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PC Uninitiated Shutdown 1

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maven3

IS-IT--Management
Jun 10, 2007
1
ES
I use XP and lately my PC shuts down by itself. This always happens when Norton AV is in active mode (running scan, LiveUpdate, etc. and online or offline) but once or twice has occurred when non-active (such as sending long email attachment). The first time this occurred was whilst Norton was performing its automatic weekly full scan. I finally managed to stabilize the PC by getting it to finish the full scan. It worked fine for a week but then when the next automatic full scan started running it shut down the computer again and once more I stabilized it by managing to finish the full scan. The next week it cut out on full scan again and this time I have not been able to run the entire full scan without it shutting down. Now any Norton tool on long enough (mainly 30 mins. but sometimes as short as 2 min.), will shut down the PC. If I don’t use the Tools then normally the computer stays on but Norton isn’t fully armed (no full scan).
I’ve been in touch with Norton tech for several weeks (since the outset) and have removed and reloaded Norton (including all registry items), amongst other things but to no effect. I suggested to them it could be a timing out or overload issue but they never related to this. I’m 90% sure that if I remove Norton and replace it with something else the problem will go away but before I do so I thought I’d get advice from this board.

 
Normally, if your PC is shutting down unexpectedly, it means 1 of 2 things: either your power supply is overloaded or your power supply is failing. Norton requires a LOT of resources to run. You can try uninstalling Norton and running AVG Antivirus instead (free.grisoft.com) and if it still keeps happening, replace the power supply; preferably with one that can handle more load (keeping in mind that you should find out if your motherboard can handle it too).
 
I just thought of something else. Check the inside of your PC and make sure that your power supply is not clogged up with dust. This can cause it to overheat and shut down. Have you had Norton Antivirus long? If you have been using Norton for a long time and this just recently started happening then the power supply is the most likely culprit.
 
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