computer boots suddenly without warning

[Shashank]

I have windows XP home and my computer boots suddenly. Sometimes it just
hangs after booting and I have to press the button on the machine to restart.
I have anti-virus (McAfee) installed and have checked for virus several times
but apart from spyware and a few trojans in mp3 files, nothing came out.

Can anyone help?

 

[solidsnake204]

What do you mean? Are you saying that when your PC is off, that it turns it
self on?
Or is it restarting when your using the PC?

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I have windows XP home and my computer boots suddenly. Sometimes it just
hangs after booting and I have to press the button on the machine to
restart.
I have anti-virus (McAfee) installed and have checked for virus several
times
but apart from spyware and a few trojans in mp3 files, nothing came out.

Can anyone help?

If the computer is suddenly starting, this is often not due to malware, but
rather to features like "wake on lan" or "wake on ring". Controls for
these are sometimes found in the system BIOS; consult the manual for your
system.

HTH
-pk

 

[nass]

I have windows XP home and my computer boots suddenly. Sometimes it just
hangs after booting and I have to press the button on the machine to restart.
I have anti-virus (McAfee) installed and have checked for virus several times
but apart from spyware and a few trojans in mp3 files, nothing came out.

Can anyone help?

I think your machine may be still infected and you need to clean it up by
doing the following and also check the BIOS for wake up on WAN or LAN (check
the documentation of your machine or the MOBO).

Go through these Cleaning steps:
1... Click start >> Control Panel >> Double Click Network and Internet
Connections >> Double click Internet Options, on the IE Properties window
you will see these Options:
General | Security | Privacy | Content | Connections | Programs
| Advanced .

Click on General Tab (1st Tab on the left) and you will see a Button called
[ Clear History ..] click on it to clear your History caches, then click on
[Delete Files..] to delete Internet Files created over the time, click on [
Delete Cookies...] to delete your cookies left by visiting websites.

Then click on Advanced tab and scroll down to under the Browsing Option:
[&] Browsing
[ ] Enable Third-Party browser extensions (Req Rest) uncheck this box.
= Then try to Disable the Add-Ons on your Browser somehow installed on your
browser, On how to disable the Add-ons follow this:
Click on Programs Tab and then click the Manage Add-Ons Button there Disable
the Non/Not Verified Plug-ins/Add-ons ( you need to Renable them one-by-one
later and see which is the culprit .
How to manage Add-Ons:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883256
Scan for malware from here:
SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-gb/default.htm?s_cid=sah
http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-gb/default.htm
RootkitRevealer v1.71
By Bryce Cogswell and Mark Russinovich
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Security/RootkitRevealer.mspx

Run a scan from here on-line:
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
Download Avast Cleaner (off-line scanner) from here:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html

Lots of tools to download and disinfect your machine (off-line scanner):
http://www.bitdefender.co.uk/site/Downloads/browseFreeRemovalTool/


Download the Hijackthis and send the report to one of
many
forums for analysis and troubleshooting:
When all else fails, HijackThis v2.0.2
(http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/hijackthis.php) is
the preferred tool to use.
It will help you to both identify and remove any hijackware/spyware. Post
your log to:
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30,
http://castlecops.com/forum67.html,
http://forums.subratam.org/index.php?showforum=7
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial42.html
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/
Or other appropriate
forums for expert analysis, not here.
Let us know your progress.
nass

 

[HeyBub]

I have windows XP home and my computer boots suddenly. Sometimes it
just hangs after booting and I have to press the button on the
machine to restart. I have anti-virus (McAfee) installed and have
checked for virus several times but apart from spyware and a few
trojans in mp3 files, nothing came out.

Can anyone help?

If you have only a few Trojans, I can't imagine what it could be.

Now if you had a LOT of Trojans, well, I'd be worried...

 

[Shashank]

correction: I meant it re-boots suddenly. For example, while I am working on
something whether internet or a document, it re-boots suddenly.

