Help, Computer RANDOMLY RESTARTS?

[ajm8802]

hello,
im running windows xp sp 2
512 mb ddr pc2700 Kingmax ram
radeon 9600 pro w/ some wierd cooler, not stock
2 X 40 gb 7200 rpm HDD, maxtor and seagate
Axio 480 W PSU


ive had this computer for a while
since the past 2 months, approximately, the computer randomly restarts?
i have reformatted the hard drives and reinstalled windows but it still restarts on its own.
i have no idea what may be causing the problem,
any suggestions?
also, i dont get any errors...
as a side note, the time also changes, usually goes back in time a few hours...

lmk
thanks!

 

[DennyD]

Go to Start, right click My Computer and choose Properties. On the Advanced tab go to the Startup and Recovery section and press the Settings button. Uncheck "Automatically Restart." So basically instead of restarting next time the problem happens it will go to a blue screen with the error message. Once you get the message you can then research it and find out.

But I believe it is a hardware issue because if it is doing it on repeated installs then it can't be the OS. Also check for a bios upgrade.

 

[mechBgon]

What motherboard and CPU you got there? Also, some cheap 480W power supplies are simply junk, and I haven't heard of Axio so it makes me suspicious of it. Antec, Sparkle Power, Fortron, Enermax... those are some known brands.

 

[ajm8802]

hey i have a amd 2400+, m7vip biostar mobo
ive done the bios upgrade...
and yaeh i read up on it and unchecked the auto restart but it still doesnt give me any error messages????/
please help

 

[beatle]

When it restarts, do you see any blue? If not, it's probably hardware, not software.

I had this problem, then I reinstalled Windows. Now I get bluescreens instead of hard resets. I dont' know what causes it, other than my overclock (which was essentially nothing). I had this problem before and I found that my secondary video card, a Matrox Millenium II, didn't like being in the bottom PCI slot. I moved it to the next slot up and things were stable again.

These issues are the worst to troubleshoot. What do your voltage rails look like?