Computer keeps shutting off by itself

My computer keeps shutting off by itself. This is since you guys helped me fix my spyware problem with the hijack this log. Now I am getting a message when I restart my computer that says "Alert! Previous shutdown due to thermal event." When I try to restart it, the comouter just keeps on shutting down. Yesterday, I came home from work and found my computer in this state again. I could not get it restarted until this morning. Can you help? Thanks,

Hello Heidimay,

What kind of machine? Desktop/Laptop? Is this a Dell?

Heat is a serious enemy of all electronic parts and your machine is protecting itself when it detects an over heat problem.

If you have a Desktop, it is pretty easy to shut off the power, disconnect the power cable and open up the Tower box. Look inside to check for "dust bunnies" and especially accumulations of dust/dirt on your heatsinks.

With the case side open, re-connect the power cable and restart your machine for a few minutes.
Look carefully at "all" of your Fans…. Case Fans, HeatSink Fan on your CPU, Heatsink fan on your Video Card, etc.
If any of the Fans are not spinning:
Turn off your machine and unplug your power cable again.
–Don't "touch" items inside your case without using correct Static Electricity safety measures.
–look to see that the power supply to that fan is connected properly
–clean out any dust bunnies with short bursts from a can of compressed air
–Use the eraser end of a pencil to gently hold the fan blade from spinning when you use compressed air to clean your fans.
–do this cleaning outside and use a "painter's mask" to protect your breathing from all the crud that will be flying when you clean with compressed air.

Inspect the clips for your CPU. They should be firmly in place.
If the problem is related to poor seating of your CPU/Heatsink you may want to take it to a shop, or post back here with additional questions about procedures and materials such as Artic Silver, etc.
Inspect the "capacitor barrels" on your motherboard. They should be flat on top and not bulging or leaking.
Are there any noticeable smells or discolorations inside the case?

When cleaning the machine, be sure that the air intakes at the front of your machine are clear.
Where is your Tower box located when you are running your computer?
There should be good/open air circulation around your tower during operation.
If the tower is located under your desk or in one of those nifty storage slots provided on some computer desks, you may need to open up the back panel of the desk itself to provide better air circulation.

If this is a Laptop, you may have more difficulty checking these things and may want to take it to a shop.
When inspecting a Laptop for dust, it is tempting to blow compressed air onto the powersupply fans from outside of the case. This can push the dust/dirt even further inside and cause additional problems.
If you're comfortable opening the case of your laptop, then just go slow and clean from the inside toward the outside.

You can get Temperature readings from your BIOS or by using a free program like Everest 2.20
Download Everest 2.20, here: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html
Run Everest and post the temperatures in your next reply.

Best Regards

Field Value Maxtor 6Y160M0 42 °C (108 °F) This was my temperature under the sensor section of the report? I have a desktop Dell Dimension 4600i with an intel pentium 4. My processer is in the computer desk slot but there is no front door on it and it has been there for 2 years with no issues. I will open it later and clean it as you suggested. I need to go out and get compressed air cans. i do keep the outside dust free as dust bunnies do tend to collect around the outer fans in the back. So far today I have not had any problems with it shutting down and it has been on for 7 hours. I don't understand why some days it does this and some days it does not. Thank you for your help. Will await your next post.

Is that Temp the only one reported out by Everest under MotherBoard - Sensors?

That temp is moderately high, especially for a Hard Drive which is likely only going to get heated up from the CPU/MotherBoard/Video Card radiated and convected heat.

I would hope for a temp in the high 20's to low 30's for a Hard Drive.
CPU Temp in the Mid 30's at resting state would be reasonable.
What Brand is your machine?
How many internal case Fans?
Any room for an additional case Fan?

My processer is in the computer desk slot but there is no front door on it and it has been there for 2 years with no issues.

Except that by now it may have accumulated dust bunnies clogging the airflow intakes, HeatSink and Fans. Of course we won't know this til you open the case.
Still, it would help you machine if you cut an airflow opening in the back panel of that desk slot.

Yes that is the only temp reported. I just got back with the compressed air so I will open the tower and get back to you.

