Hey guys

I know that a lot of you will be more educated in this field, so i've come for advice.

Basically i can be playing an online game, running spyware or just surfing the web - and my computer will just shut down. The problem is becoming more and more frequent.
When i turn the computer back on, the System recovery screen comes up with options of safe mode etc (i'm sure you've all seen it at some point). Which ever option i choose, as soon as i press enter, the computer will shut down again.
I have got round the problem by leave it alone for ten minutes if it shuts down, then on start up it seems to work fine. But this is not a good long term solution.


Please offer any advice you may have


Thanks

I would suggest it's a heat problem, as it cools down, you can restart.

Check all fans are working and clean. particularly on CPU.

It might be a missing system32/config file. If you start to see that, you will need to re-install Windows XP, but it will fix everything!

To have to reinstall XP for a missing file (if that indeed were the case) is a bit reaching.

As stated, it could be a heat problem, as well it could be a memory or power supply problem.

If the system is out of warranty, and it's a desktop, you can open the system case and check ~all~ air vent openings (case and power supply), and the CPU fan/heatsink assembly. Ensure nothing is plugged up with dust etc.

If all is clean, the next (free) step would be to use a memory tester to check your RAM.

Download and run MemTest86+.
http://www.memtest.org/

Use the appropriate downloaded file to create either a floppy bootdisk or a bootable CD. For a floppy, unzip the files to an empty directory and (with a floppy in your drive) run the install.bat file. When complete, you won't see any files on the floppy, but they are there. Just boot the machine with this floppy and run it as long as you can afford to. If there are errors, run it on one memory module at a time to narrow down the possibilities. (ie; Remove all but one module.) You may have to set your bios boot device sequence to boot from the floppy (or CDROM) drive first.

Test your power supply. A tester can be obtained from many computer stores for under $20.00 U.S.. (This is advised as these test the unit while putting a load on it. It's much better than just using a multi-meter for volts/amps.)

Post back with your results and any further questions or information.