[RESOLVED] Computer resets unexpectedly

[Tim]

What makes a computer reset unexpectedly??? Motherboard is good, ram & cpu are good, all the cards are in the slots nice and tight... everything is plugged in properly... it boots to windows just fine and sometime while running a program doing work the damn thing just resets itself. What makes it do that??

[CyberTech]

I would suspect power supply. Also, check the CPU and mainboard temperatures.

[Ruslan]

Agree with CyberTech. Check also harddrive for bad sectors.

[Dante]

Also overheating

[Lt. Columbo (formally Joevegany@..)]

When a computer reboots it self like that, it's usually the power supply, for sure. Try a known good one.

[TakeAByte]

Could be a capacitor on the mother board is going or acting up.

[Ya_know]

You didn't disclose which OS you were refering to. If it was NT or 2K, it could reboot if the option was set to automaticly reboot when a stop error occurs, or system failure. That could mean hardware, or software...

[GHSTECH]

what brand, model, specs., etc.?

[black_mage]

my first hunch is the power supply. also, check the cpu fan. it might be slow and causing the cpu to overheat... thus resetting your system.

[dlagace]

<font face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva" size="2">Originally posted by black_mage:
my first hunch is the power supply. also, check the cpu fan. it might be slow and causing the cpu to overheat... thus resetting your system.</font>

also check your UPS or Power bar for loose connections either to the wall or the Tower.



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What works for One person May not work for Another"
God Is My JudgedLagace=DANIMAL

[protechpc]

A simple one to try first is resource usage. Disable everything in startup except what is needed using msconfig. I have seen low resources reboot a system many times.

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Blessed are the geeks, for they shall internet the world

[GarryK]

Simple thing caused that symptom in mine, processor fan had been installed the wrong way round. If you can feel a draught above it on your hand it's wrong. (Not me who installed it honest!!!)
If fault still present can you give more info, does it reboot after a set time, or a minimum time, have you added anything lately either hardware or software? Friend of mine also had similar caused by extremely strange network card!

[Hippie_Techs]

<font face="Tahoma, Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva" size="2">Originally posted by protechpc:
A simple one to try first is resource usage. Disable everything in startup except what is needed using msconfig. I have seen low resources reboot a system many times.

</font>

Amen. Try to keep your resources above 80% when first booting into Windows. All the extra stuff running in the background will eat up your resources in a hurry. And please don't make the big mistake of thinking of your RAM as resources. That's not the case. Also be aware that quite a few programs will use your resources and then won't give them back even after closing the program. So restarting your computer after heavy use is a must. I am a firm believer of turning off the computer when I'm done with it. I know they are designed to run constantly, but the operating system wasn't.



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In the immortal words of Socrates, "I drank what?"

[lebonetworktech]

Check the connections at the back of the tower. Make sure that pins are not bent.

One of the machines at work was doing the same thing that you reporting. Its problem was that the vga cable had a pin that was bent and was pressed on to the side of the connector (shorting it out).

[clascomp]

Probably the power supply. But it could also be the power coming into the computer. I maintain a network in one office that worked fine for a long time. Then one day some of the systems started rebooting several times a day. I finally found out that they had recently installed new AC in the building, and every time the compressors came on the voltage on some circuits was dropping under 95 volts, and rebooting the machines. We fixed this with UPS's till they fixed the power in the building.