why does my computer constantly reboot itself?

[klmico]

I'm runing on Winxp SP 1 and ever since I install The Sims Online Play Test, my computer has been constantly rebooting itself randomly. Currently, I cannot stay in windows for more than 2 minutes without it crashing. Sometimes, it will give me a corrupt file message during boot up and I have to restart it again to try and fix it. I try to re-install windows but haven't had any luck there since I keep getting a blue screen in the middle of installation. Does anyone know what could be wrong?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

That has the classic symptoms of faulty ram, if you have more than 1 stick try 'em 1 at a time and even in different slots if needed, if you just have 1 stick you'll need to beg, borrow, or buy another to confirm it.

 

[OZEE]

Actually, in WinXP, "the reboot" is analogous to the bsod in previous versions of Windows. I guess Bill figured you had to reboot when you got a bsod, so he'd just do it for you... So, I'm guessing that something in the Sims Online Play Test has installed incorrectly or is incompatible with some of your h/w. Try to remove it or do a restore to before you installed SOPT.

Good luck.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I try to re-install windows but haven't had any luck there since I keep getting a blue screen in the middle of installation. Does anyone know what could be wrong?

that would have zero to do with a bad game install 😉 it's almost certainly the ram.

 

[klmico]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try to remove some of the RAM but up until now, ive been using both sticks and its been working perfectly. Well, i'll come back to report any findings.

 

[OZEE]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER

I try to re-install windows but haven't had any luck there since I keep getting a blue screen in the middle of installation. Does anyone know what could be wrong?

that would have zero to do with a bad game install 😉 it's almost certainly the ram.

Could be -- but on a system that's been working fine, I always have to ask "Ok, so what's changed?" In this case - a software install....

Just my .02

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Hey, I'm not trying to be smug OZEE you may well be right, it's just that I've seen this literally dozens of times and it's always been the memory so I'm just goin' by my personal experience just as you are 🙂 BTW klmico the fact that you have 2 sticks that have always run perfectly is the whole point, sometimes they go bad and need replacing but run it with them 1 at a time and if the problem persists you'll know to try running the recovery console after booting from the XP CD and trying chkdsk, fixboot and fixMBR if necessary if what OZEE has suggested does not resolve the issue 🙂

 

[klmico]

Thanks alot everyone. taking out a stick of memory ended up solving the problem. guess i need to scrap that stick a get a new one.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Glad to hear you have the issue resolved 🙂 BTW if it's a brand name like Crucial, Kingston, or another with lifetime warranty you can have it replaced for shipping cost 😉