Computer restarts automatically

[Terry1210]

On my Brother-in-laws computer without doing anything to it when he shuts it down it when he goes back to it has restarted by itself .

It is Windows XP home all updates except the service pak2 download.

This is the the motherboard in the machine.

GA-7VT600 1394
VIA KT600 chipset

Processor
Socket A for AMD Athlon? XP / Athlon? /Duron? processor


Chipset
Northbridge : VIA KT600

Southbridge : VIA 8237

Integrated peripherals

VIA VT6306 IEEE1394 controller

Realtek Ethernet 10/100Mb LAN chip

Realtek ALC655 AC97 codec Chip


Front Side Bus
400/333/266/200 MHz FSB


Memory
Type : DDR400(PC3200)/ DDR333 (PC2700) / DDR266 (PC2100) -184pin

Max capacity : 3GB

DIMM slots: 3


Internal I/O Connectors
1 x FDD port

2 x UDMA ATA133/100/66 Bus Master IDE ports

2 x IEEE 1394 connectors(support 3 ports)

2 x USB 2.0 connectors (support 4 ports)

1 x GAME/ MIDI connector

2 x Serial ATA connectors


Expansion Slots
1 x AGP slot (8X/4X-AGP 3.0 compliant)

5 x PCI slots (PCI 2.2 compliant)


Rear Panel I/O
PS/2 Keyboard / Mouse

4 x USB 2.0 ports

2 x COM ports

1 x RJ45 LAN port

Audio (1 x Line-in / 1 x Line-out / 1 x Mic) port


Form Factor
ATX, Dimension : ( 30.5 x 24.4 cm )


H/W Monitoring
System health status auto-detect and report by BIOS

H/W detect and report for power-in voltage, CPU voltage, and Fan Speed

Support auto temperature detect and thermal shutdown function


BIOS
2 x 4Mbit flash ROM, Award BIOS



Other Features
DualBIOS

Xpress Install

Xpress Recovery (Support by Driver CD)

EasyTune4

@BIOS

Q-Flash


Bundle Software
Norton Internet Security?

Norton Anti Virus?

Norton? Personal Firewall

Norton? Privacy Control

Norton? Parental Control

Norton? Spam Alert



GIGABYTE Windows Utility Manager

Adobe Acrobat Reader





Any thoughts on what it might be I would be thankful for

Terry1210

 

[slpaulson]

I'd start by turning off auto restart on bsod's.

Right click on my computer and go to properties, it should be somewhere under there.

 

[RY62]

Sounds like it could be a power switch problem or possibly some conductive dust is shorting the power switch pins. I'd try a good cleaning of the switch and motherboard pins, where the swtch connects. If that doesn't work, try replacing the switch.

Does he have children or pets? It only takes a very light touch of the power switch on my case to power it on and my cat has actually powered it up. I think she likes watching the blue LED's flahing.

 

[Tweakin]

Originally posted by: cRazYdood
I'd start by turning off auto restart on bsod's.

Right click on my computer and go to properties, it should be somewhere under there.

Yup, that's where I would start also. You can look at the logfile and see if there is any specific application that is causing the crash and restart issue...if in fact that is what is doing this.

 

[RY62]

I didn't understand him to say it was a "crash and restart issue". He said "when he shuts it down ", he goes back to find that it has restarted by itself. The only thing that should be able to do that is pressing the power button or shorting pins or wires connected to the switch.

 

[ParatoOptimal]

Check that nothing is crossed/bridged.
Blow out all dust.
Run it with the case open with good ventilation and see if it still restarts.

Restart is often due to an overburdened power supply or an overheated CPU or a trojan.

 

[Buz2b]

You might want to look at this article to get a few hints. You need to read through the entire thing.