Frequent rebooting

[Guest]

Hi,

I'm asking this on behalf of my brother, so apologies ahead of time for
what will likely be no where near enough information.

His computer was frequently rebooting with no commonality between what he
was doing and the computer flicking off. He replaced the hard drive (which he
needed to do anyway) and now it seems only to happen when he attempts to use
Windows Media Player or play Sid Meier's Pirates (same place, every time).
He's told me that he was using a memory chip he knew wasn't working right
(idiot, I know). He has taken it out, but could it have damaged some files?

Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Sharon F]

Hi,

I'm asking this on behalf of my brother, so apologies ahead of time for
what will likely be no where near enough information.

His computer was frequently rebooting with no commonality between what he
was doing and the computer flicking off. He replaced the hard drive (which he
needed to do anyway) and now it seems only to happen when he attempts to use
Windows Media Player or play Sid Meier's Pirates (same place, every time).
He's told me that he was using a memory chip he knew wasn't working right
(idiot, I know). He has taken it out, but could it have damaged some files?

Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks.

Random reboots are most often due to memory (RAM) problems.

Reboots that happen somewhat consistently - example: 15 minutes after
startup - are usually due to overheating.

Reboots when hitting the same spot in a game? Usually a problem with the
game but could be hardware related too.

Yes, using a faulty memory chip could result in corrupted files. Any files
that were retained in memory before being written to disk are suspect.

If you are wondering if damaged files are responsible for the reboots -
could be but not as likely. Usually there are error messages on screen or
at least captured error info in Event Viewer when system or application
files are error prone for whatever reason.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hi,

I'm asking this on behalf of my brother, so apologies ahead of time for
what will likely be no where near enough information.

His computer was frequently rebooting with no commonality between what he
was doing and the computer flicking off. He replaced the hard drive (which
he
needed to do anyway) and now it seems only to happen when he attempts to
use
Windows Media Player or play Sid Meier's Pirates (same place, every time).
He's told me that he was using a memory chip he knew wasn't working right
(idiot, I know). He has taken it out, but could it have damaged some
files?

Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks.

Yes, reboots can be due to faulty memory, and yes, faulty memory can damage
files (and corrupt registry settings), including during the time they are
installed. Installers *should* verify files as they are installed, but
don't always do so.

HTH
-pk