... or kill type surge switch.  maybe that's engaged.... maybe a surge protector. or decent power tree

...most likely is heat.  from dying fans or dirt.  if not that... go down the list.  eliminate the other options.

or buy a new computer.

Answer 2

Your computer is taking a precautionary method because it is more than likely overheating.

You or a friend should open that sucker up and clean it out since sometimes animal fur (or tar from smoking) can gum up the fans.

Otherwise you will have to replace the fan so you don't melt the system.

Answer 3

There is not enough details to answer your question very well, but my guess is that it is overheating so make sure that there is sufficient ventilation and that the fans are working correctly.

Hope this helps

Answer 4

Make sure that it is not over heating and if you have time run a virus scan. Those are the only things i can think of.