Constantly rebooting - software/hardware problem? 1

[seaport]

My desktop - AMD 1.2 G Athlon, windows 2000 pro, 256M, 40G - rebooted itself without any warning message.

It started when I worked on Access 2000. When I saved the file, the computer booted itself. Later I recreated the Access database and this seems solving my problem. Then the big hit came. The computer rebooted again and it rebooted before I could completely logged in into the sytem. Therefore, I could not do anything at all.

I tried to reboot the computer into safe mode and was able to get the login screen and log in, the computer rebooted itself just before the screen settled down.

I even tried to boot the computer from CD rom with Win2000 pro CD. The computer rebooted itself just after the blue screen shows me three options.

One more strange thing. The computer used to show 64M shared memory after the memory test in the booting process. Now it shows 8M shared memory. (The motherboard has integrated graphic card with 64M memory.)

I did not install anything recently. Could anyone help me with this? Is there something wrong with my motherboard?

Thanks in advance.

Seaport

 

[Mekkins]

Seaport, I don't believe that video problems can cause rebooting but I could be wrong. Try re-seating your RAM and, if that doesn't work, your processor. I've had a couple of weird cases where re-seating the processor worked wonders. Beware of static while doing it though.

Mekkins

 

[wolluf]

Any hardware issue can cause your problem - one thing you could try (if you have a graphics card available) is disabling the onboard graphics (btw - does bios allow you to decide how much shared memory you allocate to it?) - and see if it boots (should exclude/pont the finger at onboard graphics).

 

[Dillinger99]

A power supply going bad can also cause continuous re-booting.

 

[seaport]

The computer rebooted itself infrequently before. I doubted it was the power supply problem and bought a new supply. I left the computer on for a whole week without problem.

Here was one weird thing with the new power supply (before the big hit). I turned the comptuer off, waited for a while (say, 30 minutes) and then turned the power on. There was no video output, neither were keyboard and mouse connected. Only the CD Drive and hard disk were on. Then I had to power off the computer and power it on right after. This time the computer started OK.

Any idea?

Seaport

 

[Hondy]

PC's are randomly rebooting themselves recently due to the MSBlaster worm. Turn a firewall on remove the worm, install the patch.

 

[FunTechie]

One thing to consider, if there is a fluctuation in power, this could create a brown out. The power supply in your computer must have something like 10.5 volts of consistent current to maitain itself. Otherwise, it may reboot eradically. This probably is not your problem but a problem I have experienced with one of my industrial clients.

 

[DaveRS575]

I would say blaster as well, but he mentioned it happened before the virus came out, so..... I would rule that out for the moment..

Are there any event log errors other than "unxepected shutdown"? Try shutting off your antivirus services and any unnessesary services for that matter and see if that solves it. Then turn them on one by one until the issue comes back.. That's a start anyway.. If it continues to do it in safe mode, then there is likely a hardware problem, or configuration conflict of some sort (Multiple devices using the same address space, etc..)

 

[Brimestone]

I think the problem is bad RAM or Mother board, because the OS hasn’t had a chance to gear up before the computer reboots. It may have started with a bad Power Supply that left the mother board damaged, and it would seem to be getting worse as you try to restart the computer because the mother board is warming up and is putting stress on bad components.

 

[seaport]

Probably Brimestone is right. It did start with a power supply problem. The rebooting problem has been growing more and more serious. In other words, the time cycle between rebooting becomes shorter and shorter. Now, the computer reboots right after the memory test is over. It is definitely a motherboard problem. I am going to buy another compuer.

Thanks for all your help.

Seaport

 

[bluewhaleCA]

One thing that I've seen many times is a heat problem. Have you tried running the PC without the case on? And is it below 80 degrees in your work area?
The other thing that comes to mind is your chip choice. I've been buying/selling 98% AMD for 8 years, but I have to say the top end AMD ... I can't recall but believe it was also called Athlon.. this series of CPU's topped out at 1.3 Ghz I think. I built half a dozen systems at work based upon this CPU and have had nothing but problems with them. AMD went to a new manufacturing process just after these came out, and those newer ones all work wonderfully. but if your CPU is from the series whose name I can't recall :{ I found re-installing the OS every 6-10 months helped.
Is this system on a UPS?
What is the power supply rated at? If below 350 Watts and if you have a cd or dvd burner that could also be the problem.


Paul