About Lorry Expertise I can answer most questions regarding Windows 95 and/or Windows 98.
Experience Like most people, started with Windows 95, then continued on with the other versions as they came available up to Windows XP. Am a local tech helping others when something goes wrong with Windows.
Expert: Lorry Date: 6/16/2008 Subject: PC powers down
Question I have a Dell Dimension 2350 with Win XP Home and it will only stay on for about two minutes - any ideas as to what it may be?
Thank you,
Landon
Answer Hi Landon,
My first thought would be to turn the computer off, uplug it, take the cover off and remove any dust inside, especially the fans with canned air.
Another thing could be the power supply.
Power Supply Problems
The PC power supply is probably the most failure-prone item in a personal computer. It heats and cools each time it is used and receives the first in-rush of AC current when the PC is switched on. Typically, a stalled cooling fan is a predictor of a power supply failure due to subsequent overheated components. All devices in a PC receive their DC power via the power supply.
A typical failure of a PC power supply is often noticed as a burning smell just before the computer shuts down. Another problem could be the failure of the vital cooling fan, which allows components in the power supply to overheat. Failure symptoms include random rebooting or failure in Windows for no apparent reason.
For any problems you suspect to be the fault of the power supply, use the documentation that came with your computer. If you have ever removed the case from your personal computer to add an adapter card or memory, you can change a power supply. Make sure you remove the power cord first, since voltages are present even though your computer is off.
