Specific problem with mother's fridge

my mother's fridge & freezer has stopped cooling 3 times over the last 12-24 months. Each time it eventually started back (this time after about 36 hours) and the only thing I did was turn her cooling settings down from maximum a couple of notches last night and this morning when she woke it was working again. Another time, she removed all the food and it started back almost right away. When it happens, you can hear the compressor trying to come on for about 3-5 seconds and then it shuts back off (this seems to occur about every 5 minutes). Does that sound like a specific problem? Thanks so much!