Mysterious rebooting.....

[walks]

Im not sure why but when Im workin in Windows 98 for some reason out of the blue my computer will restart. I tried a virus scan and came up empty. It doesnt give me any warnings at all, it just shuts down improperly and reboots. Could someone please give me an idea or ideas on what could be possibly causing this.

 

[CitrixEngineer]

Does it happen when using any specific piece of software?

What are the specs of your PC - CPU, mobo, RAM, hdd, Gfx etc

CE

 

[paulwood]

It may be a power problem, can you try different leads and check the socket outlet. Try and see whether any indication lights go out when this happens.

 

[butchrecon]

We have the same problem here where I work. We have several PCs that reboot for no reason. Some have Win 98 some are Win 2000 server. All are PIII 800EB. I have replaced Powersupply, Processor, Case. Still get the same thing. My conclusion is its a Motherboard. Not sure though. What type of board are you using.

 

[hotfusion]

I have also sometimes had a mysterious re-boot,but it re-starts no problem,with no scandisk or anything.For a while I had trouble convincing myself that I HADN'T touched the reset button!! No idea what causes it but it is at least a rare occurence. I, too, would be interested in an explanation. Andy.

 

[mfulton]

We had this problem with one PC and concluded, by process of elimination, that the fax machine that was plugged into the same powerstip was causing a power surge problem when it was initialized. We not only took it off of that power strip, but plugged it into a different outlet all together and haven't had the problem again. I hope you can fix your problem that easily. Michelle Fulton

 

[walks]

It doesnt happen when I use a specific piece of software, it varies. Im thinking maybe it could be a power problem. Im running a Pentium 2 350 MHZ computer with 64 MB of Ram. I would have to check on the other specs. Im currently two cd-drives....my regular CD Rom and my CD-Burner. Just recently I bought a new 60 GB HD and things were fine until about a week ago when it started rebooting. I now have a 60 HD and a 8 HD running on my computer. I have my monitor, computer, speakers, scanner, and printer all plugged into a power bar. Ill try changing the socket to see if that helps. Any other suggestions would be great!

Thanks again

Walks

 

[bigtamscot]

Have had problems before but now it only occurs in outlook express. Would love to hear what bill gates has to say. Hoping to get certified..in C programming.

 

[ChrisJ1980]

Sounds to me like you need a "bigger" power supply. By bigger, I mean more wattage. When you added the other drive, you may have put more load on the power supply than it can handle. Try unplugging the power connector from one or more of the drives you have installed, and see if the rebooting still occurs. I am guessing you have a 200 watt power supply. Also, if a power supply is marginal. any extra load will cause it to misbehave.

HTH

Chris

 

[camo]

Well so far everyone seems to have a lot of problems with rebooting. And I'm another one, I just did a clean install of win98, I'm running a celeron 366 with 48Mbram and a 4gb hard drive and my computer justs reboots every now and then regardless of what program I am running. I don't get it. I have a scanner printer and my computer running of one outlet so I guess I'll fiddle around with that. Anyway if anyone has any other ideas that would be great.

 

[osuman]

I've mentioned this before and while I don't think it's too common of an occurence, it may be at the root of someones problem.

Make sure that you don't have your computer plugged into an outlet that shares a circuit with an appliance that uses an induction motor. The most common of this type being a refrigerator. When these types of motors start they draw a heavy load off the circuit they're in which can cause a momentary disruption in the flow of power to your puter; this causes it to reset with no apparent reason. Justin

Feel free to email me at:
beckham@mailbox.orst.edu

"3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the population."

 

[paulwood]

If you suspect an power surge, easy way 'round this is to get a surge protector. There are all sorts, all prices all the way up to full-blown UPS.

 

[butchrecon]

Well after many rounds with the PC I won! I replaced the Mainboard (I origionally suspected it) and it does not reboot now. I think the boards we were using were cutting power to the hard drives.

 

[mfulton]

Congratulations! Good detective work! Michelle Fulton

 

[carolinagirl]

When I shut my computer down, it shuts down only momentarily and then reboots itself. This has only just begun happening. Someone suggested the battery, which I replaced. It still happens? Does anyone know the reason?

 

[DavidDCSA]

I had the problem you described. In Windows 98SE the cursor would freeze (mouse could not move cursor) for about 3 seconds, then the PC would reboot. My clue to the cure was that this occurred after the PC had been running for about 8 minutes. In my case, the "cure" was to open the case, blow out all of the dust, reseat the CPU (PIII-600) and all of the cards. This restored proper functionality. I hope this method will work for you.
Good luck!

 

[DavidDCSA]

I sent a previous post which may resolve your problem, then realized that you had stated that you have TWO hard drives. In many systems, mounting two hard drives next to one another can result in excessive heat buildup which can cause reboots. If heat is your problem, see if your hard drives are mounted right next to each other; if they are, try moving one of them to a different bay. If this is not an option for you, then you may wish to try additional cooling for your case via installation of a "slot fan".
Good luck!