Summary: Airflow through your computer is an important part of keeping it cool and running well. Frequently fans are just blocked by dust and dirt.
For some reason, my computer randomly shuts down a lot. It's been happening even more and more. It started around the start of summer. It usually would shut down for no reason. Yesterday, it said Over Temperature. This shutting down thing is annoying. When I'm trying to do work, I lose it all and the computer shuts down. I asked my cousin, he said that it could be my fan. I haven't checked yet, I'm going to ask you first, is it my fan? Or is it another problem?
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Maybe.
The "Over Temperature" is definitely a clue, and the fan is a definite possibility.
But ... let me tell you a little story about dust bunnies, first.
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For those who might not be familiar with the term, "dust bunnies" are clumps of dust and debris that form in and around computers, furniture and other areas that might not be getting cleaned regularly.
We might not think much of them, and indeed, in places where they exist it's typically because someone isn't thinking about them very often.
But here's the dirty (no pun intended) secret:
Dust bunnies can kill computers.
As you've noted, your computer has at least one, and possibly more, fans that move air through its case. The computer's components generate a lot of heat, and the purpose of the fans is to keep the computer cooler by pushing warm air out and pulling presumably cooler air in.
The problem is that the "pulling air in" part also attracts dust and dirt that might be floating around in the air as your computer is running. The dirt then accumulates into larger clumps that end up blocking the vents that air is supposed to move through.
And this can happen both inside, and outside your computer.
The result is that your fans might well be running, but because the airflow is blocked they can't do their job. In fact, the fans themselves end up adding even more heat to the mix which has nowhere to go.
As a result, your computer overheats and crashes.
As you might imagine, the solution is fairly clear: keep the area around your computer clean and clear.
More specifically:
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Make sure that there is room around your computer, particularly around the vents in front and back, for air to flow.
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Place your computer in a cooler part of your room, or near some natural air flow if you can.
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Vacuum around your computer, particularly behind it, on a regular basis. How often will depend on just how quickly dust bunnies form in your particular location. If you're actually seeing clumps, then you've probably waited a little too long.
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If you're already in the "covered with dust bunnies" stage, shut down and unplug your computer, open the case, and then with a brush attachment gently vacuum out the interior. Pay particular notice to the location of the fans, and any accumulations of dust and dirt.
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While you have your computer open, and after you've cleaned it and put the vacuum away, plug it back in again for a few seconds and make sure those fans are running. If not, then perhaps they've been damaged by getting clogged with dirt and need to be replaced.
It's an easy thing to overlook, and I've personally seen some
seriously over-looked computers in my day. 
The good news is that it's also an easy thing to stay on top of, and it's worth it. There are enough other things to go wrong, we don't need killer dust bunnies to add to our problems.
Related:
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Why does my computer randomly reboot without warning? Random reboots are annoying because you can easily lose what you're working on at the time. Random reboots are difficult to diagnose, because there are many possible causes.
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What does "check system fan" mean? Your system fan is an important component of your system. If the fan fails your system could fail or some components could even be damaged.
Article C3573 - November 24, 2008
Pay particular attention to the heatsink blades mounted on top of the CPU and on top of which the system fan is mounted. Dust often gets clogged between the blades and is difficult to see from the outside. I usually need to carefully remove the fan to clean it with a thin blade. If you otherwise clean your PC but still get overheating errors then this might be your problem.
Posted by: Bill at November 25, 2008 3:33 PMOccasionally the cause can be hardware. About 15 years ago I had a similar problem; I don't remember if the Pc shut down or complained of a memory error. The PC supplier eventually found a pin bent over when he removed the CPU!
Posted by: John Thompson at November 27, 2008 2:23 AMAdditional reason for shutdown may be a problem with the energy supply which comes in a "block" with several plugs (wires) to connect to hard drive, cd/dvd drive etc. If that one is failing, pc will shut down on regularly and unexpected (no warning) moments and sometimes not start at all, even after hitting the power button on-off, sometimes until you wait for e.g. 30 minutes or 1 hour.
So yes, first possible cause of the shutdown is that the fans do not properly work, whatever the reason may be (dust, not powerful enough, bad power contact etc.). The second one is the energy supplier itself.
Also software failure is a possible cause, though hardware not functioning, the most probable.
Posted by: lrk at November 27, 2008 4:51 AMI have a dedicated computer for security with several cameras. I have had many many warnings of system overheat. Over the weekend sometimes I found the computer shut down on monday and had to reboot it. There were no dust bunnies and I cut a hole in the side of the case and installed a 6 inch 220 volt fan. The problem continued for about a year then it started failing every hour. The FIX was to replace the 1.2 year old power supply. Craziest thing I ever saw. But its been working now for 4 years without a hitch.
Posted by: larry L at November 29, 2008 4:04 AMVacuming can be dangerous.
Posted by: Kenneth Crook at November 29, 2008 6:26 PMWhile cleaning the keyboard of my notebook I was using the brush attachment on the vacum cleaner hose to clean the keyboard. This worked good. So I thought using the hose attachment without the brush would work even better. It sucked three keys off the keyboard. Luckily I had just replaced the dust bag so I found all the parts to the keys. But it was a real hassle getting the keys back together.
Fred Langa, on one of his newsletters had a really good article on cleaning computers, with tips and dangers to watch out for.
I've also seen the blades of a cooling fan physically blocked by a wire inside the case. With more and more elements crammed inside, many of which have multiple wires running to and from them, it's very important to close the case carefully and then make sure the fans are operating properly. A high-frequency clicking sound can also be a warning that a wire is starting to brush against a rotating blade. Not only can this cause over-heating, but there is a real possibility of an eventual short circuit if the insulation is completely worn off the offending wire.
Posted by: Stuart at November 29, 2008 8:03 PMAnother possible cause is the motherboard itself. There is a temperature sensor on the board under the processor. If that sensor has failed and is indicating an extremely high temp, the board will shutdown. This is usually a surface mounted, non-replaceable component. The fix would be a new motherboard.
Posted by: David Irwin at December 1, 2008 12:46 PMTo clean the inside of my computer, I simply use a drinking straw with the bottom taped (with electricians tape) inside of the edge attachment on my vacuum cleaner.
Just wrap the tape gently around the straw until all the suction is coming from within the straw only. When finished, just peel the tape off along with the straw and throw it away.
This makes getting into the fan crevices so much easier and insures that I don't accidentally ram my hardware components with the hard vacuum attachments.
Of course there are are micro attachments that you can also buy, but this method is cheap and works well enough for me.
Posted by: Brandon Wood at December 1, 2008 2:05 PMre: oveheating and cleaning...would it be wise to install a fan running at low speed a few feet away from the unit?
03-Dec-2008
Just one thought from me.
SAVE your work about every 15 minutes to the Hard Drive so if something goes wrong all you have lost is 15 minutes of your work.
Posted by: Ed Vance at December 6, 2008 2:44 PM