they come at completely random times and doesnt seem to have a link between them and a specific program that is running however they did start when i downloaded the lastest driver for my radeon 9800 so im begining to think that has something to do with it. anyone else had such problems in the past? thanks

Howdy stid,
Are there any error mesages with the shutdown's?
If not can you go into yuor device manager and see what it says in there under system and applications

Hi Stid I think you got indeed a problem with the ATI Drivers.
Could you try to install the original drivers that came with you card or computer, and check if the problem still persist after installing?
By the way, I think you got a blue flash when it happens?
When the PC has restarted, is there a kind of pop-up that shows that there's been a fatal error?
Bluefish

thanks for the replies, i cant find anything in systems called applications in the device manger (maybe im being silly?) and there arent any messages whatsoever when it shuts down or blue flases. its exactly as if id shut down the computer manually. i cant reinstall the original drivers until my brother comes home so thats no an option at the minute:sad:

To get to your device manager...Right click my computer...Click manage ..then manage.. Below you will see where the little +'s are click on them to open any messages..

Windows has a function build-in to restore the old drivers. You got to got to the Device Manager, via My Computer, Properties, Hardware tab. Then right-click on your video card, which is mentioned under Graphics or something like that. Check the tabs, and there's a button to restore the previous driver. I'm not quite sure about the name cause I'm using Dutch version of Windows XP.