Unexpected Restart

[C Rosenblum]

My system has unexpected restarts. It happens at random
times and under different conditions. It has happened
after short and long usage times and occurs w/o warning.
It typically doesn't happen more than once per week but
can occur at any time.

Another unexpected problem is not recognizing the the
mouse at boot-up. A restart usually solves it but it is
annoying.

Does anyone have a similar experience with either of these
problems? What was the fix?

 

[null]

My system has unexpected restarts. It happens at random
times and under different conditions. It has happened
after short and long usage times and occurs w/o warning.
It typically doesn't happen more than once per week but
can occur at any time.

Another unexpected problem is not recognizing the the
mouse at boot-up. A restart usually solves it but it is
annoying.

Does anyone have a similar experience with either of these
problems? What was the fix?

Unexpected and intermittent reboots can have several causes. I would:

1. Check for overheating; make sure the cpu and power supply fans are
working, and that the cables within the PC case aren't blocking good
airflow.

2. Install Windows Updates.

3. Check for viruses using current virus definition files.

--
-the small one

All postings carry no guarantee or warranty, expressed or implied.
Proceed at your own risk, and perform system and data backups prior to
making changes to your system, and on a regular basis, to protect your
system.

 

[The Unknown P]

This can be caused by virtually unlimited issues.
Frequently it is due to the fact that you need a driver
update. You should visit all of the manufacturers sites
for your hardware and get their drivers for XP. Visiting
the windows updates site alone will not gaurantee a
completely updated system. The mouse problem is very
indicative of just such a need. I have a logitech optical
mouse and a logitech keyboard and so I would go to
www.logitech.com and get the drivers I need. You can stop
the reboot issue by going>start\control panel and double
click "system" to open it. Now click the advanced
tab\startup and recovery-settings button and then clear
the box beside "automatically restart". Keep smiling.

 

[Alex Nichol]

My system has unexpected restarts. It happens at random
times and under different conditions. It has happened
after short and long usage times and occurs w/o warning.
It typically doesn't happen more than once per week but
can occur at any time.

You have *something* that is crashing - and the system's 'automatically
restart' is cutting in. Turn this off: in Control Panel - System -
Advanced, click Settings in the Startup and Recovery section. There
uncheck 'automatically restart'. You can also usefully change the
'write debugging information' to (none) unless you are actively needing
a dump for debugging something, or to 'minidump' if you are getting
errors that you wish to report on to Microsoft. You may now get a Blue
screen failure instead, but at least will get some guidance as to what
is happening

A fair guess would be that you need to update the video driver - the
mouse freezing is a symptom of the two drivers arguing over which
handles the mouse. SO I would try at Display - Settings, click Advanced
and on the Troubleshooting page reduce the 'acceleration' slide a notch
or more. If just one cures things, there is no need to do more (the
loss of performance is trivial); if it comes OK with more than that then
definitely go to the makers site for the latest driver they advise for
XP