[jlemaire]

Hi there,

I've been having some problems with my computer, revolving around it turning off unexpectedly.

Here's what happens:

At times that are variable between a few minutes after I've turned it on to a few hours after I've turned it on, the computer will suddenly stop and turn off. This is not a sudden shutdown in the sense that a shutdown would occur after I pull a power chord or turn off the powerbar, but rather something that seems to be very deliberate on the part of the computer. If there are open programs, it closes those programs. If I have unsaved work, the dialogue box for saving work before closing a program appears, allowing me to save work before the program closes. When all of the running programs have been closed, it then exits Windows (I'm running Windows Vista) and turns the computer off.

Most of the time, the computer turns itself back on within a few seconds, although instead of getting a splash screen for loading windows or the Dell loading screen (my computer's a Dell), I get weird distorted colours across the screen. Sometimes, after waiting for a few minutes as the computer cycles through a number of weird discoloured screens with nothing that can be made out on them aside from the bright discolourations, it goes into System Repair and repairs the damage enough for me to be able to start Windows again, at which point the whole process repeats.

I've been searching through various internet forums and have found different explanations offered from hardware to software problems, so I'm not really sure how to follow through on this.

Any suggestions? Here is the basic information about my system:

Operating System: Windows Vista
Computer: Dell Dimension DIME521
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3600+ 1.9 GHz
Memory: 2.00 GB RAM
System Type: 32-bit Operating System


Any assistance is much appreciated, and thanks in advance!

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Hey all,

Just an addendum to my previous message. When the computer shuts off, I hear some strange noises coming from the CD-ROM drive as the computer sometimes shuts on and off really quickly with the green indicator light on the CD-ROM drive blinking like mad. There's also a green cylindrical symbol light on the front of the computer that blinks with the number three underneath it.

[jlemaire]

Hey all,

Just an addendum to my previous message. When the computer shuts off, I hear some strange noises coming from the CD-ROM drive as the computer sometimes shuts on and off really quickly with the green indicator light on the CD-ROM drive blinking like mad. There's also a green cylindrical symbol light on the front of the computer that blinks with the number three underneath it.