What Operating System are you running - if Windows what version XP, vista, 7? When is it shutting down, after you get into Windows (or other OS) or when trying to boot up? Are there any error messages? New machine or old machine - if old has anything changed? How long does the system stay working before it shutsdown? Is it getting too hot, fans blocked etc?
Lets start by working out if it is the hardware (Dell and devices connected) or the software (Windows etc) It is difficult to know without more details of the problem but here are my best suggestions
Try safe mode - running windows try in safe mode (F8 when starting windows), check error logs
Test the hardware - I would start by disconnecting all external devices, USB disk and other devices. If possible also remove any extra boards you have added to the machine. Even the mouse, USB sticks, anything plugged in (but leave the keyboard). Try this, do you get the same problem.
Test the OS - If you have a live CD such as Ubuntu (can be downloaded from here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download ) then try booting the system from this and see if you still get a problem
Can you run a virus checker on it, how long does the machine stay running. You can try downloading from here from another machine -
http://www.avg.com/us-en/avg-rescue-cd-download and making a CD, run the rescue anti virus.
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