Pc Rebooting On It's Own

[BruceY]

Rebooting on its own in the middle of doing anything. Homemade pc with Althon 750mhz 512mb ram, plenty of free space on C drive running WinXP Home with all latest updates. whats running when this happens you ask, 1 or 2 browser windows, outlook express, ICQ, AIM. Nothing out of the ordenary that has been running for 3 or more years. :confused:
It has done this now 3-4 times in the last 2 months. It is very upsetting when your in the middle of researching something on the net. i HAVE SCANNED DRIVES FOR BADS SECTORS, FOUND NONE
WHERE DO I START:confused:

[frost89]

Hmm i'm no professionnal but if it reboots out of the blue maybe its a airing problem, check if your fans are clogged ''inside your pc'' if you dont usually go inside your pc, i suggest you bring it to a technician and get your fans clean, it costs like 5$. if thats not the problem well theres no loss cause your pc is clean and it wont overheat ^^

[BruceY]

I usually "blow" them and the case out twice a year, but just maybe it might be. Also I'll try "Start => Control Panel => System => Advanced => Startup and Recovery => Uncheck "Automatically Restart"
I saw that in another post.............thank You

[frost89]

yeh u can try that but loosing ur programs sometime aint worth it, try posting a hijackthis log if the sysrec don't work

[Jengo]

Okay first things first download memtest86 (http://www.memtest86.com/) Burn it to a CD (as an ISO image!) Then restart your PC and boot from the CD you just Burned. It Should start after that on its own. Let it run all night maybe even all day too. Putting it simply what this does is check your memory for problems.

If your memory comes up clean then here is what you need to do next: Make sure all of your drivers (Graphics driver, Chipset Driver, Audio Driver are most important) Update all of your drivers to their latest versions available. This is very important for a smooth running system.

If this still doesnt fix the problem then check your Bios version. If there is a newer bios available (usually at the Manufacturers website) Then update it following the steps provided to you at the website you received the bios from. Sometimes the instructions come in the same folder as the bios, but not always. When searching for your bios make sure you are looking for the Bios for your exact motherboard model.

If this still doesnt fix the prob then im almost 100% certain it will be your PSU. There really isnt a way to stress test a PSU unless you have the right equipment but you can usually check (in some motherboards) in the bios screen what your PSU is putting out per rail. If you dont know what to look for then just post what your Bios is reporting for your PSU and i will try to help you out! Also a good thing to note, make sure your PSU is of sufficient wattage for what hardware you are using. With the specs you have posted for your PC you would probably need a 250 to 300 watt PSU. Just to be safe I recommend a 350w PSU or Higher.

[BruceY]

Thing is NOTHING has changed. Same hardware for 3+ years and NO new drivers for same. Memory test showed no issue there. When it does it, there is no pattern , and it can work fine for hours or days till it does it agin.
This just started out of the blue with no known cause

[Leonardo]

Possible causes (some already mentioned):

- overheating - apparently not, you said it's clean
- memory has become defective - possibility, hence the Memtest rec.
- power supply unit has degraded and is giving voltage swings. Are running any voltage/fan/temperature monitoring software?
- corrupted operating system files. Yes, that can cause random reboots, freezes, and shutdowns, believe it or not.

The first thing I would do is run a Windows Checkdisk on the C:\ partition. Check both boxes for repairing file system errors and restoring and recovery of bad sectors.

Also install a voltage monitoring software such as...
OK guys, help me out with this one. I've been running Asus Probe so long now that I don't know what good freeware monitors are out there now.
Monitor the =12v, 5v, and 3.3v frequencies. If they appear to fluctuate a lot, let us know.

If those two steps don't fix the problem or point to the problem, then Jengo's advice is on the money.

You said nothing has changed. Well, maybe, maybe not. PSUs wear out, RAM can become defective, and WinXP can suffer critical files corruption form voltage spikes, improper shutdowns, and malware.

[BruceY]

FORGOT TO MENTION.....................C Partition was fdisk'd and blown all away. Then I reinstalled WinXP home. Installation showed no bad sectors

[BruceY]

Gonna try a program called MOTHEBOARD MONITOR 5. I have another in mind called SPEEDFAN. I got them both from zdnet Lets see what they have to say

[Thrax]

Neither of those programs are diagnostic programs; they're just temperature monitors. They won't tell you anything.

[Siggy]

I agree with PSU - however:

if you install motherboard monitor check the temp of the cpu
When it reboots next time press delete to go into BIOS and check the temp of the cpu in there and let us know the results