So, my mom's computer is acting up, and since I know enough about a computer to build one myself, she suddenly thinks I can solve any problem she has that may arise. Lately, her computer has been just randomly shutting down. I thought at first it may have been an overheating problem, but it does it occasionally only 2-3 minutes after startup, which leads me to think that it may be a problem with the motherboard. The model is MSi G31TM-P21, which I guess occasionally has problems with this sort of thing. Any confirmation and/or alternative suggestions you could give would be great.

Overheating or a short somewhere in the mobo.

 

Obvious first step is to clean out the case of dust etc and check the fans are running.

Second step would be to check temperature read outs to see if they are high.

Third step would be run a good virus scan, jsut in case. There as some weird virus out there tht do such pointless things.

Fourth would be to check BIOS, some editions have a temperature at which to auto-shutoff. If this has been accidentally lowered it culd be the cause.

Fifth step would be guess the mobo's [bleep]ed and test it if you got the gear to, or get a pro to test it or jsut assume it msut be the case as theres not really any other option and repalce it.

Check if her mobo works with your PSU, and check that her PSU works with your mobo to see if you can narrow down the problem further. Use the HDD's on your computer to ensure its not a virus (unplug your HDD's though incase it is some virus)

 

It could always be the plug that its plugged into acting up. Does sound a lot like a breaking PSU though. Wouldn't want to fry your motherboard if it indeed is about to phail, so be careful.