pc keeps re-starting

shazrazmataz

A few months ago our pc kept re-starting so we took it back to the shop as it was still under warranty. They wiped clean the whole pc & we started from new. Anyway it's started to do it again, to begin with it was once/twice a day but now it's around 6/7 times a day.

It just randomly re-starts itself, there's no specific web site that it does it on, sometimes it just does it when it's not in use.

Any tips/recommendations? we have windows xp & we use mozilla & internet explorer

Thanks in advance

aliEnRIK

I know this is no help at all but my grandfathers used to do exactly that. We changed the drive, motherboard and ram before giving up! Id hazard a guess its the power supply (Which would have been the next item on the list had we carried on)

Buttercup.x

My hubby is a computer geek he says it could be

The computers CPU fan is over heating and when it reaches a certain temp the computer shuts down

the operating system will shut the pc down to prevent the motherboard from frying

or the bios temp settings could be set to a certain temp and when it reaches that temp the pc will shut down

shazrazmataz

Buttercup.x wrote: »

My hubby is a computer geek he says it could be

The computers CPU fan is over heating and when it reaches a certain temp the computer shuts down

the operating system will shut the pc down to prevent the motherboard from frying

Ok without wanting to sound thick but how can I tell if it is the CPU fan overheating ? I'm totally thick when it comes to anything technical ! thanks guys.

inamabilis

I presume it is now out of warranty? Not to be pedantic but it's the CPU that would be overheating, not the fan. If it's very dusty this could very well be the reason. If you're running XP you could also do the following to try and get some more details about your problem:
Right click My Computer -> Properties
Click the Advanced tab
Click the bottom 'Settings' Button - in the Startup and Recovery box
Make sure that 'Automatically Restart' isn't ticked (Bottom checkbox).

Next time the computer restarts write down any details that are displayed on a bluescreen and post them in this forum.

johngc

It does sound like a temperature problem.

What make is your computer / motherboard? There are a lot of companies that provide software to monitor the temperature of your computer.

You could also try motherboard monitor (google it). A free program that runs in windows and will tell you all about your system temperatures. You might need to know a little about your computer to get it set up.

The other option is to go into your system bios. There is almost always an option there to see temperatures and fan speeds. There is also often an option to reset if the temp gets too high. Have a look to see what temp it is after a few hours and post the details here. Depending on Intel or Athlon, cpus can happily run at 40 - 50 C plus.

If you are happy taking the side off your computer, do so and have a look when it is on (DONT TOUCH ANYTHING INSIDE WHEN ITS ON!) Make sure all the fans are spinning and not clogged with dust etc.

Where does your computer sit? Is it in direct sunlight, next to a radiator etc - although they can run at high temps, all of these could cause problems if there is not enough ventilation.

I would also suggest running a few disk checks to make sure you don't have a problem with you hard disk.

If its not the temperature, I would guess at memory then the disk. There are loads of free utilites to try and check both. Let us know how you get on with the temperature and we can move onto the others later if need be.

shazrazmataz

johngc wrote: »

It does sound like a temperature problem.


Where does your computer sit? Is it in direct sunlight, next to a radiator etc - although they can run at high temps, all of these could cause problems if there is not enough ventilation.

Not too sure if it's a temp problem as it went off yesterday & I'd only just switched it on. It's not in direct sunlight or next to a radiator as we don't have radiators. Thanks for all your help

aliEnRIK

shazrazmataz wrote: »

Not too sure if it's a temp problem as it went off yesterday & I'd only just switched it on. It's not in direct sunlight or next to a radiator as we don't have radiators. Thanks for all your help

Thats EXACTLY what happened to my grandfathers

johngc

Before you do anything else I would suggest fully backing up anything you don't want to loose.

Ok, if it is not the heat then there are two options:

1. A software problem - you might have installed something that keeps crashing your computer in a bad way. Have you installed much onto it or anything unusual? By that I don't mean word, powerpoint etc but something more unusual. Are you trying to use any old computer programs that were written a long time ago? Do you have an upto date virus scanner / malware scanner? There are loads of free ones around and posts on here that covers them - do a full scan of your system.

I would also suggest running a disk check - defragment and check the drives for problems. (I am assuming you are using Windows here) If you right click on a drive in my computer and select properties, the tabs at the top will allow you to run these options.

2. A hardware problem - Have you changed anything on the computer? Are you trying to overclock anything? Have you changed any Bios settings? Have you installed any new hardware ie a new graphics card, more memory etc?

If you have done any of the above, try resetting back to the standard settngs / hardware and see if it stops. If you are happy taking the back off the computer check all the cards / memory are seated properly and there is no dust / dirt build up.

You can also run a few 'stress tests' to check hardware. A memory test tool like memtest can help with RAM. There are lots out there but give this a go http://hcidesign.com/memtest/ . Just follow the instructions on the site.

You can also try prime95 http://sp2004.fre3.com/ which allows you to 'stress test' your whole computer. Be aware though that if somehting is on it's way out and you run a 'stress test' it could die on you.

Can you tell us what computer you have? It might let us help in a bit more detail.

TorrestheGreat

johngc wrote: »

Are you trying to overclock anything? Have you changed any Bios settings?

The OP says 'I'm totally thick when it comes to anything technical'; then you ask the above questions! Good job Einstein.

johngc

TorrestheGreat wrote: »

The OP says 'I'm totally thick when it comes to anything technical'; then you ask the above questions! Good job Einstein.

Thank you for your constructive comment.

I ask it because it is one possible area that can cause a problem. The OP may say that but what if their son / daughter / friend / partner has been fiddling with it and trying their own fix.

When someone says that are 'totally thick when it comes to anything technical' does not mean they have not tried to do something that you may consider complicated. It also does not mean they have not tried to do something they did not understand but someone else suggested.

I am trying to offer help / advice. You are just making pointless posts and I do not see any advice / help from you.