Computer Restarts Itself
"My PC running on Windows XP frequently restarts it self for no apparent reason. Any files or internet pages I have been working on are lost. The PC reboots to the desktop and I have to redo all my work. Any ideas please?"
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Baby, It's Hot in There
Sometimes this can be caused by an overheating situation. Itunes, RealPlayer, Windows Media player, etc. require a lot of processing power to decompress and decode music files, which can cause the processor or hard drive to get hot.
If your CPU is running at over 60 degrees (C) you might be at risk of burning it out. Some systems shut down automatically when the temperature reaches an unsafe level. Every few weeks I open my system unit and clean the fins on the heat sink that sits under the CPU. When they collect dust it restricts the airflow and prevents proper cooling. You can use a can of compressed air (look at your local office supply store) or an old toothbrush. I just did that on my system and the CPU temperature dropped by ten degrees!
Download the free Speedfan utility and it will tell you the temperature at which your CPU and hard drives are running.
Memory Fails Me...
If you determine that overheating is not the problem, the most likely suspect is bad memory. Trying to access a bad spot in your system memory (RAM) can cause the computer to freak out and restart. The best way to find the culprit is to pop open the system unit, remove (or replace) one RAM stick and see if the problem is solved. Run your system for a while and if the problem goes away, you win! If not... lather, rinse and repeat for each RAM stick until you find the one that's misbehaving.
Don't Do Me Any Favors
There's a setting buried in Windows XP that tells your computer to restart when a system error occurs. If you turn off that option, you may solve your automatic reboot problem.
Note that this may prevent the system from restarting, but it can also mask the true problem. As an alternative to this measure, consider what has recently changed on your system. If you have installed new hardware or software, remove it and see if the annoying restart persists. Sometimes downloading the latest driver software from the manufacturer's website will fix hardware incompatibility problems that cause restarts.
Computer Restarts After Download?
Some folks have written to me complaining that their computer automatically restarts itself after every download. And interestingly, most (if not all) mentioned they were using the Firefox browser. If you are using a download manager or download accelerator, this could be causing the problem. Check all the settings in the download manager and tweak if necessary. Or get rid of the download manager and see if the problem remains.
This can also be a virus or spyware problem. I suggest you go through your Control Panel / Add or Remove Programs list and remove any programs you don't need, then run thorough anti-virus and anti-spyware scans. It could even be your anti-virus program fighting with the browser or download manager. Switching to a new anti-virus might help also. See my recommendations for the best free anti-virus software for help with that.
Other Things to Consider
Failing or under-rated power supplies can also cause your computer to restart at seemingly random intervals. Switching out a power supply is really not too hard. Turn off the computer, open the case, disconnect the power cable from the power supply to the motherboard. Unscrew the power supply from the case, and reverse the process to install a new power supply. A 300-watt power supply will be fine in most computers.
And as one reader kindly pointed out, bad capacitors on the motherboard can also cause random reboots. But unless you're kinda geeky and handy with a soldering iron, it's tough to identify and fix this problem. You can find lots more helpful info on bad capacitors at badcaps.net. For most mere mortals, replacing the motherboard as a last resort will be easier than replacing a capacitor.
I also encourage you to read ALL of the comments below, before you rip your hair out, or rip your computer to shreds. It boils down to this... most restart problems are caused by overheating, bad ram, malware, or some other failing component. It can be difficult and time-consuming to identify WHICH of those things is the culprit. The only good solution is to test each one, in sequence (removing and replacing components if necessary), to identify the problem.
