Random Rebooting Problem

[Bondpwk]

I need some help, my computer randomly reboots. It has increased it's
frequency over the last month from once every few days to several times a
day. I have scanned for viruses, malware, registry optimizer programs & have
run tests on my system for hardware issues. All hardware tests are coming up
showing no problems with power system, hard drive etc...in addition when I
run hardware diagnostics it is in the set up mode without windows XP running
and I do not exprerience any random shut downs & restarts...so I believe
something is up with when windows xp is running. I have not added any new
hardware or software, without the exception of course of the software updates
for win xp, etc. I was considering a system restore to an earlier point,
but, Dell support tells me that that probably will not fix the problem.
Their solution was to restore my computer to the day I took it out of the box
and I really do not wish to do that. Any help would be apprciated

Thanks
Paul.

 

[philo]

I need some help, my computer randomly reboots. It has increased it's
frequency over the last month from once every few days to several times a
day. I have scanned for viruses, malware, registry optimizer programs & have
run tests on my system for hardware issues. All hardware tests are coming up
showing no problems with power system, hard drive etc...in addition when I
run hardware diagnostics it is in the set up mode without windows XP running
and I do not exprerience any random shut downs & restarts...so I believe
something is up with when windows xp is running. I have not added any new
hardware or software, without the exception of course of the software updates
for win xp, etc. I was considering a system restore to an earlier point,
but, Dell support tells me that that probably will not fix the problem.
Their solution was to restore my computer to the day I took it out of the box
and I really do not wish to do that. Any help would be apprciated

Thanks
Paul.

First thing I'd do is run chkdsk /f

(then allow it to run on restart)

Even if the HD has passed it's diagnostics...
there could *possibly* be logical errors on the drive.

(I suspect not, really, but it would be a good thing to try first)


Next... a system restore is certainly a less drastic thing to try and a
"factory restore to original".

Try system restore back to a date prior to where the problem began,
then run it like that for at least a week, with updating turned off.

You may also want to download a small Linux distro such as Damn Small Linux
and use it for a few days.
If it does not crash, that would mean the problem is probably with Windows
allright.
(unless there is a HD defect the diagnostic missed)

 

[Rich Barry]

Paul, try rt clicking MyComputer>select Properties>Advanced>Startup and
Recovery-Settings>Uncheck Automatically Restart Box. By following this
procedure you will probably
get a BSOD with white message instead of a Restart. Record that message
and post back here.

 

[Leythos]

I need some help, my computer randomly reboots. It has increased it's
frequency over the last month from once every few days to several times a
day.

A reboot that increases in frequency, since you appear to have ruled out
malware, is most likely a PSU starting to fail or a heat related
problem.

1) Make sure that all fans are spinning fast - check INSIDE the case and
on the video card, the PSU also has a fan, in almost all cases, make
sure it's spinning.

2) Remove all dust from any fan, heat-sink, vent, PSU.

 

[Bondpwk]

I tried this a while back and it still reboots on its own without giving me
any kind of log off record..

 

[Mick Murphy]

http://www.gtopala.com/siw-download.html

Download the SIW standalone version.
Then go to the Sensors on the left, and check CPU temps, and fan speed.

 

[HeyBub]

I need some help, my computer randomly reboots. It has increased it's
frequency over the last month from once every few days to several
times a day. I have scanned for viruses, malware, registry optimizer
programs & have run tests on my system for hardware issues. All
hardware tests are coming up showing no problems with power system,
hard drive etc...in addition when I run hardware diagnostics it is in
the set up mode without windows XP running and I do not exprerience
any random shut downs & restarts...so I believe something is up with
when windows xp is running. I have not added any new hardware or
software, without the exception of course of the software updates for
win xp, etc. I was considering a system restore to an earlier point,
but, Dell support tells me that that probably will not fix the
problem. Their solution was to restore my computer to the day I took
it out of the box and I really do not wish to do that. Any help
would be apprciated

Thanks
Paul.

Heat.

You may not have added any hardware or software, but I'll bet you've added
dust!

Hoover the innards, then turn the vacuum around and blow. I'll wager your
machine will act like it just elected a new Pope. If, on the off chance
there's not much dust, one or more fans are not working as they should.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Does the tower reside on the floor & in a corner? Do you have a lot of
furry pets? Are you as lousy a housekeeper as I am? If so, the behavior
may be due to overheating. See
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial118.html

 

[Bondpwk]

I downloaded the SIW and the temperature readings are as follows

the average core temp's are about 94 degrees, the video card is at 141
degrees, and the hard drive is at 93 degrees..

What is considered abnormal ? also, the computer sits on a carpet, lots of
dust around and a pet..I will work on the cleaning aspect

can anyone address the temperature issue, i do not hear any fans going..but,
when i run a diagnostic on the system the fans do run and pass the test.

 

[Anna]

I downloaded the SIW and the temperature readings are as follows

the average core temp's are about 94 degrees, the video card is at 141
degrees, and the hard drive is at 93 degrees..

What is considered abnormal ? also, the computer sits on a carpet, lots
of
dust around and a pet..I will work on the cleaning aspect

can anyone address the temperature issue, i do not hear any fans
going..but,
when i run a diagnostic on the system the fans do run and pass the test.

Paul:
From your description of the problem it does not sound to me that this is a
heat-related problem. It's possible, of course, and may even be due to a
faulty power supply, but I'm not convinced (at least at this point) that
this is some hardware-related problem.

We'll accept for the moment that the Dell diagnostic program indicates all
is well, especially with the system's HDD. But if you're aware of the name
of the disk's manufacturer it would be even better if you could check out
the disk with the HDD diagnostic utility available from the manuf. We've
encountered more than one case where the disk was defective yet the Dell
diagnostics reported all was well with the drive. While it doesn't sound
like a defective HDD problem, that's an issue always lurking in the
background when a system becomes unstable.

Have you been able to run a chkdsk /r and/or the sfc /scannow commands? Why
don't you try those for starters and see where that leads to?
Anna