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After I boot my computer, within 20 - 30 minutes it shuts down. I am computer illiterate and have tried to "self diagnose" and medicate and....that was a mistake. But I really cannot afford to get geek squad or whomever to come in and save the day, so I coming to you with my issues.
I have Windows Vista on an emachine that was purchase in 2008. This particular issue has only started within the last 2 and half weeks.
I'm not going to go into everything I have done/probably shouldn't have touched in the first place. BUT, I did reinstall Vista and I have my antivirus up and running and it seems to be all good there.
So here is a list of some of the error messages I have gotten recently.
1. Most recent:
There is compatability issues with Sun Java Scheduler. I don't know what it does but when the options are presented, I select run the program anyways.
2. Windows error message: 8007002.
3. Boot manager is missing or corrupt. (Okay so, that was probably me messing with things. In the BIOS screen, I eventually just switched everything to the optimized default settings.)
That's the list I have for right now. I tried contacting tech support at emachine - they did not want to be bothered with me really because the warranty is up. The live chat rep said it is most likely a power supply issue or my motherboard is messed up. Either way it sounds expensive and I really....I'm just really tired LOL. I'm NEED my PC to be in working order for a job I'm starting in September and it's not looking good. So I'm just trying to pick all of your tech-savvy brains before I move forward with whatever it is I need to do.
Sidenote: There's a recent thread where a mom of a 13-year-old was having similar shut down problems with their pc and someone suggested (I think it was njguy) that they needed a simple fix like opening up the tower and checking to see if anything was bumped out of place. I would like to try this because I did drop the damn thing recently...BUT this was after I was having problems so that's not the source of it all but of course it probably didn't help matters much. Can anyone walk me through this? I just want to check out as much as I can to narrow down the problem. Sorry for the long post but I REALLY need help!
If it is always after about the same amount of time the shutdown occurs, then either there is a overheating problem or Power Supply Unit is bad.
It could be that the PSU is overheating but needless to say you seem to be fooling around with your system quite a bit (no wonder you are tired!) so that could might not be the cause of the shutdown problem, it still is adding to the current mess you have.
Anyhow, from the info you had given, the shutdown problem sounded like a hardware issue. One software possibility that comes to mind is faulty BIOS settings which you mentioned messing around with. Optimized settings is not necessarily the best settings all around. I would suggest correcting the critical settings such as CPU clock and RAM related settings and boot related stuff, if unsure, apply the 'Fail Safe' settings instead of the 'Optimized' settings in BIOS.
Out of the Blue shutdowns are typically caused by bad PSU, CPU/HD overheating or faulty motherboard. Check to see if the power supply and the processor fan are actually spinning or not also look for excessive hot air coming after several minutes of running the PC, or right after one of those shutdowns, unplug the power cord, open the case and see if any component feels hot.
Have you overloaded your computer. Delete everything you don't need on it. Check to see how much of your computer space is being used. The first poster seems much more knowlegeable than I am. I only know what my husband, the retired point of sale computer repairman, tells me to do when my computer starts acting up. Then after I get everything I don't need deleted, I defrag. I only run one program at a time or my computer will freeze and sometimes turn itself off telling me I have an error. Yes, we need a new computer, but we don't buy anything until the old one bites the dust. "The shoemaker's children have no shoes." LOL Our appliances last forever too, because he fixes anything electrical.
Check the brand of the power supply. If it is Bestec then consider replacing it. These are known to fail and take the motherboard with them. I saw this once a client computer. The PS went and while checking out the system I saw a small black pile of "stuff" (technical term) on one of the chips. Fried!!
Yeah, wait until the puter is room temperature and blow that sucker out. Then inspect to see if anything looks melted or otherwise weird looking.
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