Okay. We cleaned out my tower this morning as the shuting dwon started immediately when I turned it on today. It was filthy as you suspected. The fans were covered and dust was blocking the vents. Dust bunnies the size of tennis balls were in there!! It was rather disgusting!! So my new problem if this one is now solved, is that my printer continously needs to be uninstalled and then reinstalled in order to get it to print online. It is a Dell all -in-one 942. This happened before and working with Dell they had me install Counter Spy and it solved the problem for about 6 months. Now it is happeneing again. Any ideas.

Good work Heidimay!

Are you having any difficulty with browsing, popups, re-directed browsing, slow browser response?
How about when you're off-line… any slowing or difficulty running applications?

I notice that you have WeatherBug, as of your last posting in HJT.
This item used to be considered a Malware and malware vector, now it is "open to debate"
There are other "clean" features for getting immediate access to weather information.
Perhaps your Comcast uses and promotes weatherbug as part of their offerings?
Would you consider uninstalling it?
An alternate for you, might be Weather Pulse.
http://www.tucows.com/preview/316051

Update your McAfee, CounterSpy, and Spyware Doctor if you still have them.
Consider downloading, updating, and installing Spybot Search and Destroy v1.4, Ad-Aware SE Personal v1.06r1 and SpywareBlaster and MVPS Hosts File

Do you run CounterSpy and Spyware Doctor actively in the background.
Consider running them only as Manual scans without background real-time protection
SpywareBlaster and MVPS Hosts File will provide "passive" background protection without consuming resources.

Still have "Xoft"? I don't recommend this product, even the paid version. Doesn't seem to be "causing" problems for people anymore, but may still be "missing" items and causing "false positives".
I'm not the best authority to judge this, and you must make your own decision, but your CounterSpy and Spyware Doctor and the other free utilities that I recommend above will more than cover anything Xoft tries to do.

With all of your anti-Virus and Anti=Spyware utilities updated, reboot into SAFE Mode and run each of them.

Your problem with Dell all-in-one 942 may not, however, be Malware related. Still it's a good idea to run your onboard protection tools on a regular basis.

I presume your the 942 is USB connected?
Do you have other peripherals running USB connections? What and how many?
Go to Control Panel - Printers.
How many Printers/faxes do you have installed?
You should only have the 942 installed, unless you actually have other printers. Uninstall any old ones.

Go to
Control Panel - System - Hardware - Device Manager
While in Device manager, check for any yellow or red warnings and make a note of them to post back here.
Especially… Scroll down to the bottom of Device manager and click on USB Serial Bus Controllers
Any yellow or red warnings there?
If warnings do appear, right-click on the item and select Uninstall. Then reboot to allow windows to "find new hardware", and "install drivers for new hardware."

I'd like to get a better picture of your system's overall functioning, for example:
Free space on Hard Drive, Installed RAM, junk files, hard drive fragmentation, functions active at Start Up.
Any/all of these features can effect the correct function of you Printer, especially because Printing is generally a "labor intensive" (meaning resource intensive) project.
So if you have other items "competing for resources, the Printer may periodically fail without any apparent cause.

This will help get an overview of your machine.
Go to http://www.pcpitstop.com
Click on Full Test.
you will be asked to register. Please do so.
You will receive a verification of registration in a few minutes by email.
Then Run the PCPitstop Full Test.
When you first run it, you will be asked to accept an ActiveX that will allow the testing. Please Accept.
When your Full Test is complete, you will see an item at the Top of the page called "TechExpress" which is a link to your Results.
Please copy and paste the full TechExpress to your next reply here in this thread, so that we can get a more informed view of your machines current functioning.

Best Regards

I cannot get the PCPitstop to download and have done all the troubleshooting things listed.

Most often this occurs because of an Anti-spyware or Popup blocker preventing ActiveX download. Do you see a dull-Yellow bar across the top of your page, just below your browser command lines. That's where google and other ActiveX popup blockers will display that they are Preventing an ActiveX. If you click in the dull-Yellow bar where it says Blocked, or Allow, or Download, or some such, you should get an option to complete the download of the ActiveX necessary to complete the PCPitstop Full Test. I'll try to hang with you until you get it, though I will be away from my keyboard for a while today. Best Regards

I did that and it still won't download.

