My Dell Inspiron desktop shuts down after a few minutes of running

Hello and welcome to the Microsoft Community

It sounds like your Dell Inspiron desktop shutting down automatically is a very frustrating issue, and there are a few ways to deal with this situation.

Firstly, if you are able to get to the desktop after pressing the power button to start the device and have a few minutes to work with it, then try searching the taskbar for "Event Viewer", or "Reliability History" and check to see if there is a record of the previous. Try searching for "Event Viewer" or "Reliability History" in the taskbar and check if the previous shutdown event was recorded, as there may be some important clues there.

Press Windows + R to open the Run window, type eventvwr.msc and press Enter.

In the Event Viewer, look at the most recent error and warning events, which may give you some clues.

See if there are any hardware or driver related error messages.

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To open Reliability History, proceed as follows.

Press Windows + R to open the Run window.

Type perfmon.exe in the Run window and press Enter to open the Performance Monitor.

In the Performance Monitor window, click on "Reliability Monitor" in the left menu.

In the right window, you will see the option "Reliability History", double click on it to open it.

In the Reliability History window, you can view the system's reliability events, including application failures, system failures, Windows updates, and other related information.

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If the few minutes from boot to shutdown are not enough for you to check, then try booting your device in Safe Mode.

For help on how to operate in Safe Mode, you can refer to this link:

Start your PC in safe mode in Windows - Microsoft Support

Run the computer in safe mode and see if it still shuts down automatically.

If there is no problem in Safe Mode, it may be caused by some third-party software or drivers.

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With the Event Viewer or Historical Logging and Safe Boot options, you can better pinpoint the root cause of the problem, such as whether it is a hardware failure or a software compatibility issue.

In addition to this we can also consider the following three scenarios.

Overheating problems.

Check to see if there is enough heat dissipation inside the computer case and that the fans are working properly. If the machine overheats, it will automatically shut down to prevent damage.

Try cleaning the inside of the case to ensure good ventilation. Replace the cooling fan if necessary.

Power supply problems.

Check that the power adapter is working properly and that the power cord is connected. Inadequate power supply can also cause unexpected shutdown.

Replace the power adapter or try another power outlet.

Hardware failure.

If you have checked the first two points, there may be a hardware failure such as the motherboard, CPU, memory, etc. You can try to replace the memory stick or check the motherboard.

You can try to replace the memory stick or check the connections on the motherboard.

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I suggest you follow the above steps to find the root cause of the problem. If the problem still can't be solved, I suggest you contact Dell customer service, they should be able to provide more professional diagnosis and solution.

I hope you're well.

Best Regards!

Leo - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist