I would check for excessive dust in the case (fans, heat sinks, and case 
filter) resulting in heat problems. Also, I would make sure hibernate 
was disabled since some computers just don't handle hibernation very well.

As an aside, XP likes at least 512MB of RAM.

Tom Mayer

Gordon Totty wrote:
> Inspired by Anne's question about a laptop shutting off, I would like tips about a desktop that shuts down.  It is a fairly good machine that I donated to a friend's local shop.  I don't have it in front of me so can't report the specs other than it's running Windows XP, has a Pentium D processor, 256MB of RAM, and was originally built by Gateway. The office manager reports that one day it shut itself off three times, and the next day once.  It hasn't happened when someone is directly looking at or using the machine.  On reboot, the standard Windows message about an improper shutdown appears.  When they can spare the machine, I'll be looking for the problem.  My first impulse is that the power supply must be failing.  Are there any other things that might be more likely?
>
> In its previous "life" it was never turned on and run all day and the symptom reported now was never observed.
>
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