Random Reboots -- how do i find out the source of the problem?

[Rimnet]

I put together a computer a few months back. The specs consist of:

mobo: MSI K8N Neo 2 Platinum
cpu: a64 3400 90nm
vid: bfg geforce 800 gt oc
ram: crucial 1gig ddr 400
PS: antec 420watt truepower

For some reason when I play a game, i get random restarts. I think its possible it could be the video card, since that jsut seems to be the logical answer, however I am not sure how to pinpoint it to that to make sure if it is really the problem. Is there any way to read an error report to see what made the computer restart?

 

[KGB]

Rim,

Check the Event Viewer for clues and turn off Automatic Reboot.

 

[dclive]

I can read the dumpfile if you'd ilke; a quick thing to do is download ALL updates from Microsoft via Windows Update, plus install ALL the newest BIOS and driver (esp. video card) updates. That typically will resolve the problem unless you have a hardware issue.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: dclive
I can read the dumpfile if you'd ilke; a quick thing to do is download ALL updates from Microsoft via Windows Update, plus install ALL the newest BIOS and driver (esp. video card) updates. That typically will resolve the problem unless you have a hardware issue.

I'm happy to help, but let's keep the posts in here. Did you do the above? If so, what happened?

 

[dclive]

Also, please be sure you're getting updates from the chip manufacturer, not the card vendor.

In other words, for an nVidia card, download the latest from *nvidia*, not the company that put together the card.