PC Keeps Restarting

[Pink Sparkle Girl]

My PC keeps restarting! It mainly does it when I turn it on for the first
time each day. It restarts about twice while booting up, then maybe another
2 or 3 times during the next half hour (with more restarting while
rebooting). It has done it for the last 2 weeks or so since the weather has
been getting colder.

It has always had a few problems since it was built (1 1/2 years ago) if
turned off for any length of time, but up until recently had settled down.

I have run several virus scans with Norton (making sure they are up to
date), but found nothing. I can't update to SP2 because it causes XP to
pause for a second or two constantly, so had to remove it (another
irritating problem - it loaded fine, just didn't work properly and I tried
it twice).

I recently had 3 emails sent to me with a virus in (can't remember the name)
which Norton had trouble with. It deleted 2 of 3 files, but I had to delete
a file left in the temp folder and the emails themselves. No remains were
found afterwards. I deactivated System Restore as indicated by Norton, did a
full scan and found nothing, then reactivated System Restore (this is the
point that the problems occurred so I can't go back to a previous state when
the problem didn't exist as it erased them all when deactivated).

Any advice would be gratefully received as I want to sort this out!

Thanks,
Sarah

(I emailed Microsoft with the problem I have with SP2 (the pausing) and
their advice was to install SP2! Crazy - do they not actually read the
emails!?)

 

[Dave Yates]

Hiya there,
If you've had rebooting problems ever since it was built it could be a
problem with your processor or motherboard, I recommend you get some type of
monitoring software like Fuzzy logic or PC Alert and see what the temprature
is inside your PC as the majorty of PC's now have a fail-safe that if it
gets too hot it reboots itself or turns it'self off, that or the hardware is
damaged and it does it anyway because it's defective.

If norton can't find anything wrong then I doubt there's anything on
there, try booting the PC up in safe mode and see if it does it then, if so
then there's something wrong with the core of windows, if not then it sounds
more like 3rd party software or some dodgy drivers.

Last resort is to wipe and reinstall XP (ideally with XP SP2 integrated,
if it still pauses then, then it could be that it's conflicting with your
hardware at some point)

Hope this helps

Regards

Dave

PS No MS don't read their e-mails until it reaches like 8th line support,
the previous 7 lines are usually automated

 

[Guest]

Hi Pink ...

Weird problems can sometimes be caused not only by viruses, but also by
spyware. Do you have an anti spyware program installed? I use AdAware, a
free program that can be downloaded from www.download.com . Also, keeping on
top of basic maintenance can keep your computer running smoothly. The
following, if done regularly, can help avoid a lot of problems.
- Run anti spyware program daily
- Make sure that your anti virus program is running and up to date. Try to
update it daily or set it up for auto update.
- Clean out all temp files and temporary internet files.
- Regulary empty the recycle bin
- Defrag your hard drive about once a month or so
- If you leave your computer running all the time, make sure to restart it
every day.
- Make sure you run your anti virus scan at least once a week

There are programs that will manage most of the above tasks for you. I use
Norton SystemWorks. It will manage all but spyware, which you need a
separate program for.

Anyway... Good luck and I hope this helps you.
Enbee

ps ... if the above does help, then you probably can upgrade to SP2

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Guest]

PS ...

Here are a few more things to try if nothing has worked so far...

- As previously mentioned, this could be an overheat problem. Try taking
the cover or one side off your computer and leave it open for a day or so.
This should lower the temperature by a few-10 degrees. See if you still have
the same problem. Also, while you have your cover off, check all the fans to
see if they are running.

- Also, with the cover off and the power OFF, get a can of compressed air,
and try to clean out the inside of your computer the best you can. Make sure
to spray near the power supply, the MB and CPU....and leave a little distance
between the spray and the computer.

- You can try to first reinstall Windows, then right before you install,
choose to Repair, rather than do a complete install. If that doesn't work,
you can try to do a Clean install. Make sure to back up anything that is
important, as this will erase everything.

- Click "Start" ... then "Run" ... then type in: MSCONFIG
Uncheck anything that is not absolutely necessary for your computer to run.
I would first try to uncheck everything, then reboot and see if there's any
change. If so, then one by one, add checks for only what is absolutely
necessary.

- Bad memory could cause this kind of problem. If you have more than one
memory chip installed, you might want to try taking one out at a time to see
if any are bad. When you do this, make sure the one chip that is installed,
is in the #1 position (see your manual for directions)

- And lastly, it is possible for a bad power supply to cause this problem as
well.

Again, good luck!
Enbee

 

[Test User]

My PC keeps restarting! It mainly does it when I turn it on for the first
time each day. It restarts about twice while booting up, then maybe another
2 or 3 times during the next half hour (with more restarting while
rebooting). It has done it for the last 2 weeks or so since the weather has
been getting colder.

<snippage>

One thing you might start with is checking that the default setting for
"reboot on crash" is turned OFF. Sorry, I'm not an an XP machine right now,
but IIRC, right click on My Computer, choose Properties. Go to Advanced,
Startup and Shutdown. There should be a checkbox for "reboot automatically
on crash". Clear this, and choose Apply and OK back to the desktop.

The machine will now visibly crash rather than restart, *if* what is causing
the restart is a crash. The screens from the crash should provide you with
some clues as to the real problem.

HTH
-pk

 

[VOTER HUMAN]

My PC keeps restarting! It mainly does it when I turn it on for the first
time each day. It restarts about twice while booting up, then maybe another
2 or 3 times during the next half hour (with more restarting while
rebooting). It has done it for the last 2 weeks or so since the weather has
been getting colder.

It has always had a few problems since it was built (1 1/2 years ago) if
turned off for any length of time, but up until recently had settled down.

Some good suggestions here, however if it is a cold startup problem
why would one even think in the direction of heat build up?

I'm a freak that thinks the most important item in the box is the
POWER SUPPLY. Not very sexy, a GOOD ONE is not one included with a
$29 case. In general good ones start around $100 and will eliminate
probably over 50% of flaky problems.

 

[Dave Yates]

The components (memory and/or CPU could have been damaged at a previous date
by heat damage which is effecting it now, cold start or not)

Regards

Dave