XP keeps restarting down

**riddellcomp** · November 22nd, 2004, 12:14 AM

I have a computer running XP that keeps shutting down randomly for no reason at all.
I have done the following..
1. A full virus scan with Trend Micros house call but it found nothing.
2. Checked the event viewer for errors just before the computer rebooted but didnt see anything of interest.
I also have error reporting turned off and the restart computer option unticked. It is also disabled in services.

In have Spyblaster running on this machine so I dont suspect spyware. I did think that it might be something like faulty cpu or heat problems but wouldnt this show up in the event viewer?
Any ideas on what I can do from here?

Thanks.

**buksida** · November 22nd, 2004, 01:09 AM

Heat or powersupply may be good candidates to go for first. Do you have another PSU you can test in it?

Also is the case well ventilated, fans clean from dust, thermal grease applied etc etc.

**confus-ed** · November 22nd, 2004, 07:21 AM

Originally Posted by riddellcomp

I have a computer running XP that keeps shutting down randomly for no reason at all..

Now you know thats a lie don't you ?

- there's a reason .. you just don't know what it is !

When you say shuts down, you mean turns itself off correctly without you telling it, or just stops & is 'dead' (no fans & such) ? No BSOD ? - more clues on this aspect required to give you clues back methinks...

**riddellcomp** · November 22nd, 2004, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by confus-ed

Now you know thats a lie don't you ?

- there's a reason .. you just don't know what it is !

When you say shuts down, you mean turns itself off correctly without you telling it, or just stops & is 'dead' (no fans & such) ? No BSOD ? - more clues on this aspect required to give you clues back methinks...

Okay here it is straight from the horses mouth.

<FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000080 size=3><SPAN lang=EN-US style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-no-proof: yes">

Hi

**riddellcomp** · November 23rd, 2004, 09:27 AM

Okay not sure what happened there but basically it reboots at random times with no error messages what so ever.
I removed the heatsink and fan and gave tehma clean and applied more thermal compound. I couldnt find a temp reading in the BIOS but the fan seems to be spinning as it should. This computer also has a case fan too which is working fine.
I then ran memtest on the ram and after about 30 seconds the comp went into an endless loop of rebooting until I switched it off. I tried again and then after about 30 seconds the same thing.
So....Does this point to Ram???? I am guessing so, or could it be the power supply that is breaking down at a certain point.

**Ferrit** · November 23rd, 2004, 11:13 AM

Well it certainly appears to be a ram issue.
That would have been my first guess.
How many sticks?
If it has more then 1 try first 1 stick then the other

**MBatson** · November 23rd, 2004, 12:30 PM

Please do a visual inspection of the capacitors on the motherboard. If any of them are puffed up on top or are leaking (crusty stuff on the tops of the caps), then the problem is bad capacitors. Your options then are to pruchase a new motherboard for the system or replace the capacitors on the mortherboard. Always get the same size capacitors, they are rated in micro(u) farads. The voltages for the capacitors need to be the same or higher, usually 6.3V, 10V, or maybe 18V.

I hope this helps.

**riddellcomp** · November 23rd, 2004, 04:13 PM

Thats the problem, I did try on stick at a time and still had problems which I thought was strange that both of them could be stuffed at the same time, but you never know.

I did check the caps as I have had to replace them on more than one occasion in the past but they were okay too.

**VesaLB** · November 24th, 2004, 05:25 AM

This may sound stupid, but if you have an extra video card around try that with the latest directx/drives.

A coworker of mine had the same problem last week and after replacing almost every component of the computer it turned out to just be the video card.

Personally, that's never happened to me...but it's something else to try

**riddellcomp** · November 24th, 2004, 07:42 AM

Well I put in another stick of ram and the computer did reboot once but that was it. At the end of the day I ran memtest on the new ram stick and it ran no problems. I then swapped back one of the original sticks ran memtest again and no problems. I swapped over the other original stick of ram and ran memtest again and bang, it rebooted after about 19% of the test was completed.

So I put back in the other original stick that worked and will see how the pc runs tomorrow for the day. Looks as though one of the sticks were faulty though.

**LaSERCHiPs** · November 24th, 2004, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by riddellcomp

Well I put in another stick of ram and the computer did reboot once but that was it. At the end of the day I ran memtest on the new ram stick and it ran no problems. I then swapped back one of the original sticks ran memtest again and no problems. I swapped over the other original stick of ram and ran memtest again and bang, it rebooted after about 19% of the test was completed.

So I put back in the other original stick that worked and will see how the pc runs tomorrow for the day. Looks as though one of the sticks were faulty though.

RAM I don't think so...could be but who knows with these crazy computers these days

I had an issue just like this...one week ago...

Turns out that it was the power supply...

I connected a voltmeter to ps - to the 12volt lead
and watched it ... sure enough I watch the voltage drop to 9 volts for just a second ... bang system restarts...

change the ps; no problems rebooting...The computer now has other issues but could be related to other hardware because having the incorrect voltage being applied...system seems to be flakey...stable one day next day outlook express corrupts...reboot everything stable again...but it's not rebooting anymore!

**Bigtimbre** · November 24th, 2004, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by LaSERCHiPs

RAM I don't think so...could be but who knows with these crazy computers these days

I had an issue just like this...one week ago...

Turns out that it was the power supply...

!

The most common hardware causes for this type of proble I've seen are:

Power Supply failure (Either becomes unreliable as you saw in your example, or just stops)
CPU (Typically a heat issue)
RAM

Faulty RAM can cause all kinds of weird problems...

**riddellcomp** · November 24th, 2004, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by Bigtimbre

The most common hardware causes for this type of proble I've seen are:

Power Supply failure (Either becomes unreliable as you saw in your example, or just stops)
CPU (Typically a heat issue)
RAM

Faulty RAM can cause all kinds of weird problems...

Well I have to admit Im not getting any other strange problems, only the rebooting. Also both the ram failed the first time I ran the memtest. Oh well I suppose I will have to wait and see how the system runs for a day or two with only one stick of ram in.

**bookmarkmns** · November 25th, 2004, 01:50 PM

Just had a machine with similar beahviour.
Changed and upgraded the PSU.
Upgraded the Thermal paste and upgraded the CPU heat sink and fan.
Added case fan to remove heat.
The PSU was overheating, the CPU was behind the PSU in a poor case where the heat producing components were at the top rear. All standard stuff but you may need to replacemore than one item. Good luck, please post with your progress!

**kurt4390** · November 26th, 2004, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by riddellcomp

I have a computer running XP that keeps shutting down randomly for no reason at all.
I have done the following..
1. A full virus scan with Trend Micros house call but it found nothing.
2. Checked the event viewer for errors just before the computer rebooted but didnt see anything of interest.
I also have error reporting turned off and the restart computer option unticked. It is also disabled in services.

In have Spyblaster running on this machine so I dont suspect spyware. I did think that it might be something like faulty cpu or heat problems but wouldnt this show up in the event viewer?
Any ideas on what I can do from here?

Thanks.

Hi! I have had the exact same problem.. the solution is f.ex. to change your keyboard... it worked for me and my XP Home!
It could happen to be that simple...