PC keeps rebooting

UKTigerlily

Hi, hope someone can help! My pc froze 2 or 3 times a few days ago & needed to be rebooted from the power button, I googled & it said it may be overheating so I left if off overnight & since then it decides to reboot itself when it feels like it, normally if I try to open my anti virus but just now when I tried to play something on 4OD. Any ideas please? I'm using Windows XP Home.

12bdebt3

I wouldn't recommend using the 4OD site, it makes my Mac crash and I watch it on my girlfriend's PC sometimes it does the same thing, the screen goes black and the web browser doesn't like it.

Watch the shows on YouTube instead...

http://www.youtube.com/shows?feature=mh

As far as your general PC problem goes I'd re-install Windows.

dg1dd1ngs_2

You could try and safely remove the back of the pc case, checking for loose wires and clearing any dust or fluff that may have accumulated in there. Obviously make sure the power is off and power cable is unplugged before attempting this. Also make sure to ground yourself/the computer before attempting to touch the insides.

I don't know how many times I have been called out to fix a computer and the problem is a dust build up in the internal fan or heat sink. Even ribbon wires laid across the fan can cause overheating problems.

If you have any concerns about doing any of this then I would recommend asking someone with some computer knowledge to have a look for you.

aliEnRIK

If its not overheating then its more than likely the PSU is close to failure

UKTigerlily

Hi all, can't reinstall Windows it didn't come with the disk & I don't have one. It could well be dust that wouldn't suprise me, in 6 years the case has only come off once to put more memory in. Think i'll get my Dad to have a check inside! Could be close to failure too, I now get a blue screen, I will write down what it says & post here, something about it's rebooted for safety, something about drivers & something about BIOS (Helpful huh?) I will write down the full message & post here once it does it again, otherwise will get the back off & empty any dust out, I imagine there's a fair bit, ty all

UKTigerlily

Ok here is my error message:

A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

If this is the first time you've seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to be sure you have adequate disk space. If a driver is identified in the Stop message, disable the driver or check with the manufacturer for driver updates. Try changing video adapters.

Check with your hardware vendor for any BIOS updates. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select Safe Mode.

Technical Information:

STOP: 0x0000008E (0xC000000S, 0xBD210D7C, 0XA496487C, 0X00000000)
nv4_disp.dll- Address BD210D7C base at BD01 2000

I have restarted the PC but have no idea how to stop drivers, if this makes any sense please help ty!

dg1dd1ngs_2

If you clean it thoroughly and you still have problems then it may be what aliEnRIK said, It could also be a Video adapter drive problem or another driver problem. Unsufficient HDD space can also cause these sorts of problems so there are a few things you can look at to see if it helps.

What OS are you using? It may be a good idea to check if there are any driver issues once in Windows/Linux etc

UKTigerlily

I'm on Windows XP Home, loads of disk space, think i've got 46.5GB free space & am using 22.9GB. I did go to the NVIDEA site to update drivers but not just before this happened & idk if they did update or not in the end.

dg1dd1ngs_2

To see if there are any driver problems, Right click 'My Computer', then click 'Manage' then 'Device manager'. Click the little + next to all of the Devices and see if there are any Explanation marks or Yellow question marks.

santer_2

Seems to be Nvidia related

Nv4_Disp.dll errors

" In Feb 2010, Nvidia released an update that caused some users to experience this particular file to enter into an infinate loop, and the blue screen of death error. "

http://www.personalcomputerfixes.com/general-errors/steps-to-resolve-the-nv4_disp-dll-error/

If you use safe mode with networking, check the firewall is running as some do not, if yours does not maybe use another PC to download any files you need

aliEnRIK

Just my opinion -
if it was restarting originally 'without' a bluscreen, then it points to overheating/PSU

With a bluescreen points to PSU due to it not being able to power the graphics chip properly

If it had bluescreened from the start id be pointing at the graphics chip, but it wasnt