WinXP rebotted by itself

[myhuynh]

I have a situation that I think it a Win XP problem and I
hope someone can help me with this.

I am running Win XP home edition, everything was running
fine until recently. I was in middle of working on a
document and suddenly my system shut off and reboot by
itself. Sometime it just wouldn't reboot at all and I
have to cold start my PC. There is no BLUE SCREEN OF
DEATH of telling me what the problem is. I hope someone
can help me. I think it a power supply but I am not too
sure about it.

Pentium 4 2.66 Ghz
350 watts power supply
512 MB DDR RAM PC2100
2 HD
1 CD
1CD-R
56K Modem
32MB graphic card

Any helps would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,
My Huynh

 

[rory]

Yes, you are probably right. Not an XP problem.
Your power supply may be faulty.
Also, you may have an overheating situation.

 

[My Huynh]

I am currently running 3 aditional fans inside the case.
So it might not be overheating problem. anymore Idea....

 

[rory]

Rick Rogers recommends a Repair Install for this problem. Because nothing is
100% safe, be sure to back up essential files before you try this.

"Try it, and you should know in short order if the problem is software or
hardware related.

Follow these steps to do a repair install which should preserve your data,
settings, and programs:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer's CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM
drive.
2. Restart your computer. If you have to, change the BIOS settings to start
from
the CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer again.
3. At the "Welcome to Setup" page, press ENTER.
4. Press F8 to accept the Licensing Agreement.
5. Use the arrow keys to select the installation of Windows XP that you want
to
repair, and then press R to start the automatic repair process.
6. When Setup is completed, activate Windows XP.

Note that you will need your Product Key for this procedure, so have it
handy before you begin."

 

[My Huynh]

Why should I redo the installation??? and what should I
reinstall? I have been download all this updates ror
this past months and if I reinstall . This would mean I
have to download all those updates again.

5. Use the arrow keys to select the installation of
Windows XP that you want to repair, and then press R to
start the automatic repair process.

Also, what should I reinstall to repair WinXP. I really
appreciate for alll your helps. PLease specific what
should I reinstall....

Thanks,
My Huynh

 

[rory]

I think that my recommendation was too advanced.
It would be better to test the power supply first.
Take your computer in for a test.

 

[blewyn]

Have you actually checked the PC's temperatures ? They should be
visible in the BIOS (under "PC health" on my system). You may need a
400W or greater power supply. I wouldn't go repairing or reinstalling
windows until you know for certain it's not a hardware problem.

Also try downloading a program called "memtest 3" and use it to check
the memory. It might be just a faulty memory stick - but it sounds
more like overheating to me.

Cheers,

Blewyn

 

[myhuynh]

Rory,
If only you can tell me what exactlu I need to
reinstall to fix this problem, I be happy to try it. I
have been into software and hardware for a while and
nuthing should be too hard for me to look into if you can
show me. Any helps would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
My huynh

 

[myhuynh]

Do you happen to know the web site for this memtest 3???
I'm willing to try anything at this point ... but it seem
everything pointing to a faulty power supply. Any help
would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
My Huynh

 

[Bern]

The system memory may be unstable. Try the memtest memory test:

http://home.earthlink.net/~alegr/download/memtest.htm