re-boots

milkinc13 · 7 Dec 2006 at 20:18

My computer sometimes does simultanius re-boots. It can happen when i'm just online and using MSN, or someetimes it has happened during games.any ideas how to stop this from happening.

any help will be appreaciated

Phil J

Tony Williams · 7 Dec 2006 at 20:29

I had this problem about 6 years back and it was down to a RAM/defrag tool in my system tray, it might be down to something like that.

milkinc13 · 7 Dec 2006 at 20:35

only things I hav in the sys tray are ATi controler, windows live messenger, realtek HD controler, network lights, MSI core centre, open office, speaker, Kaspersky & clock

Jotun · 7 Dec 2006 at 20:38

I've had a similar problem in the past, was sorted by replacing the PSU.

Assuming you've checked your system temperatures to check nothing is overheating?

Tony Williams · 7 Dec 2006 at 20:39

Good point Evil-Penguin.

What PSU are you using?

milkinc13 · 7 Dec 2006 at 20:40

OCZ modstream 520W

Tony Williams · 7 Dec 2006 at 20:41

Should be okay then.

milkinc13 · 7 Dec 2006 at 20:43

system is running at mid 30's deg C, appart from GPU which is obviously higher. everything is at stock speeds and coolers

lokkers · 7 Dec 2006 at 20:52

check the usual suspects. Sounds like something has introduced instability, so even if you aren't overclocking anything it might be an idea to check for stability with Prime95/Memtest.

Also disable the auto-reboot option in XP so you can see the blue screen when it happens next

milkinc13 · 7 Dec 2006 at 20:55

sorry to sound really stupid, but how do I disable auto reboots so I can see BSOD if it appears. & where can I d'load those pieces of software?

lokkers · 7 Dec 2006 at 21:54

right click My Computer > Properties > Advanced > [Startup and Recovery] Settings > [System Failures].

Google for Memtest86 and Prime95

milkinc13 · 8 Dec 2006 at 15:59

how long does Prime take to run?

TheMightyTen · 8 Dec 2006 at 16:15

It runs until you stop it or it errors. It needs a good few hours to get a good stability test anywhere between 8 & 24 hours is usually the norm.

If you have a Dual Core CPU, google for and download SP2004 Orthos Edition as it'll stress both cores for testing

milkinc13 · 8 Dec 2006 at 16:21

i'm thinking of doing it for around 4 hours. that should be ok shouldn't it?

bledd · 8 Dec 2006 at 16:40

things i'd check..
eventviewer to see if it shows anything? start, run, eventvwr
temperatures
(stop overclocking for a while if you are)
memory -google memtest and burn the iso, then reboot + test
psu (try chaning the power cable the hard drive is connected to before swapping out the psu)
ide cables

just because its an expensive/high watt psu doesn't mean it can't develop problems..

milkinc13 · 8 Dec 2006 at 17:06

temp's are OK
havn't OC'ed this comp as yet
will do mem test when I get a blank CD
havn't done cable check as yet, but as it has only been happening very recently & the comp is less than 3 months old

bledd · 8 Dec 2006 at 17:27

does eventvwr show anything?

go to system properties.. (system in control panel), advanced, startup and recovery settings, tick write an event to system log, and untick automatically restart..

now when it crashes, it should show a bluescreen, copy down what it says and check eventvwr

milkinc13 · 8 Dec 2006 at 17:33

nothing on event viewer, it doesn't crash it just sometimes does simultanius re-boots

bledd · 8 Dec 2006 at 17:54

bledd. said:
go to system properties.. (system in control panel), advanced, startup and recovery settings, tick write an event to system log, and untick automatically restart..

do that so next time it crashes, you might get some info in event viewer

milkinc13 · 8 Dec 2006 at 19:39

luckly that setting was sutomatically ticked