From what you told me it sounds like a power supply issue. I have had the same issues with my pentium 4 fileserver. It would run at short intervals that would get larger. I took a look at the psu voltages using aida32 and it showed them way out of normal ranges. I would suggest buying one of those 40$ psus at bestbuy or get a cheep one online and see if that fixes the problem. It also sounds like your system is running pretty warm but not out of normal range.
A new psu fixed my server so go ahead and try it.

I have had the same issue with two different computers, the likelihood of both having a bad power supply issue is extremely slim. Especially since they were working fine with only SP2 on them.

POWER SUPPLY

I have a brand new Gateway desktop pc from best buy, with 8 gig ram, quad processor and have lately been experiencing a problem... i walk away from it for a while and it just Shuts Down! No reason! or... when i try to play Halo CE after playing for about 15 minutes, BOOM. computers abruptly shuts off. then i have to turn it back on with the message "your computer did not shut down properly etc.... what is wrong????? is gateway just that crappy that fans stop working or my Nvidia graphics card over heats?? maybe i have a crappy surge protector?

it has Vista 64, and Halo CE wont even recognise that i have any ram at all!!! im starting to miss my crappy Dell computer with Pentium 4 with XP, i could play games like halo for days, it NEVER shut down like that. this sucks lol You would think with better technology that they would have the bugs worked out before they decide to Sell their crappy computers. lol help

I probably have the same Gateway from Bestbuy, a Gateway LX6810-01

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 Processor @2.33GHZ
8GB DDR2 RAM
1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT120
Vista 64-Bit Home SP1 Operating System

Suddenly in the past three days I am experiencing similar sudden shutdowns and restarts. I'm trying to localize the problem, and have so far done the following with no resolution:

- Turned off the "Automatically restart" option in the System Failure settings of Startup and Recovery. Still rebooting with no warning.

- Opened the box and double checked to make sure RAM and Graphics card were seated firmly.

- Checked the fans, also gauged the heat and it didn't "feel" overheated to me.

- Downloaded and installed latest driver for my graphics card.

- System restore to a save point going back a week, prior to a couple windows updates and an install of BlizConn software.

Figured I've been experiencing the problem for 3 days, a week would be a good time frame.

I am very open to suggestions. Seems to only happen when I am gaming, though that's not an entirely fair test as that's what I have been trying to do most over the past 3 days. The family watched 3 DVD's on it two nights ago without a single problem.

I am having the same issue as all of you. I've owned it for a few months and suddenly the LX6810 starts shutting down without any warning or reason.

I've done almost everything suggested here and nothing has worked. I assumed it had to be a heat issue and I left it unplugged for 30 minutes to cool, then turned it back on and it hasn't shut down yet. (over an hour, and I've been doing a lot of tasks. Prior to this "cool down" it was turning off every 10 minutes or so) I will be purchasing a fan as I am sure it is a heat issue, specifically my hard drive which I've learned was running ridiculously hot.

Gateway just posted a BIOS update for the LX6810. Go to the support/driver download page for the LX6810, and you'll find it there. Back when Gateway was Gateway, not Acer/Gateway/E Machines many support functions were done differently and with more detail (meaning - done better). They use to include extensive details, install instructions, change logs, etc. with driver downloads. You won't find much helpful info. to go with this BIOS update, but it may well fix the shutdown issues I see mentioned here. I've installed it, and you'll really notice only one change -- you can't miss it when you restart your computer for the first time after the update. The CPU fan will be set to run constantly and at a fairly high RPM. The noise may or may not be objectionable based on where your system is located and your tolerance for the distraction. I'd have to believe that Gateway is responding to problems/warranty issues related to premature heat related CPU failures. I'm monitoring my CPU temperature with freeware "SpeedFan" now. I do not like the higher noise level and may look for ways to bring the CPU fan speed back down a bit if I can do it without significant heat increases. SpeedFan can be used to control fan speed in many circumstances, but I don't think it will be able to override a BIOS setting change -- I may be looking at hardware/physical changes if I decide to lower the CPU fan RPM and noise level.

On the BIOS update: After you download the zip file and extract the contents, review the "Read Me First" text file for some very basic but better than nothing instructions on installation.

The bios upgrade and fan issues doesn't sound like an upgrade to me. One thing I really like about the system is that it is quiet except when "stressed". I haven't had any heat issues of which I am aware. I haven't had a shut down either since I blew out the system with compressed air. It was hardly dirty at all, but that "fixed" my shutdown issues for some reason. When it did shutdown, it wasn't running hot. Most of the time just the opposite.

Gregg

Same computer, used to have the same problem.

It's a heating issue. If you haven't noticed yet, the LX6810 comes stock with 2 fans, a CPU fan and a power supply fan. In other words, there are no case fans. There are spots to have a 120 mm case fan put in on the rear of the case (exhaust) and a 80mm case fan on the front of the case (for air intake). I'm guessing Gateway wanted to save a few bucks by not including case fans.

I recently upgraded my LX6810 with a graphics card, sound card, new power supply, and a few other things. With all this, I also installed a 120 mm fan on the back and 80 mm fan on the front. I have not had any heating issues since, and I am running very hardware intensive programs.

Simple solution: Buy the two fans and install them yourself for 15-30 bucks depending on how fancy of fans you want. Be sure to get the right connections to power the fans (either throught the motherboard or directly the power supply).

A few notes:
1. When hooking one or both fans to the motherboard header "SYS FAN", it appears that there is no speed control or enough voltage being supplied to the fans. They run about half speed all the time. It does, however, show the speed of the fan in the BIOS and Speedfan.

2. I just upgraded to the latest BIOS update Gateway came out with. The only change I have noticed is the CPU fan runs at a constant 3250 RPM, instead of 1400 RPM. It appears to me that Gateway was getting enough returns because of heat issues that their simple fix was to up the CPU fan speed. This has disappointed me greatly because I enjoyed the quietness of the machine. Now it is a constant howl.

The interesting thing is, the CPU temp isn't the problem, I believe. The CPU runs very cool; the cold air intake helps a lot. It is the rest of the components that are overheating. Feel the heatsink right below the processor after using it for some time. It will be burning hot. The higher speed of the CPU fan will pull in more air to the case, but not very efficiently at all.

3. I can't seem to find a way to change the speed of any of the fans. Not through BIOS or Speedfan. I think either the motherboard doesn't support it or Gateway's BIOS is preventing this (most likely the correct answer).

If anyone has any info regarding the BIOS or controlling fan speed in this computer, I would be greatly interested. I would even go back to the old BIOS with the low fan speed instead of this useless howling I have now.

I am contemplating getting rid of the motherboard and installing a new one completely because I am sick of dealing with Gateway. I spent a hour with their tech support, and they are CLUELESS. What a waste of time. I was very happy with this product until these issues came up. It is still a great computer for the $$. The case is actually very nice. It provides great cable management, good airflow (when installed correctly with right fans) and cool expansion bays.

If anyone has any questions regarding all of this, please feel free to ask. I will be more than happy to help.