Windows XP PCs Regularly Shutting Down

[bud21]

Hi there,

I’ve got a really strange problem here, many of our Windows XP SP3 based PCs
regularly restart without any warning or error messages being displayed. It
is a random problem across several computer suites.

I have ensured they are fully Windows updated, virus scanned and they are
clear and are behind a hardware firewall so hacking is very unlikely. I’ve
also updated all device drivers to the latest versions available but still
the same PCs restart them selves intermittently.

Has anyone any ideas why this would be happening and could you please
suggest anything I could do to discover what the problem is so I can stop
this happening, plus if you have any suggestions how I could stop this
problem from occurring please let me know but I am sure like me not knowing
why it is happening hampers us from getting a solution.

Yours hopefully,

Tony

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

Assuming there is no error listed in the Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc), you
are probably having heat problems. Maybe not enough paste on the CPU heat
sink. That many machines, especially if they are identical hardware, might
have some problem with their standby features and power config. You have to
look at something physical if you are not seeing the 'restart on error'
default messages in the Viewer.

--
Please use the Communities guidelines when posting.
http://www.microsoft.com/wn3/locales/help/help_en-us.htm
Use the "Ratings" feature. It helps the new users.
Mark L. Ferguson MS-MVP
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Mark.Ferguson

 

[azera]

ok make sure those are not hp computers mine is a laptop and it loves to
do that all the time and still does second i sugest up daing the system
bios to the latest version

 

[azera]

try updating the system bios to the latest version and check the hardware
for lose conections and other problems \\

 

[Unknown]

Check the settings in control panel----system---advanced tab for error
recovery.

 

[bud21]

Thanks for all your suggestions!

I don't think it is a heat sink or hardware problem is it is so random and
occurs on around 30 PCs now so would be very unlucky if it was this in all of
these PCs.

Error recorvery is set to automatically reboot so perhaps I can take this
off in and hope the error displayed on screen will give us a better clue.

Has ANYONE any other ideas what this serious provblem could be and how to
resolve it.

Some of the PCs are new fujitsu-siemens PCs and others are Dells so no HPs
i'm afraid and most have had their BIOS upgraded.

Any further help greatly welcome and appreciated!

Regards,

Tony

 

[John John (MVP)]

Look in the Event Log to see if anything relevant is recorded.

John

 

[Unknown]

You need to remove automatic reboot to trap the error.

 

[bud21]

I have just disabled auto restart and will keep an eye and see can I find a
more specific error message to go on. Thanks for your suggestion.

The only stop error in the event log is event id 7026 - the following boot
start or system start driver failed to load: i8042prt.

I know this is related to PS/2 devices etc. but the thing is I don't have
any PS/2 devices connected, they are all USB devices, so that makes it even
more strange.

Any ideas!!!

Thanks again for all your help and suggestions, it is appreciated!

Tony

 

[Greegor]

The only stop error in the event log is event id 7026 - the following boot

start or system start driver failed to load: i8042prt.

I know this is related to PS/2 devices etc. but the thing is I don't have
any PS/2 devices connected, they are all USB devices, so that makes it even
more strange.

Something in the startup files is calling for that driver.

Some kinds of bench testing/repair may
need to use PS/2 ports.

Is that missing driver supposed to be present to
just to DETECT that there are no PS/2 devices?

If so, having a driver file MISSING might be a failure
whereas having that driver file detect that there
are no PS/2 devices might be harmless.

STARTUP by Mike Lin - freeware

http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml

You probably don't need the installable one
that sets up a control panel.

On that description page there is a link for
a standalone version you can run from floppy.

http://www.mlin.net/files/StartupCPL_EXE.zip

Some LAN gurus can probably tell you what
other software can be used to "pull" and
compare those various files across the fleet
of computers on your intranet.

Isn't that a regular part of your LAN maintenance?

 

[bud21]

Thanks for that Greegor, I downloaded that app and ran it and unfortunately
couldn't see anything listed within any of the tabs that references i8042prt.
I did a search on the PC and the driver file is present in the
..\system32\drivers folder.

What you say does seem logical i.e. it calls for the driver but considering
the driver is there I don't understand why it goes ahead and reboots the PC
and notes an error in the event log. Also it just isn't a 1 PC problem is
happening on around 30 PCs some of which are different makes and models.

It is very strange and as yet I am no closer to finding the problem and more
importantly solving it.

Any help from anyone still greatly appreciated!

Regards,

Tony

 

[Greegor]

Thanks for that Greegor, I downloaded that app and ran it and unfortunately
couldn't see anything listed within any of thetabsthat references i8042prt.
I did a search on the PC and the driver file is present in the
.\system32\drivers folder.

What you say does seem logical i.e. it calls for the driver but considering
the driver is there I don't understand why it goes ahead and reboots the PC
and notes an error in the event log. Also it just isn't a 1 PC problem is
happening on around 30 PCs some of which are different makes and models.

It is very strange and as yet I am no closer to finding the problem and more
importantly solving it.

Any help from anyone still greatly appreciated!

Regards,

Tony

Was this i8042prt giving you trouble from the time
all of these computers were purchased?

Does this help?

http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.win2000.hardware/msg/02759c0d8df7c6ae

R2-D2 Sep 27 2001, 1:50 pm
Subject: Re: i8042prt error using USB keyboard/mouse

I had the same problem with W2K Pro SP-2....I have an older mobo where
the
BIOS does not let me to disable the keyboard (IRQ-1). My BIOS only
allowed
me to disable the mouse (IRQ-12), so I disabled IRQ-12 assignment to
the
mouse and freed up only one IRQ for something else. While you are in
the
BIOS, make sure that USB keyboard and USB mouse are enabled. Again, I
don't
know what mobo you have, so make the appropriate changes/settings.

MS has posted the exact opposte situation as we have, but the
procedure is
well layed out. Do the exact OPPOSITE! That is, you need to copy
'kbdhid.sys' to 'i8042prt.sys' like I did. This was written for loss
of
PS/2 keyboard. We do not have that! And that will cure the logging.

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q257/7/29.ASP?LN=EN-...
n&FR=0&qry=q257729&rnk=1&src=DHCS_MSPSS_gn_SRCH&SPR=WIN2000

If you can disable both of the IRQ assignments in your BIOS, you may
not
have to do any of the aforementioned changes to i8042prt.sys!

 

[bud21]

Hi Greegor,

I'm afraid the problem only happened once the PCs were re-imaged during the
summer months.

I'll check out the BIOS and see does it give me the options to disable those
things and if not I'll try and bios update and how that does.

Thanks again for your input and the reference URL it does seem similiar.

All the best, and hopefully some of the suggestions will sort it for me.

Kind regards.
Tony