Computer reboots spontaneously

[Walter R.]

I am running win xp sp2. Computer is about 5 years old. 40 GB WD and 512 MB
RAM. Everything was working fine.

Starting this morning, and at intervals of about one hour, my computer makes
a short buzzing sound, the screen goes dead, and the computer then reboots.

When it reboots, it does not show the blue screen, asking for a disk check.
Normally it asks for a disk check when the power is interrupted like this.

The status report on the hard drives shows OK when the computer boots.

I checked the temperature in the BIOS and it looks OK: CPU 40C/104F, System
34/93, fan speed holding steady with slight speed variations.

What diagnostics can I run? What can cause this problem.

Thanks for any help

 

[Guest]

I am running win xp sp2. Computer is about 5 years old. 40 GB WD and 512 MB
RAM. Everything was working fine.

Starting this morning, and at intervals of about one hour, my computer makes
a short buzzing sound, the screen goes dead, and the computer then reboots.

When it reboots, it does not show the blue screen, asking for a disk check.
Normally it asks for a disk check when the power is interrupted like this.

The status report on the hard drives shows OK when the computer boots.

I checked the temperature in the BIOS and it looks OK: CPU 40C/104F, System
34/93, fan speed holding steady with slight speed variations.

What diagnostics can I run? What can cause this problem.

Thanks for any help

Run the chkdsk /r from the recovery Disk and it should correct the dirty
bits on the HDD clusters.
Try to run the chkdsk /r from the Recovery console and also the Fixmbr:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654/
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308041
Check the Event Viewer fro error message, that can tell what
application/hardware causing this.
HTH.
nass

 

[Detlev Dreyer]

I am running win xp sp2. Computer is about 5 years old. 40 GB WD and
512 MB RAM. Everything was working fine.

Starting this morning, and at intervals of about one hour, my computer
makes a short buzzing sound, the screen goes dead, and the computer then
reboots.

Why don't you disable the automatic restart on system errors in order to
get an error message instead. "Windows XP restarts unexpectedly or restarts
when you shut down the computer"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320299/en-us

I checked the temperature in the BIOS and it looks OK: CPU 40C/104F,
System 34/93, fan speed holding steady with slight speed variations.

What diagnostics can I run? What can cause this problem.

If the system reboots despite of that setting (see the article above),
that problem is caused by a hardware issue (eg. power supply). Take
the system to a workshop/technician in that case.

 

[happymac.support]

I am running win xp sp2. Computer is about 5 years old. 40 GB WD and 512 MB
RAM. Everything was working fine.

Starting this morning, and at intervals of about one hour, my computer makes
a short buzzing sound, the screen goes dead, and the computer then reboots.

When it reboots, it does not show the blue screen, asking for a disk check.
Normally it asks for a disk check when the power is interrupted like this.

The status report on the hard drives shows OK when the computer boots.

I checked the temperature in the BIOS and it looks OK: CPU 40C/104F, System
34/93, fan speed holding steady with slight speed variations.

What diagnostics can I run? What can cause this problem.

Thanks for any help

I read in a book that you have the exact symptoms of the Blaster worm.
See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaster_worm. Apparently its a
worm that spread throughout computers around the world in the summer
of 2003. It could be this worm but there is a substantial possibility
that it could be something else. Here are the steps I would take:

1) Install all updates from Windows Updates

2) Go to Control Panel >> System >> Advanced tab >> Click the Settings
button under Startup and Recovery >> Under System Failure, uncheck
Automatically Restart >> Click OK >> Click Apply >> Click OK

2) Reboot

3) Run:

AVG Free Edition - http://free.grisoft.com
Windows Defender - http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
Spybot S&D - http://www.safer-networking.org/
Ad-aware 2007 Free - http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php
Trend Micro Housecall Online Scanner - http://housecall.trendmicro.com
X-Cleaner Micro Edition Online Scanner (Internet Explorer only) -
http://www.spywareguide.com/onlinescan.php
Windows Live OneCare Online Scanner (Internet Explorer only) -
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-gb/default.htm?s_cid=sah

After every scan with each program, follow the program's instructions
to destroy all infected files and threats. If a program comes up with
any infected files, re-scan using the program to make sure nothing is
left.

I know this procedure is extreme, but there is a good chance your
problem could be caused by viruses. If you run all these programs,
they will destroy all the viruses, adware, spyware, grayware, and
malware on your computer.

See if it works for you

 

[happymac.support]

If this doesn't work, its probably a hardware failure. That would
explain the buzzing sound. Sounds like a faulty power supply.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

Sounds like a faulty power supply.

In your first post, you said:

"I read in a book that you have the exact symptoms of the Blaster
worm."

Go back to your books, and leave the solving of problems to those who
have hands-on experience.

 

[Plato]

I am running win xp sp2. Computer is about 5 years old. 40 GB WD and 512 MB
RAM. Everything was working fine.

Starting this morning, and at intervals of about one hour, my computer makes
a short buzzing sound, the screen goes dead, and the computer then reboots.

