Yo, Chrome users!

[MoonCat]

Derp, I meant CHROME users! Why can't we edit thread titles??

Anyway.....Has anyone had an issue where your computer suddenly shuts down?

My sister has had this happen 3 times, twice on one site and the third time on a different site. I thought it might possibly be a malware issue but Chrome isn't generally susceptible to that; they weren't skeevy sites anyway, one was a local TV station site and the other was skullcandy.com

I tried Googling a solution - it seems it's not unusual. A cleanup tool was suggested but when we downloaded this, we got a message saying it was not compatible with her machine. Another user who had this happen was apparently told by the Chrome site people that "you don't need that as Chrome can't pick up malware." Which is pretty funny as the cleanup tool was SUGGESTED by the Chrome site.

So, any other ideas?

[EricKei]

Fixed the title for ya Not sure if it works for standard users -- it's been so long -- but I got to it by hitting Edit, then Go Advanced.

"you don't need that as Chrome can't pick up malware."

And Macs never get viruses/malware. Tell me another one

[Chromatix]

Does it actually shut down, or is it a hard power-down? The latter would point to a hardware problem, most likely the PSU.

[MoonCat]

Does it actually shut down, or is it a hard power-down? The latter would point to a hardware problem, most likely the PSU.

It goes off completely, then comes back up by itself a few seconds later, with the log-in box and she has to log in again.

[Chromatix]

Yeah, that's a PSU problem. A lot of computers come with a bare-minimum PSU that isn't necessarily very reliable; it's not a headline feature, so it's one of the first things they cut corners on.

Time to take a look inside and see what type of PSU will fit as a replacement. Most full-size machines take an ATX PSU, but some smaller cases can only fit a smaller type, such as SFX. Photos and measurements of the existing PSU will help to identify what's needed here.

[katzklaw]

plus that, they don't last forever. i'm on PSU #4 or so on my 5.5 year old box... one of them lasted less than a year. i built the computer myself, too, so while i didn't buy an expensive model, i didn't cut corners in terms of the amount of power supplied.

[It's me]

Do check for dust bunnies in the air intake for the machine. You can use a vacuum to clean it out... but watch out static electricity.

[MoonCat]

It's a Chromebook, not a desktop, if that makes any difference.

[Chromatix]

Oh - Chrome OS, not Chrome the web browser. That does make a difference, but mostly because it's a laptop, not a desktop. As far as hardware goes, a Chromebook is just a really cheap laptop.

As a laptop, it probably has a lid sensor so that it goes to sleep when the lid is closed, and wakes up when it's opened. Often this sensor is magnetic, not a mechanical switch in the hinge. A weak magnet brushing past the wrong place might well cause the machine to briefly enter sleep mode; you can try using a magnet deliberately to see whether this might be the case.

[MoonCat]

I can't think of anything she would be using near the laptop that has a magnet in it, but it can't hurt to check. Thanks for the suggestion!

[SixFortyK]

The first thing that comes to mind, since it appears limited to a couple web sites, a browser extension might be in conflict with the page code. Try disabling the extensions. If the problem goes away, reenable them one at a time to see if the problem comes back and to identify the bad extension.