Windows will not let it download because it does not have a valid digital signature.

What browser are you using.
The PCPitstop Full Test requires that you use MS Internet Explorer version 5.5 or highter.
So if you are browsing with FireFox, Opera, or Mozilla, you won't be able to run the test.
Open an IE browser and go from there, if this applies.
In your IE security settings, please return all settings to Default.

Does that make a difference for you?

Did you receive an email verification of your registration yet?

OK, let's set that PCPitstop Test aside for the time-being.
We can always get registered in the PCPitstop Forums and ask for some "inside" assistance for "Problems Running the PCPitstop Full Test"… but let's move on for now…

If you completed the other recommendation that we've already discussed, (Control Panel - Printers, Device Manager USB Controllers, etc.) then you may already have cleared your problem.

How much RAM does your machine have installed 256mb? 512mb? 1gb? etc.
How much Free Space do you have on your Hard Drive? and What is the Total Hard Drive Space"
Let's clear out .tmp and junk files. Follow this procedure:

To clean out all the temporary files and cookies on your system.
Go to
Start - Run - (type) "cleanmgr" without the quotes.
Let it scan your system for files to remove.
Check these three boxes and then press ok to remove:
Temporary Files,
Temporary Internet Files,
Recycle Bin.

Then GoTo:
Start - Find/search - Files or folders - in the named box, type: *.tmp
When the list is generated, choose
Edit - select all - File - delete.

Note: If you cannot delete them all at once because you have too many, then click and hold ctrl and highlight a batch of them at a time. Once highlighted, R-click over the highlight and select delete.

Then use
Start - Run - (type) "%temp%" (without the quotes).
Delete the entire contents of that "temp" folder
(use Edit - Select All - press "Delete", click "Yes").

Then,
Empty your Temporary Internet Cache completely.
Close all instances of Outlook and Internet Explorer,
then use "Control Panel - Internet Options - General tab and click the "Delete File" button.
When prompted place a check in: "Delete all offline content", then click OK.

Then, use Windows Explorer to clean out ALL the other temp folders on your system
(navigate to the folder, (as listed below)
use "Edit - Select All", press "Delete", click "Yes"

* C:\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Temp\
* C:\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\
* C:\Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Temp\

* C:\Windows\Prefetch\

* Empty your "Recycle Bin".

Note: This is a long manual way to clear out .tmp files. It is safe and highly recommended.

Eventually you may wish to use a "tool" to do this procedure for you on a regular basis.
Download: CleanUp! 4.0 from http://www.stevengould.org
Read about all the options for using this device and use it only after you are satisfied that you understand what it will do for you. I use it regularly, and have a squeaky clean computer as a result.

After you've cleared out the .tmp and junk files, pleasee Defrag your machine.
Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Defragmenter

With the prior recommendations and now with .tmps and junk cleaned out and hard drive defragmented, is your Printer running any better?

Best Regards

Oooohhh! No Problem!
Windows does not have a file base for all third-party ActiveX items.

This is a "valid" and "safe" activeX.

Please allow windows to install it.
Respond OK or install or continue, when you get to this warning screen about:

Windows will not let it download because it does not have a valid digital signature.

The signature is "valid", they just don't have a reference copy of it.

Best Regards

I would love to let windows install it. The box comes up that windows will not it install because it is not a valid digital signature and there is a little okay to click and nothing else. There is no option to let it install anyway.

Please take a look at the Security Settings for IE Control Panel - Internet Options - SecurityTab - Select "Internet" Press "Default Level" (to set everything as it should be for safe surfing at "medium") Then Press "Custom Level" and mark the following item in the scroll-down box… ActiveX Controls and plug-ins Automatic prompting for ActiveX Controls mark Disable Binary and Script behaviors mark Enable Dowload signed ActiveX Controls mark Prompt Download unsigned ActiveS Controls mark Prompt Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe mark Prompt Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins mark Enable Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting mark Enable Leave all other items set at their Default settings Now go back to PCPitstop.com and see if you are able to Run the Test. After you've run the PCPitstop.com Test, you can go back to Internet Options - Security - Internet - and Select Default/Medium again for general browsing. Please post back with results. Best Regards