WinXP reboots randomly without warning?

[Kudala]

I recently upgraded my comp with new CPU, motherboard, ram, case and powersupply (rest stays the same). After that, problem of random reboots started. There were no warning, and it could happen anytime between few secs apart to few hours. However, when it went on standby, it can last the whole night without restarting. I disabled automatic restart in the "start up" setting section, but there was still no BSOD to even help identify the problem with each restart. The restart can hit anywhere from the welcome screen to simple website surfing or online gaming. I used winXP both before and after the upgrades, and the problems only started after the upgrade. There are 3 fans + the video card fan inside, and the CPU temperature varies from 35-45 degree after the random reboots. There are no other error messages that pops up as far as I can tell. IRQ setting seems to be correct also, maybe a power supply problem? I have seen couple other people having the same problem with Geforce 3 TI 200 and WinXP combo also. Thank you in advance if you have any suggestion on how to correct this problem.

Here is my comp spec:
P4 1.7 mhz 478 socket
FIC VC 11 mother board Intel 845 chipset
1 PC-133 512 SDram
Visiontek Geforce 3 Ti 200 (23.11 newest driver)
Sound blaster live sound card (newest driver)
Sony 12x CD-RW
Creative 5x PC-DVD Dxr2
on-board Realtak network card
on-board AC 97 sound card (disabled)
WD 30 GB HD
Wintech 400W power supply (115V setting)

P.S. I was using Voodoo 3 3500(1 month before upgrade), P2 450, 250W PSU and PC 100 394 ram before upgrade.

 

[Useful0ne]

Hard to say what could be causing it without more info. Has it done this from the get go w/just the OS installed (no apps)? Maybe ram? I have a completely different setup as yours & experienced the same random reboots (thats how XP crashes/blue screens) it was Black Ice causing the crashes in my case. Try looking at event viewer & see if that provides any insight into your problem.

U-1

 

[JenniferX]

Try this. Under System Properties--->Advanced--->Startup and Recovery Settings: Under system failure, uncheck automatic restart. This may give you a BSOD identifying the error instead of rebooting XP. It worked for me anyhow. Good luck.

 

[Psychoholic]

Pull all the hardware you can out. Take it down to a bare bones system. See if you still have the problem. If you do then you know the problem lies with the motherboard/hardware still installed. Check for updated drivers incompatibility issues with the hardware you still have installed.

If the problem disappears add the hardware back one item at a time. Stress the computer, use it and try to see if the error occurs before moving on to the next hardware item. This will zero in on the conflict. Once you find the item that's causing the problem check for new drivers and hardware issues with it. Check the HCL and the vendor's website for XP compatibility.

Remember you could have more than one item causing problems.

When you upgraded did you reinstall the OS??? I have never had any problems upgrading a system with new components such as MB, CPU, etc. However, some here have. As a last ditch effort that may be an option. IMO, though, I believe the problem can be solved by tracking down a hardware/driver problem.

 

[Kudala]

When I first upgraded the computer, there was the hard drive failure message on the first boot, so I reinstalled WinXP. It fixed the problem and I was able to to get window started. I didn't format the drive though, just reintalled the OS. I already disabled the Automatic restart option, but it still doesn't give me a BSOD message when it reboots.