When was the last time you blew out your cpu/fansing with "comperessed
air" ?

 

[cattanack]

When was the last time you blew out your cpu/fansing with "comperessed
air" ?

Mine gets packed with fur.

 

[happymac.support]

In your first post, you said:

"I read in a book that you have the exact symptoms of the Blaster
worm."

Go back to your books, and leave the solving of problems to those who
have hands-on experience.

OK Sir Grumpy-the-genius-who-has-never-read-a-computer-book-in-his-
life-or-atleast-it-seems-like-it,

I have hands-on experience, though not as much as many others. I am
only trying to help. What's your problem with that?? These groups are
open and there is no standardized requirements that someone has to
meet to help someone. I'm not doing it for money ,I'm doing it to
help. All I mentioned was that he had the symptoms of the Blaster worm
but that IT COULD BE SOMETHING ELSE. Were you too careless to read the
second part:

"It could be this worm but there is a substantial possibility
that it could be something else"

See ya,

happymac (If your going to criticize my username, I used to be an
expert mac user but I switched to Windows and kept the same username.
end of story)

 

[w_tom]

As Detlev Dreyer noted, what does the system (event) log report?
IOW don't try to fix anything. First discover what is defective.
First collect facts. Also review the Device Manager. Use Windows
Help, if necessary, to find these useful reports.

If a computer manufacturer is more responsible, then comprehensive
diagnostics would be on disk and on manufacturer's web site. If not,
then you must download diagnostics for each component from the various
component manufacturers or third parties- much more work.

List of items that will crash an XP system is smaller. For example,
disk drive will not reboot a computer. A hardware created problem
means suspects are sound card, processor, memory, video controller and
power supply 'system'. Power supply is only one component of a power
supply 'system'.

Dust is clearly not in your list of suspects. However heat is a
diagnostic tool. Operate that computer in a 100 degree F room. It
should not change its operation. But marginal hardware tends to fail
more frequently (especially when running diagnostics) when heated. We
don't fix that failure with more cooling or removing dust. We replace
100% defective hardware that works normally in a 70 degree room but
fails intermittently in 100 degrees F. Don't cure this symptom with
more fans.

Another suggested a virus. That is but one on a long list of
possibilities. However we typically don't fix software when hardware
is unknown and suspect. First (usually) confirm hardware integrity.

Apparently BIOS has a voltage monitor. Those four voltage numbers
are questionable until first calibrated using a 3.5 digit multimeter.
Voltages that drop below 3.23, 4.87, or 11.7 suggests a problematic
power supply 'system'.

 

[happymac.support]

As Detlev Dreyer noted, what does the system (event) log report?
IOW don't try to fix anything. First discover what is defective.
First collect facts. Also review the Device Manager. Use Windows
Help, if necessary, to find these useful reports.

If a computer manufacturer is more responsible, then comprehensive
diagnostics would be on disk and on manufacturer's web site. If not,
then you must download diagnostics for each component from the various
component manufacturers or third parties- much more work.

List of items that will crash an XP system is smaller. For example,
disk drive will not reboot a computer. A hardware created problem
means suspects are sound card, processor, memory, video controller and
power supply 'system'. Power supply is only one component of a power
supply 'system'.

Dust is clearly not in your list of suspects. However heat is a
diagnostic tool. Operate that computer in a 100 degree F room. It
should not change its operation. But marginal hardware tends to fail
more frequently (especially when running diagnostics) when heated. We
don't fix that failure with more cooling or removing dust. We replace
100% defective hardware that works normally in a 70 degree room but
fails intermittently in 100 degrees F. Don't cure this symptom with
more fans.

Another suggested a virus. That is but one on a long list of
possibilities. However we typically don't fix software when hardware
is unknown and suspect. First (usually) confirm hardware integrity.

Apparently BIOS has a voltage monitor. Those four voltage numbers
are questionable until first calibrated using a 3.5 digit multimeter.
Voltages that drop below 3.23, 4.87, or 11.7 suggests a problematic
power supply 'system'.

w_tom

You are correct about the heat. My pentium d 830 computer was and the
70-80 degrees CELSIUS level. It was extremely unstable and yes, it
also rebooted spontaneously when at higher loads. Cleaning out the
dust worked for me though, it reduced the temp by 20C and the computer
was more stable and fast. My computer was operating at a 20C room at
the time (68F for your American folks) and dust still bogged it down.

 

[PD43]

I have hands-on experience, though not as much as many others. I am
only trying to help. What's your problem with that?? These groups are
open and there is no standardized requirements that someone has to
meet to help someone.

When you start a post by saying "I read in a book...", you're placing
yourself in a precarious situation, and you deserve all you get.

Your disclaimer that you said it could also be "something else"
doesn't count.

It could always be "something else".

Restrict your "help" to those situations where you KNOW FOR SURE that
your suggestion might be right, and that "something else" won't be.

The OP deserves that much.