Computer turning off on its own

[Learninggentleness]

My computer started doing the strangest thing today: it will turn off by itself, without my prompting. It happend twice tonight. Does anyone have any idea what it could be? Is it a sign of my computer crashing? :shrug

[MamatoBiz]

It could be a sign of one of the fans not working properly. If the CPU gets too hot, the computer shuts itself off to keep from frying the motherboard (and doing other bad things). If that wasn't it, :shrug I'll think on it!

[Learninggentleness]

hmmm, my fan was just replaced about a week 1/2 ago. I had a loud fan noise for many months, finally got it replaced, and this turning off just started. The person who replaced the fan is a co-worker of my mother-in-law's. He works with her and knows a lot about computers. He has helped her a lot with computer issues.

Maybe he didn't install it properly? The fan noise is much better now though - not nearly as loud as before.

[Drew]

Do you know which fan he replaced? Was it a case fan or the one attached to the CPU's heatsink? If it's the one on the CPU and it's not working, that's likely your problem. Try taking the cover off of your computer then turning it on. That way you can see if all of the fans are running.

You could also have a virus. Make sure your anti-virus software is up to date and so a full system sweep.