Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Random Restart

by nivlac79 Nov 28, 2004 4:12AM PST

Ever since I bought this new computer I've been having computer self-restarting issues. At first I thought it was the incompatibilities due to the video driver that came with the built-in video adapter on the motherboard. So I installed a nVidia AGP video card w/ the latest driver from their website which I thought that had soloved the problem, but thats not the case. I know its some kind of hardware problem but I just don't know exactly how to fix it or where to start to look. Everything looks OK in Device Manager and I have XP service pack 2 installed also. Computer restarts the most when I exit from a computer game (happens randomly on different games). And sometimes it just restarts randomly during any windows application. I have absoultely everything updated from Windows Update website and I run all type of virsu/adware/spyware scans so I don't think its any software related. Also because this has been happening since the day right after I installed a fresh copy of xp pro with nothing on it. So must be hardware.. Anyway, if anyone has any advise would be much appreciated..

Discussion is locked

5 Posts
- Collapse + Expand Details
- Collapse -
Re: Random Restart
by David Chan Nov 28, 2004 4:59AM PST

Could be an overheating issue?

Try open the side of the case and blow a fan directly into the CPU area and see if the random restarts stop happening.

You did not mention the size of your power supply unit or the speed + make of your CPU.

- Collapse -
Re: Random Restart
by nivlac79 Nov 30, 2004 7:44AM PST

Hi there, thanks for your help. And I think I have found the problem. It's due to memory failure after I read another discussion and tested with Memtest-86 from here http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7591-0.html?forumID=26&threadID=31842&messageID=364611. Ran that things for about 9 hours and found 45,000+ errors. This computer is only 2 months old, I bought it on ebay here. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=51141&item=5128561188&rd=1
I guess they sold me some cheap broken rams or something.

Thanks!

- Collapse -
Re: Random Restart
by Merl Priester Nov 28, 2004 11:35AM PST

List all the hardware.
I have found many nvidia mainboards that are unstable and reboot alot.
My failure rate is running about 30%. These may only be epox boards but I have had MSI with problems as well.

Try going to System Properties -> Advanced -> Startup and Recovery settings

Where it says Automatically Restart uncheck that and restart. Now when it crashes(that is what is really happening) it will blue screen and give you some info.

- Collapse -
Re: Random Restart
by nivlac79 Nov 30, 2004 7:45AM PST

Hi there, thanks for your help. And I think I have found the problem. It's due to memory failure after I read another discussion and tested with Memtest-86 from here http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7591-0.html?forumID=26&threadID=31842&messageID=364611. Ran that things for about 9 hours and found 45,000+ errors. This computer is only 2 months old, I bought it on ebay here. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=51141&item=5128561188&rd=1
I guess they sold me some cheap broken rams or something. :/

Thanks!

- Collapse -
Re: Random Restart
by Merl Priester Nov 30, 2004 3:54PM PST

Well, their feedback shows a pattern of your same problem.

If you contact them they might replace the ram for you.

Sorry you got burned.

Back to Windows Legacy OS forum

CNET Forums

Operating Systems
Software
Electronics & Gadgets
Hardware
Tablets & Mobile Devices
General Help
Brand Forums
Roadshow Autos
Off Topic

Other Forums

Forum Info