My computer restarted by itself. What could be going on?

[camille1973]

My computer has Windows 7 and recently restarted by itself. About 5-10 minutes before I was uploading photos from my camera to the computer, and then I decided to take more photos and to place those onto the computer, just before I was going to plug the usb cord into the computer, it decided to restart. Could someone please tell me what could be going on? Thanks in advance.

 

[GrimR]

It got scared when it saw the cable coming. Must be built in defense mechanism.

Jokes aside
If
the PC has been fine for years, and it's rebooting, more than likely a virus or memory. [Could even be overheating CPU, bad Power Supply, Motherboard faulty, PCI card faulty etc, seen them all in my 14yrs in computers]
else
download MSE [Microsoft security essentials] and check for viruses
else
download a memory test CD from Microsoft site
else
try removing a module and see if the problem still exists.
too many else statements should use Case next time


MCITP:EA/SA, MCSE, MCSA, MCDBA, MCTS, MCP+I, MCP

 

[ednachman]

I had the problem every day. I found that installing any Microsoft updates individually instead of all at once will solve the problem; at least in my case, it did.

Enjoy Life, this is not a rehearsal

 

[hairlessupportmonkey]

is it bluescreening (BSOD) or simply rebooting?

ACSS - SME
General Geek

 

[goombawaho]

Yeah - GrimR, nearly unintelligible post.

As hairlesssupportmonkey said, find out if it's bluescreening by turning off automatic reboot after crash. Wait for crash and you will get a code and possibly a file (abcxyz.sys). Write that down.

More immediately, you could test the memory and the hard drive and then you'll know hardware is okay.
Test for malware with MalwareByte's anti-malware, TDSSKiller and your virus program.
Then let it run to see if it will show a blue screen after a while / overnight.

 

[linney]

Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\System\Advanced System Settings\Advanced\Startup and Recovery\Settings\System failure, try uchecking Automatically restart and see if the machine is blue screening.

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929135

How to repair the operating system and how to restore the operating system configuration to an earlier point in time in Windows Vista (or 7)

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936212/#appliesto

 

[ArizonaGeek]

Try opening the case and getting a can of compressed air then blow out all the dust bunnies.

If your computer is on your floor (or you're like me and have lots of pets) it could be overheating because the fans are clogged, causing it to reboot. Take it outside, blow out all the dust from the all the fans, motherboard, and power supply. Also make sure you do all the ports like your USB and ethernet ports, while you have it apart. If it is sitting on the floor, when you put it back together put it on your desk. If you have carpet, you have a giant filter for all the dust and tiny junk that floats around your home. No matter how clean you are, it will still wind up being sucked into your PC.

I actually have a small air compressor that I use instead of a can of compressed air. If you use an air compressor set it to one of the lowest settings.

This may not be the only solution but everyone should do this at least every couple of months. More if you leave your PC on the floor.

Cheers
Rob

The answer is always "PEBKAC!

 

[rclarke250]

You could check the event logs for system or applications, to see if there is a hint there. Click the start button, and right click computer, click manage, and click on event viewer on the left pane, and in the middle pane after it populates, choose system, look at the date and time you saw the reboot happen, was there an error, or information other than event log stopped,event log started? If nothing there, try the application log.

 

[goombawaho]

I don't know if the OP is still with us, but I'd summarize everything up to this point to be done in this order (my opinion):

1. Turn off automatic reboot after crash per Linney
2. Blow out computer (can't hurt)
3. Memory diagnostic test
4. Hard drive diagnostic test
5. Malware scan
6. Look at system logs

WAIT for something to happen and report back with results of items 3, 4, 5 and 6.