PC restarts regularly for no apparent reason !!

[ylan]

My PC ( Windows XP Pro SP2, CPU : Intel Celeron 2400 Mhz; Mobo = MicroStar MS-6728) has been running well for the past few months. Suddendly, it just started restarting itself once every hour , approxmimately , without any particular load on the CPU or running programs !

1) I wonder what can cause such bizarre behaviors. I thought of a few :
_Virus ?
_CPU overheating ? (i.e. insufficient fan speed ? ) . I used an utility called FuzzyLogic and found the CPU fanspeed was about 2800 rpm and the CPU temperatures was aroung 40 degree Celcius .
_ Power supply issues ?

2) Is this a hardware or software problem ?

Please help . Thanks

 

[vernom]

Maybe a virus, have you scanned the computer lately?

 

[Hasan188849]

Make sure that your PC is virus free. If so, try to update the Bios to the latest one

You can run the defragmenter to troubleshoot further
The possibility of having a hardware problem is rare

 

[ASG0856]

Could be a power pack problem. My neighbour had a similar problem this last week. The computer would just shut down without warning. The took it back to the shop they purchased it from. Originally, the shop put it down to dust inside (it was very dusty inside the case). They cleaned it out. With the machine up and running, he then tapped the case. The computer promptly shut down! Then he changed the powerpack. Been running fine since.

 

[TomCologne]

First try to find out the error code. Look under:

Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer > System

or prevent the automatic restart to get a BSOD with the code:

Control Panel > System > Advanced > Startup & Recovery: Clear the "Automatically restart" checkbox

Post the code & search the MS KB.


TomCologne

 

[firewolfrl]

Ram may be an issue.....
try this
Prime95

http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

and run the stress test....

you can also open the side panel and put a house fan blowing into the case to see if heat is an issue

The CPU is not the only thing that gets hot
check the chipset fan and video card fan

does air blow over the harddrive....that is a big reason for reboots....no cooling of the harddrive will cause premature harddrive failure.


that will get you started

 

[cpjust]

Is your computer on a UPS?

 

[ylan]

Thank you so much for your kind suggestions which got me going . I would like to report what has transpired since my last posting :

1) I dectected a peculiar resetting pattern : at every 4th minute after the hour ( i.e. 9:04 , 10:04, 11:04 etc…) , my PC resets by itself (i.e. ) without any extra load on the CPU, just normal Windows system processes . And this resetting occured even after I reloaded a working registry backup !
2) I’ll try to roll-back and see what is happening , after backing up important working files .

Based upon this bizzare resetting regularity, I tend to think this may be a virus issue , not a hardware problem . Please comment . Thanks

 

[electronicsfreak]

If you think it is a virus issue, run a scan here.

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Then download hijackthis from the link below. Open it up, choose do a system scan and save a logfile and post the logfile on here. Do not attempt to fix anything on this unless you know what you are doing as not everything it shows is bad.

http://www.download.com/HijackThis/3000-8022_4-10379544.html

There is a point in wisdom and knowledge that when you reach it, you exceed what is considered possible - Jason Schoon

 

[ylan]

I followed TomCologne's instructions to Clear the "Automatically restart" checkbox but no BSOD appeared , just a black screen and clicking noises from the CRT . I finally restarted the PC manually !
The system log indicated a system error, category 102 and event 1003 .

It is incredible that the restarting issue occurred at exactly the same time each hour !

Please comment . Thanks

 

[SirBlack]

As Jason said, download HJT & save to its own folder. Run scan only & post the log. Not sure what you're running for AV/AS apps or if they're updated.

You might want to look into the following free apps:

http://free.grisoft.com/

They offer not only free AV but also AS & AntiRootKit.

Surprise! MS also offers a free (and very good) AntiSpyware app called Windows Defender. It will be auto-updated along with XP & easily scheduled to run when you want. Visit

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Bob

Remember, if you can't stand behind our troops, feel free to stand in front of them.

 

[cpjust]

Does it restart while you're in Safe Mode?

 

[TomCologne]

No BSOD, that's weird. Maybe this KB article applies to your problem:
The HaxDoor virus may cause a "STOP 0x00000050" or "STOP 0x0000008e" error message (

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/903251/en-us)

TomCologne

 

[firewolfrl]

this is one of the things I would do



LOOK OUT OF THE BOX



check what else is plugged into the same circuit as the computer. a voltage variation could cause the reset. have a meter plugged into the wall socket and watch it when the time comes up for the computer to cycle

I live in an area where there are alot of cranberry growers and they run lots of pumps on timers. almost every single computer has to run using a UPS because of the voltage and frequency variations.

someting to look at

 

[cpjust]

Also try disabling Windows Automatic Updates.
Maybe it keeps trying to install an update every hour and a bug in the update causes a reboot? Although I think it's probably something else like a power surge...

 

[linney]

What if anything is running as a Schedule Task, script or batch file, on this machine?

Shutdowns and Restarts can all be scheduled by some prankster mate. Who has access to this machine besides you? What logon security do you have?

 

[ylan]

Thank all of you suggesting solutions to my problem ! Some of them are very interesting . Finally, I had to restore the system then reload a good backup of the registry version that I saved before . Now, the problem disappeared and I am still not sure 100% what the real culprit is !

Again, THANK YOU ALL !

Best regards,