The latest on my computer problem

I finally contacted my mini-PC’s manufacturer about the problems I’ve been having. Here’s what I told them in my e-mail yesterday:

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If I leave the computer idle for around 45 minutes or more, it will sometimes automatically reboot. I thought this might be an issue with automatic updates, but I adjusted the Windows 11 settings not to reboot automatically, yet the problem continued. Also, in some cases, rather than rebooting, the computer will simply become unresponsive. The power light is on, but the screen is dark, it doesn’t react to any keyboard inputs, and pressing the power button does nothing. The only way I can get it to unfreeze is either by unplugging the unit or pressing the reset button with the end of a paper clip.

The problem seems to be gradually worsening. On several occasions, the computer has frozen in this way when I have attempted to hibernate it, although it doesn’t happen every time I hibernate. I’ve been trying to manage the problem by not leaving the computer idle for too long and shutting it down completely at night. But this morning, the PC froze after I turned it on without promptly entering my password (since I went to the kitchen to prepare coffee), even though that has never happened on startup before.

I’ve checked the event viewer in an attempt to find the cause of the forced reboots and freezes, but it gives no indication of any problems I can recognize. The only mentions are notations saying “The previous system shutdown at [time and date] was unexpected.” On one occasion, I let it sit in frozen mode for an hour to see if it would automatically reboot, but it did not. The computer was warmer than usual during the time it was frozen, suggesting it was active; but when I checked the event viewer afterward, it showed no sign of any activity during that hour, as if it had been turned off. That makes me wonder if the issue is with the power systems.

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They wrote back with the following terse message:

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Hello, there are 4 suggestions.

1. Go to the Settings menu – Detect Updates. Patches and system upgrades to the latest version. Keep the network working.

2. Go to the Settings menu – System – Recovery

3. Re-upgrade the BIOS (provide the serial number on the bottom of the PC)

4. Back up your data and reinstall your Windows 11 system (system files and licenses available).

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I was hoping they’d have a clear idea of the problem, but this seems like just a boilerplate answer, throwing out possibilities. I know it can’t be option 1, since I’ve gotten multiple updates. Option 2 is too vague, and the options listed in the Recovery menu seem kind of drastic. Options 3 and 4 also seem drastic, and I don’t know how to do them.

I’m starting to think my best option is to take the PC to a repair place and provide them with the above information. It would cost more than doing it myself, but they’d be better qualified to diagnose the problem and carry out whatever steps were necessary to fix it.

As always, I’m open to advice, explanations, and suggestions from more computer-savvy readers.