PC Closes down unexpectedly evry 20/30 mins

Question

No blue screen - just shuts down - suggests an error caused this and then re-starts every 30 mins approx

Answer 1

Thanks.

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The minidumps mention the process DellSupportAss. This process belongs to Dell SupportAssist. While it is a legitimate Dell utility used for driver updates and hardware scans, it can occasionally crash due to a conflict with Windows services, corrupted installation files, or a background update that failed to register correctly.

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I suggest uninstalling Dell SupportAssist and seeing if the system becomes stable.

1. Open Start and select Settings > Apps > Installed apps/Apps & features;
2. Locate Dell SupportAssist in the list of apps, click the three dots, click Uninstall, and confirm the uninstallation.
3. Also, check if you have Dell SupportAssist Remediation installed and uninstall it as well.
4. Restart (not shutdown) your PC.

Next, follow the procedure below to repair any system files that may have been corrupted by these crashes.

1. Open Start and type cmd, right-click on Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.
2. Run the following commands at the Command Prompt one at a time:

dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /scanhealth
dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup
sfc /scannow

Note: Pay close attention to the results of the commands. This will help you determine whether the procedure was completed successfully or if there was a problem. If you get any errors, let me know the error message that was displayed.

3. Restart (not shutdown) your PC.

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After completing these procedures, check if the system is working stably.

If the crash occurs again, please share the minidump it created.

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Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Answer 2

Hi. I'm David, and I'm happy to help you.

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This behavior can occur for several reasons. It is necessary to investigate.

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Please export and share the log for analysis:

1. Press Windows + X and select Event Viewer;
2. Expand Windows Logs and select System;
3. In the Actions panel on the right, select Filter Current Log;
4. In Event level, check the boxes Critical, Warning, and Error and click on Ok;
5. Again, in the Actions panel, select Save Filtered Log File As and save in an easily accessible place.

Then, upload the file to the cloud (OneDrive), choose to share it, and get the link.

Post the link to the file here so I can have a look.

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Looking forward to your reply.

Answer 3

Unexpected shutdowns without a blue screen are typically caused by hardware, drivers, or power issues. Use these steps to narrow it down and stabilize the system:

1. Check for critical shutdown events

• Open Event Viewer (right-click Start → Event Viewer).
• Go to Windows Logs → System.
• Look for Critical events with Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power and Event ID 41 around the time the PC turns off.
  • Event ID 41 means “The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first” and confirms Windows detected an unexpected power loss, crash, or hang.
• Also look for Event ID 6008 (“The previous system shutdown was unexpected”) and any related errors just before those events.

2. Apply basic stop-error troubleshooting (even if no blue screen appears) Frequent unexpected restarts or power-offs are handled with the same base checks as blue screens:

• Remove any new hardware
  • If any component (RAM, GPU, storage, USB device) was added recently, shut down, remove it, and test if the shutdowns stop.
• Boot into Safe Mode
  • Start in Safe Mode (see “Start your PC in safe mode in Windows 10/11”).
  • Use the PC for a while; if it stays stable, the cause is likely a driver or third‑party software.
• Check Device Manager for driver issues
  • Right-click Start → Device Manager.
  • Look for devices with a yellow exclamation mark (!).
  • Right-click → Update driver. If that doesn’t help, disable or uninstall the problematic device and test.
• Ensure enough free disk space
  • Make sure the system drive (usually C:) has at least 10–15% free space so Windows can create swap files and operate normally.
• Install the latest Windows updates
  • Windows 10: Start → Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update → Check for updates.
  • Windows 11: Start → Settings → Windows Update → Check for updates.
  • Install all important and recommended updates, then reboot and test.
• Use recovery options if needed
  • If the problem started recently, use a System Restore point or other option under Recovery options in Windows 10/11 to roll back to a stable state.

3. If the issue persists

• If Event ID 41 continues and basic steps do not help, suspect:
  • Power supply issues (PSU or power outlet).
  • Overheating or failing hardware (CPU, GPU, RAM, motherboard).
• In that case, consider hardware diagnostics (temperature checks, memory tests) or professional service.

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References:

• Troubleshooting Windows unexpected restarts and stop code errors
• Advanced troubleshooting for Event ID 41: "The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first"
• Basic troubleshooting steps for Windows 11 blue screens, black screens and stop code errors
• Basic troubleshooting steps for Windows 10 blue screens and stop code errors