 

[Shashank]

correction: it re-boots (i.e. while it is on, it re-starts on it's own)
suddenly while it is on. I am using the computer at home and there is no LAN.

 

[Shashank]

I should clarify: It re-boots suddenly when on.

I have windows XP home and my computer boots suddenly. Sometimes it just
hangs after booting and I have to press the button on the machine to restart.
I have anti-virus (McAfee) installed and have checked for virus several times
but apart from spyware and a few trojans in mp3 files, nothing came out.

Can anyone help?

I think your machine may be still infected and you need to clean it up by
doing the following and also check the BIOS for wake up on WAN or LAN (check
the documentation of your machine or the MOBO).

Go through these Cleaning steps:
1... Click start >> Control Panel >> Double Click Network and Internet
Connections >> Double click Internet Options, on the IE Properties window
you will see these Options:
General | Security | Privacy | Content | Connections | Programs
| Advanced .

Click on General Tab (1st Tab on the left) and you will see a Button called
[ Clear History ..] click on it to clear your History caches, then click on
[Delete Files..] to delete Internet Files created over the time, click on [
Delete Cookies...] to delete your cookies left by visiting websites.

Then click on Advanced tab and scroll down to under the Browsing Option:
[&] Browsing
[ ] Enable Third-Party browser extensions (Req Rest) uncheck this box.
= Then try to Disable the Add-Ons on your Browser somehow installed on your
browser, On how to disable the Add-ons follow this:
Click on Programs Tab and then click the Manage Add-Ons Button there Disable
the Non/Not Verified Plug-ins/Add-ons ( you need to Renable them one-by-one
later and see which is the culprit .
How to manage Add-Ons:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883256
Scan for malware from here:
SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-gb/default.htm?s_cid=sah
http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-gb/default.htm
RootkitRevealer v1.71
By Bryce Cogswell and Mark Russinovich
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Security/RootkitRevealer.mspx

Run a scan from here on-line:
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
Download Avast Cleaner (off-line scanner) from here:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html

Lots of tools to download and disinfect your machine (off-line scanner):
http://www.bitdefender.co.uk/site/Downloads/browseFreeRemovalTool/


Download the Hijackthis and send the report to one of
many
forums for analysis and troubleshooting:
When all else fails, HijackThis v2.0.2
(http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/hijackthis.php) is
the preferred tool to use.
It will help you to both identify and remove any hijackware/spyware. Post
your log to:
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30,
http://castlecops.com/forum67.html,
http://forums.subratam.org/index.php?showforum=7
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial42.html
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/
Or other appropriate
forums for expert analysis, not here.
Let us know your progress.
nass

 

[Shashank]

Correction: I should have written 're-boots suddenly' while being on.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Others have addressed the malware issue. I suggest that you clean the
machine from all collected dust and lint and take other measures to ensure
that it is not overheating.

 

[Shashank]

I followed your instructions till disabling the add-ons. Is avast better than
Mcafee? I already have mcafee home version installed.

I have windows XP home and my computer boots suddenly. Sometimes it just
hangs after booting and I have to press the button on the machine to restart.
I have anti-virus (McAfee) installed and have checked for virus several times
but apart from spyware and a few trojans in mp3 files, nothing came out.

Can anyone help?

I think your machine may be still infected and you need to clean it up by
doing the following and also check the BIOS for wake up on WAN or LAN (check
the documentation of your machine or the MOBO).

Go through these Cleaning steps:
1... Click start >> Control Panel >> Double Click Network and Internet
Connections >> Double click Internet Options, on the IE Properties window
you will see these Options:
General | Security | Privacy | Content | Connections | Programs
| Advanced .

Click on General Tab (1st Tab on the left) and you will see a Button called
[ Clear History ..] click on it to clear your History caches, then click on
[Delete Files..] to delete Internet Files created over the time, click on [
Delete Cookies...] to delete your cookies left by visiting websites.

