Inexplicable rebooting..

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redarrow

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The last month or so my PC has taken to somewhat random rebootings at its whim..

I just can't figure out what the heck the problem is.. :(
I cannot induce it to reboot, I've tried shaking/slapping and every other trick I know..

It reboots exactly as if though "reset" was pressed .. I even tested the reset button for a possible short.. nothing wrong there..

Typically it reboots just after I've turned it on, right at the BIOS / POST thing - i.e., before the OS actually takes over.. but sometimes it reboots when halfway done loading the OS..

Once the system has been powered on for about 60 seconds it does not do it again..


I'm at a loss as to what the problem can be.. :confused:
Anyone have any clever suggestions or ideas?

Thanks.
 
Reset your bios ... take the battery out and wait ....... and then put it back in ...

Check if your motherboard is shorting .. i had an extra screw on my chasis and it was shorting the MB and this caused havoc with my PC ...

Check your power supply ... connection to your motherboard regarding the reset nuttons and power buttons ...
 
Last edited:
Yes reset BIOS and check memory, mine started doing the same and turned out to 2 x 512mb RAM modules that have gone "up **** creek" :( So back to 1Gb RAM for now.
 
EchoZA said:
Yes reset BIOS and check memory, mine started doing the same and turned out to 2 x 512mb RAM modules that have gone "up **** creek" :( So back to 1Gb RAM for now.
Click to expand...

+1 ... yeah my PC also starting resetting it self when my corsair 1gig went ape ..

I agree i strongly now feel it is one of your memory modules
 
Thanks guys.. I'll check that out..

Speaking of RAM .. about 2 weeks ago I noticed suddenly that 512MB of my 1GB of RAM had just dissapeared.. :confused: .. I tried removing and reinserting the modules with no luck... eventually I swopped them around and then I suddenly had my 1GB back again?
Think that might have something to do with it? (They're different brand modules by the way).
 
RAM and CPU generally are the culprits with random reboots. Normally the CPU has the power to flush at will if its feeling pressurized at all. AMD I notice tends to do it more than Intel.
 
w1z4rd said:
RAM and CPU generally are the culprits with random reboots. Normally the CPU has the power to flush at will if its feeling pressurized at all. AMD I notice tends to do it more than Intel.
Click to expand...
Well I do happen to have an AMD system.. And my Athlon XP 2600+ is probably long past its "use by date".. ;)

I reckon I should run a memmory test like: http://www.memtest.org
Perhaps it'll be able to tell me if there's any prob with my RAM..
 
Sounds like memory (RAM) *either incompatability issue or incorrect memoery timings* or could be powersupply giving spikes at random (resetting the pc).
 
I did think about the PSU but it's only half a year old... (not that that means it cannot be the problem)..

I've just setup a RAM test cd and I'm gonna reboot and get it to do a check..
 
+1 for RAM as culprit. Always buy the SAME brand, preferably a KIT of GOOD RAM and seeing as half your RAM just disappeared that's a pretty good sign. I think in the past I had the same problem of half my RAM just pulling a Houdini on me.
 
I actually have a similar problem.

When i click Shutdown, it sometimes reboots the PC instead of shutting down. This is the same even when i press the actuall power button to shut pc down.

It gets very annoying at times, leading me to just pull power cable at back.

Does anyone have a fix for it?
 
hmm... well I let the RAM test run for several hours yesterday without it picking up any faults..

Anyone know an easy method to test for a faulty PSU? (apart from installing a new one)
 
Had a P3 with failing caps on the MB

was also for no reason rebooting on post as soon as caps had warmed up problem stopped
later had to "prime" pc with hair dryer for clean boot
got the caps repaired and it is stil running strongly

if u dont know what a cap is it is those tubilar things on your MB and screen card got an Y in the silver part on top


easy sign to see problem is the silver part with the Y looks like it wanna explode (swelling up) and sometimes verry hot (burning fingers hot)

or mayby psu tjek voltages in bios mayby
 
Control Panel-->System-->Advanced Tab-->Startup And Recovery Settings-->Automatic Restart must be unchecked. You will then normally get a blue screen of death that could point you in the right direction.

My most recent reboots have been caused by the speedbit youtube video accelerator but other known cause include bad USB drivers(such as the Kalliba ones)
 
thehuman said:
Had a P3 with failing caps on the MB

was also for no reason rebooting on post as soon as caps had warmed up problem stopped
later had to "prime" pc with hair dryer for clean boot
got the caps repaired and it is stil running strongly

if u dont know what a cap is it is those tubilar things on your MB and screen card got an Y in the silver part on top


easy sign to see problem is the silver part with the Y looks like it wanna explode (swelling up) and sometimes verry hot (burning fingers hot)

or mayby psu tjek voltages in bios mayby
Click to expand...
Hmm.. no I've no idea what "caps" are? :o
Capacators I would guess from your description?

ernstn said:
Control Panel-->System-->Advanced Tab-->Startup And Recovery Settings-->Automatic Restart must be unchecked. You will then normally get a blue screen of death that could point you in the right direction.

My most recent reboots have been caused by the speedbit youtube video accelerator but other known cause include bad USB drivers(such as the Kalliba ones)
Click to expand...
Right.. Guess I'll need to install Windows first.. ;)
Maybe I should've mentioned in the begining that I use Linux.. ;) :D
Thanks anyway.. might be of some use to someone else with the same problem.. :)
 
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