Hi everyone...i'm new here. I hope that i can get some help for my prob. I have had the same PC for almost 2 years and just about a week ago it started shutting off unexpectedly. This usually happens when i am playing a DVD on the PC or running a game that requires a disc such as The Sims. This has never happened before and it's really annoying. I performed a full PC error check and fix up any errors, run anti spyware, ran the anti virus (there was no viruses) and made sure the power settings were'nt set to turn off and the problem STILL occures!

Also just after the PC shuts down it wont let me turn it back on straight away...i have to wait about 3-5 mins first and then i am just taken back to the welcome screen as normal. i dont get any error messages.

I am really wondering why this has just started all of a sudden when I have been fine before.I cant think of anything else that could be causing this so any advice would be really appreciated.
thanks a lot
Aishah

Hi Aishah, welcome to the PCHF - it's always good to have another aussie on the boards.

It sounds like your computer is overheating a bit, either video or CPU.
Do you know anymore details about your computer?

Thanks for that....makes sense.....well what other things about the PC would you need to know? Could it be that the fan has stopped working? what usually causes the PC to overheat? I think there must be something wrong somwhere inside as this never happened before. i could watch DVDs for hours and i literally played the Sims for hours on end with no trouble too....thanks

overheating can be caused by quite a few different things.

Most common in dust...and another common cause is the fan stops working - as you mentioned.
The best way to check is to pop open the side of the case, and take a look at the fan itself (should be near the top) to see if there is anything obstructing it.

Well that seems logical. I cant beleive i never thought of that. thanks a lot for that. I will give it a go and tell you how i went.

Thanks so much for your advice! i opened up the PC and you wouldnt believe the amount of dust i found in there! i couldnt even see the fan vent coz it was covered with so much thick dust! I gave it a really good clean and now my PC runs like a dream and has stopped switching off!
thanks toooo much for your advice!