Random Reset

[Guest]

My system(WIN XP PRO - close to filled with LOADS of programs, etc.) has
taken to doing some form of random reset. I get a sound alert(two chime
sounds high/low and then low/high), the system pauses and then my scanner
makes initiation sounds. If I happen to be running my old Paradox DOS
database, I lose data. If my iPod is connected(recharging), iTunes reruns as
if it were just connected. The whole thing is screwy. I have not been
without Norton running in the background in over two years. I DO have a LOAD
of USB stuff connected through two different expansion boxes. Two full virus
scans have come-up negative.

Anyone have a starting point for troubleshooting this? It is a
"middle-aged" Dell Dimension 8200 (1Gig RAM, 1.8Mhz).

Summer is almost here, eh? Should I just buy a new system and use this one
as a boat anchor?

Cheers

 

[Malke]

My system(WIN XP PRO - close to filled with LOADS of programs, etc.)
has
taken to doing some form of random reset. I get a sound alert(two
chime sounds high/low and then low/high), the system pauses and then
my scanner
makes initiation sounds. If I happen to be running my old Paradox DOS
database, I lose data. If my iPod is connected(recharging), iTunes
reruns as
if it were just connected. The whole thing is screwy. I have not
been
without Norton running in the background in over two years. I DO have
a LOAD
of USB stuff connected through two different expansion boxes. Two
full virus scans have come-up negative.

Anyone have a starting point for troubleshooting this? It is a
"middle-aged" Dell Dimension 8200 (1Gig RAM, 1.8Mhz).

Random errors usually indicate failing hardware. However, you say your
system is "close to filled" and this can definitely cause lots of
errors. To give you a rough estimate of how much room you should be
leaving, on a 40GB drive I'd want at least 8GB free at all times (and
I'm conservative and like to err on the side of more is safer than
less). If you have less - are down to 1.5GB or less - you've got to get
stuff off there.

Back up data to removable media and delete it from the hard drive.
Uninstall programs you don't need. Do normal cleanup and maintenance.
If the drive is extremely full, copy the data and do your maintenance
in Safe Mode.

See if getting the drive back to a workable amount of free space does
the trick for you. If not, start on hardware troubleshooting.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Backing_Up
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Maintenance
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Troubleshooting

Malke

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

Tucker wrote:

That sounds like a USB "device in / device out"

Notice how many USB devices "don't need power" but have a discreet
socket for a wall-wart anyway? I suspect you're overloading the USB
power draw, and/or spiking it from some rogue USB hardware.

I don't have much faith in virus scans done from within the infected
OS - they can only tell you that you don't have any "easy" viruses.

Bart is hard work, but it's the way to go here.

Right age for this...

http://cquirke.mvps.org/badcaps.htm

.....as well as fan failures and clogged heat sinks. Use a temperature
monitoring utility to check processor and motherboard temperatures;
hard drive temperature matters too, but usually fails via bad sectors
rather than spontaneous resets.

Random errors usually indicate failing hardware.

Thanks to the stupid "automatically restart on system errors" duhfault
setting, they also appear to cause random resets in Windows.

True random resets are more usually due to power discontinuities, at
any point in the power chain...
- mains power supply
- mains wiring, switches, plugs, connections, etc.
- the PC's power supply unit
- power plugs to the motherboard
- the motherboard's power regulation circuits
- electrolytic capacitors on motherboard and elsewhere
- voltage offsets between connected devices, esp. parallel port

However, you say your system is "close to filled" and this can
definitely cause lots of errors. To give you a rough estimate of
how much room you should be leaving, on a 40G drive I'd want
at least 8GB free at all times

Nah, I don't think that's it; that would present in a different way,
and progress quite rap;idly to a standstill as temp files (uncleared
on bad exits) build up to critical mass. Suspect this if Google Earth
or large printing jobs are your trigger factors, though.

I'm conservative and like to err on the side of more is safer than
less). If you have less - are down to 1.5GB or less - you've got to get
stuff off there.

I curb a lot of MSware excesses, and can generally run XP down to the
last 50M on C: (sometimes even down to 0k free) without trouble. I
feel quite comfy with 250M free on C:, but if you leave all settings
and paths as MS duhfault, then YMMV.

Back up data to removable media and delete it from the hard drive.
Uninstall programs you don't need. Do normal cleanup and maintenance.
If the drive is extremely full, copy the data and do your maintenance
in Safe Mode.

Wrong end to start.

First, check your System Restore status - if cramped for space, SR
will suspend itself (unless it's already explicitly disabled).

Then, clear web caches in all user accounts, especially in IE, which
assigns itself an absurd amount of space, repeated in each account.

Then use the Disk Cleanup Wizard to clear out Temp clutter. You can
manually do that, too, if you are careful.

Then purge any residue left in "CD Burning" buffers, again repeated in
each user account.

Next, clear your email Trash and Recycle Bin of anything you don't
want, and look for gumf you don't want on the Desktop etc.

Once you have a bit of space free, compact your email store; only then
will you get back the space you "freed" by purging Trash., etc.

Only at this stage, would I look at uninstalling programs or moving
data off the hard drive. If uninstalling software, start with any Sun
Java JREs that are older than current 1.5.006; not only does each hog
between 100M and 150M, they pose a safety (exploitability) risk.

See if getting the drive back to a workable amount of free space does
the trick for you. If not, start on hardware troubleshooting.

Tshoot hardware FIRST, else the big file moves you make through the
lens of bad hardware can dig you into a very deep hole!