why does my computer keep randomly restarting itself?

[thahenchman]

i have a p4 on a gigabyte board. had no trouble at all for about 10 months...then it started to restart every month, then every two weeks...and today it restarted twice.

how can i diagnose the problem? i ran my updated antivirus and found no virus infections.

my fan is pretty loud...somebody told me it could cause restarts. could this be it?

thanks for your help.

 

[dug777]

well wrong forum

but unlikely a noisy fan would have caused it

 

[dartworth]

yeah..the noisy fan has to be the problem

 

[PHiuR]

it might involve GH.

 

[thahenchman]

Originally posted by: dug777
well wrong forum

but unlikely a noisy fan would have caused it

thx for replying, sorry about the wrong forum but i always get the best answers from ot.

i can't figure out why this is, i just lost about an hour of work and i wish i could figure out why it keeps randomly shutting down and restarting

 

[thahenchman]

Originally posted by: PHiuR
it might involve GH.

could you please explain/elaborate? thx phiur.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Is it overclocked? If so it's probably been pushed too far and is unstable. If not that, I'd blame a bad power supply.

 

[cjgallen]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Is it overclocked? If so it's probably been pushed too far and is unstable. If not that, I'd blame a bad power supply.

Yep. Every time I had that problem it was either video driver or PSU.

 

[thahenchman]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Is it overclocked? If so it's probably been pushed too far and is unstable. If not that, I'd blame a bad power supply.

no, it's not overclocked. and it's an antec case (regarding the power supply), if that matters?

is it possible i have too many things plugged into the power strip?

 

[spanky]

if u can, try swapping the psu

 

[TWills]

My buddy has a computer with an evil fan that doeth as it pleases. I keep telling him to get rid of it but noooo...

 

[GeekDrew]

It's possible to have too many things plugged into the power strip, yes, but that's unlikely to cause the symptoms you're describing, in my experience.

I've recently seen several Antec TruePower 430 Watt Power Supplies become extremely flaky, and cause things like that to happen.

Also, a noisy fan could occasionally stop - causing an overheat condition... which theoretically could cause a reboot... which could cause a power change to the fan, which might restart the fan (albeit temporarily, it seems). It's a long shot, but possible.

 

[thahenchman]

Originally posted by: spanky
if u can, try swapping the psu

forgive my ignorance. what is a psu?

 

[ironcrotch]

could be the ram

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: thahenchman

Originally posted by: spanky
if u can, try swapping the psu

forgive my ignorance. what is a psu?

power supply

 

[QuitBanningMe]

First turn off the auto restarts and get the error from the blue screen or see if it completely cuts out.

 

[Mildlyamused]

Disconnect everything except bare bones things and see how things go. If the system restarts then right after it restarts, go into the bios and check the computer's temps. If they are high, then that is your problem.
Also before you disconnect everything but the essentials, run a program like MBM5 if you can and have it monitor the 5V rail (make sure it doesn't go below 4.89V). If the 5V rails look fine, consider trying if you have a multimeter, hooking it up to the power connector and seeing if it's 5V. Run Prime 95/Memtest 86 on the system as well to check for hardware stability.
It's most likely the PSU but there is ONE MORE THING you should do (to make sure it's not a BSOD), properties of my computer, Advanced, Settings under startup and recovery and untick "Automatically restart" and hit ok. That whole list should pretty much give you an idea of whats causing the problem whether it's the PSU, the operating system, overheating or bad ram (assuming at least 1 stick is bad).

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

Might even be a leaked capacitor on the motherboard.

 

[masterxfob]

it's most definitely the PSU, pull that sucker out and replace it before it kills your whole system. if your PSU is about to die, the lines/rails don't hold to their limits and cause lockups or reboots, then one day it'll blow up

 

[mjrpes3]

Is there a lot of dust on the CPU fan? Dust buildup will really heat the processor up a bunch more than usual.

 

[Insane3D]

There was a guy on here awhile back who fixed that exact same problem by pouring water on his motherboard and CPU. Make sure it's distilled water though, or you may have problems with corrosion down the line.

 

[thahenchman]

i cleaned out the fan.

i dont have another psu...should i buy another? if so, what brand? and how many watts? i have an ati x800 xt in that mug.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: thahenchman
i cleaned out the fan.

i dont have another psu...should i buy another? if so, what brand? and how many watts? i have an ati x800 xt in that mug.

What kind/rating PSU do you currently have in it?

 

[QuitBanningMe]

What are your current PSU specs. How about the rest of the PC. Have you checked the voltages on the rails?

I wouldn't run out and buy one until I knew it was the problem. To many other things can cause random restarts. Menory, HDD, drivers, overheating, mobo...,...........................................

 

[Spikesoldier]

/obligatory because you touch yourself at night