Posted by Bob Rankin on February 21, 2006 10:21 PM
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Most recent comments on "Computer Restarts Itself"
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I've checked almost everything on my computer and nothing has gone bad. The only thing I haven't checked/replaced is the processor, which I will be doing within the next week and a half. It will run in the BIOS as long as I want it to, but during or shortly after windows startup it randomly restarts. It has a brand new mother board and power supply, and anything else has been tested using a seperate computer. I disabled the overheat restart, but it runs at about 50 deg. celsius. I disable the restart when error occurs option in windows, but I get no blue screen of death when it does restart. It used to happen at very lengthy intervals, perhaps once a week, but the time between restarts has been getting progressively shorter, and now it doesn't run for more than 15 minutes if windows starts at all. Windows tells me it is a hardware problem. Are these prblems indicative of a cpu failure? If not then what are your suggestions? EDITOR'S NOTE: I'd suspect RAM or motherboard. |
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You May want to try updating your BIOS with the latest BIOS file. I just had this problem when installing a new Graphics card. I needed to update my BIOS as the harware was newer then my computer is. You can find the latest Bios update file from your PC manufacturer's web site. |
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Your knowledge base is helpful to me diagnosing some problems but i have still something to worry about. When i install audio driver on my PC, it reboots while reaching to the end of installation leaving installation incomplete and hence my pc without audio driver. Can you help? Thanking you in advance. |
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My computer restarts during heavily resource-demanding programs. I'm pretty sure it's not hardware, because I reformatted and reinstalled Windows XP, and it temporarily fixed it. Now its doing it again and I am starting to suspect Windows Update. Both before and after the reformat, this problem has seemed to occur shortly after a large amount of updating from Microsoft. Is it possible that Windows Update is the culprit? Thanks. EDITOR'S NOTE: That doesn't seem likely to me. I'd rule out out overheating or bad ram before suspecting any software. |
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My computer restarts when: I Try to run a dvd from my dvd player or Play MMORPG's (often just a fem min's in the game. I hear a faint "click" before reboot, and sometimes the screen goes white, with ascii-like blocks, then computer reboot. I have unchecked automatic reboot, but still dont get any BSOD. It first started when I was playing games like WoW and LOTRO, so then I figured it would be the graphics card, but since I found out trying to play a DVD also rebooted the computer, I aint that sure. Im more convinced of a bad power supply now. What do you think it may be? Im a little anxious to format my main drive since the DVD player seems to restart the system. EDITOR'S NOTE: Unfortunately you have to do some trial and error testing. Start with the power supply, then the video card, and/or RAM... |
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I opened my computer for cleaning. After that it didnt start. I pressed ram, processor and it worked. But now it restarts rendomly. I removed heatsink cleaned. No improvment. EDITOR'S NOTE: My first guess would be component failure, probably RAM or power supply. |
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My PC restarts automatically even when I'm in BIOS setting. (Removed HDD,DVD drive, mouse, keyboard). Still it happens. if HDD connected sometime it goes into windows and stays for like 12 mins before restarting. I took it to the motherboard test-support-center and he plugged it and it ran good for half hour and he returned it saying Motherboard is fine. I tried the PC at my office and it worked good for 3 hours, without any restarts. The only difference between my office setup and home setup is . (used same Mouse, KB at office and home) different LCD monitors, AirConditioning at office and nothing at home. Power. Any hints or suggestions for further debugging would be great. EDITOR'S NOTE: Try swapping out the power supply. |
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my computer is restarting by its own when just power button is pressed, please help me. thank you EDITOR'S NOTE: Isn't it supposed to do that? |
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I recently installed a new graphics card because my old one was dying. For some reason, my computer will run for about 30 seconds, just long enough for it to boot windows and get to desktop, and then it suddenly restarts to a black screen with text on it that lists my new video card's name and specs. I uninstalled the old drivers before installing the new card. I'm running windows xp, and the old card I'm replacing was an ATI Radeon 9700 Pro, the new one is an NVIDIA Geforce fx 5200. Any suggestions? EDITOR'S NOTE: I don't think this necessarily means that your video is/was at fault. Especially since you replaced the video card and the problem remains. |
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My computer runs fine except when I shut down it goes through the process and then restarts itsself. I just built it from a bare bones kit. EDITOR'S NOTE: Failure to shutdown is usually related to a driver problem. It may not sound very helpful, but you might try installing updated drivers for each hardware component until you nail the problem. |
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