Why does my Asus shut down on its own?
Have you ever experienced your laptop shutting down and restarting on its own without any apparent reason? It's annoying, especially if it happens when you haven't saved your work yet... Needless to say, it can be frustrating!
In this article, we'll try to identify the causes of these unexpected "reboots" and find out why your PC shuts down on its own.
We'll also provide possible solutions!
Computer crashing: beware of your computer's ventilation.
One of the reasons that can cause your laptop to shut down and restart is the excessively high temperature affecting the components. It could be a problem with the fan or a buildup of dust inside the PC.
To test the fan, you can either place your ear nearby to listen if it's running smoothly and not making any unusual noise, or you can download software like Everest or Speedfan, which will provide information on fan speeds and internal temperature values.
If the temperature exceeds 100°C, your laptop's thermal protection activates and puts your computer in safety mode: it shuts it down.
In this case, you can use a can of compressed air to remove dust through the ventilation slots.
If this has no effect, you may need to replace the thermal paste or the fan itself.
This task is usually recommended for experienced users.
Windows Sleep Settings
If you haven't configured your laptop's sleep settings yourself, you probably don't know when it activates.
Sleep mode is triggered after a period of inactivity; it starts with the screen going to sleep and then the computer shutting down. By entering Windows settings, you can either reconfigure or disable this sleep mode.
Simply follow this path: open Settings -> System -> Power & sleep
Computer shutting down: hardware-related issues
More serious problems can force the laptop to shut down. For example, a hardware failure (hard drive, memory module…) due to an unexpected failure or a connection issue caused by rougher-than-usual transportation.
If the failure is hardware-related, you'll need to identify which of these devices is faulty: for this, it's recommended to open Device Manager and identify the one with the error icon (yellow triangle with a black exclamation point).
Once identified, you can either update this device if it's outdated or directly remove and replace it if driver updates aren't possible.
Computer shutting down due to a virus
Some viruses can also cause system crashes and thus turn off your PC. For safety, you can occasionally run free antivirus software like Avast, Malwarebytes...
Computer shutting down: battery and/or charger issues
A battery approaching the end of its life can trigger random reboots because it's no longer efficient enough to power the laptop properly. It might be time to replace it.
The same goes for the charger: if it's old, its wiring may not be as effective as it was originally.
If you can't find the cause of your issue in everything we've listed, we recommend having a diagnosis performed by a computer professional.
Their expertise and experience are always an advantage in this situation.