Then click on Advanced tab and scroll down to under the Browsing Option:
[&] Browsing
[ ] Enable Third-Party browser extensions (Req Rest) uncheck this box.
= Then try to Disable the Add-Ons on your Browser somehow installed on your
browser, On how to disable the Add-ons follow this:
Click on Programs Tab and then click the Manage Add-Ons Button there Disable
the Non/Not Verified Plug-ins/Add-ons ( you need to Renable them one-by-one
later and see which is the culprit .
How to manage Add-Ons:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/883256
Scan for malware from here:
SuperAntispyware - Free
http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-gb/default.htm?s_cid=sah
http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-gb/default.htm
RootkitRevealer v1.71
By Bryce Cogswell and Mark Russinovich
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Security/RootkitRevealer.mspx

Run a scan from here on-line:
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
Download Avast Cleaner (off-line scanner) from here:
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast-virus-cleaner.html

Lots of tools to download and disinfect your machine (off-line scanner):
http://www.bitdefender.co.uk/site/Downloads/browseFreeRemovalTool/


Download the Hijackthis and send the report to one of
many
forums for analysis and troubleshooting:
When all else fails, HijackThis v2.0.2
(http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/threat_analytics/hijackthis.php) is
the preferred tool to use.
It will help you to both identify and remove any hijackware/spyware. Post
your log to:
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30,
http://castlecops.com/forum67.html,
http://forums.subratam.org/index.php?showforum=7
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial42.html
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/
Or other appropriate
forums for expert analysis, not here.
Let us know your progress.
nass

 

[nass]

I followed your instructions till disabling the add-ons. Is avast better than
Mcafee? I already have mcafee home version installed.

Please continue with the rest of steps to get a clear idea on how clean your
machine!

Have a look in the Event Viewer and send us the error messages you will see
there in your next post:
Open a Notepad, customize or minimize to the taskbar as you will need it
later for this step to copy the error message on it.
Open a run command and type in:
eventvwr.msc click [OK] you will get the Event viewer control Panel.
click on each of these:
Application
System
Security
Look in the right Pane/window for error message with red (X) or Yellow
exclamation mark /!\ , double click each one to get more info about the
causer.
On the Event error properties message you will see:
Up Arrow
Down arrow
Two pages
Click on the two pages to copy the error message then bring up the Notepad
you opened earlier and right click on the first line and select Paste from
the list, this will paste the error message on a Notepad.
Please don't duplicate the error message one of each kind will be sufficient.
HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

Please we need just the error messages with Red (X) and don't repeat the
error, just one of each kind and post them back in your next post.

HTH.
nass

 

[Shashank]

Fazal,
I have unchecked the automatic restart box. However, before that I had
re-installed the OS (new installation) and since the problem has not
repeated. However, the problem has changed to the computer freezing
frequently and also even after shutdown it starts on its own.

I followed your instructions till disabling the add-ons. Is avast better than
Mcafee? I already have mcafee home version installed.

Please continue with the rest of steps to get a clear idea on how clean your
machine!

Have a look in the Event Viewer and send us the error messages you will see
there in your next post:
Open a Notepad, customize or minimize to the taskbar as you will need it
later for this step to copy the error message on it.
Open a run command and type in:
eventvwr.msc click [OK] you will get the Event viewer control Panel.
click on each of these:
Application
System
Security
Look in the right Pane/window for error message with red (X) or Yellow
exclamation mark /!\ , double click each one to get more info about the
causer.
On the Event error properties message you will see:
Up Arrow
Down arrow
Two pages
Click on the two pages to copy the error message then bring up the Notepad
you opened earlier and right click on the first line and select Paste from
the list, this will paste the error message on a Notepad.
Please don't duplicate the error message one of each kind will be sufficient.
HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

Please we need just the error messages with Red (X) and don't repeat the
error, just one of each kind and post them back in your next post.

HTH.
nass