computer restarts frequently and unexpectedly - no bsod

  • Thread starter Thread starter John
  • Start date Start date
J

John

When I am using my computer running windows it will randomly restart
with no BSOD or any type of warning. When it starts up again there are
a bunch of corrupted files, generally whatever I was working with
before it crashed. This is a custom built computer about 5 years old.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this issue?
 
John said:
When I am using my computer running windows it will randomly restart
with no BSOD or any type of warning. When it starts up again there are
a bunch of corrupted files, generally whatever I was working with
before it crashed. This is a custom built computer about 5 years old.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this issue?
Click to expand...

Have You:

Scanned for malicious software like viruses, adware and spyware?
http://housecall.trendmicro.com./
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5
http://www.spybot.info/
http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad-aware_se_personal.php

Viewed the Windows XP Event log to see if it contains any entries
corresponding to the times of the shutdowns? Look for "Event Viewer"
under "Administrative Tools" in the second column of the Windows XP
Start menu.

Ran a memory test?
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

Run Windows XP Task Manager and minimize to the tool bar. Watch the CPU
usage icon in the notification area (where the time is displayed). Does
the machine shut down faster when your activity keeps the CPU usege
high? If it does it could be related to overheating.


Ran software to monitor your CPU and graphics accelerator temperatures?
Check the computer manufacturer's OR motherboard manufacturer's web site
(if you have a custom made computer from a local shop) for "support"
or "download" pages. There might even be software for that already
installed or on the installation or support media that came with the
computer.

Verified that ALL the ventilation fans in your computer are running?
 
When I am using my computer running windows it will randomly restart
with no BSOD or any type of warning. When it starts up again there are
a bunch of corrupted files, generally whatever I was working with
before it crashed. This is a custom built computer about 5 years old.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this issue?
Click to expand...

Seen that happen a LOT when the Fan's are dead or the vents are plugged
with dust or when you have a small capacity PSU (power supply unit) and
you've added drives to the system that exceed the rated capacity of the
PSU.
 
John said:
When I am using my computer running windows it will randomly restart
with no BSOD or any type of warning. When it starts up again there are
a bunch of corrupted files, generally whatever I was working with
before it crashed. This is a custom built computer about 5 years old.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this issue?
Click to expand...

Right-click on "My Computer".
Select "Properties".
Click on the "Advanced" tab.
Click on "Settings" for "Startup and Recovery".
Uncheck "Automatically Restart".
 
When I am using my computer running windows it will randomly restart
with no BSOD or any type of warning. When it starts up again there are
a bunch of corrupted files, generally whatever I was working with
before it crashed. This is a custom built computer about 5 years old.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this issue?
Click to expand...

Overheat?

Bad memory? (Download, burn and run memtest)
 
Wow, all of this stuff is a huge help. Thanks guys and gals. I'll try
this stuff as soon as I have time.
 
John said:
When I am using my computer running windows it will randomly restart
with no BSOD or any type of warning. When it starts up again there are
a bunch of corrupted files, generally whatever I was working with
before it crashed. This is a custom built computer about 5 years old.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this issue?
Click to expand...

Just because you get no BSOD, doesn't mean there wasn't one.

There is a setting in windows 2000 and XP to automatically reboot on
BSOD.

in win2k (I don't have an xp computer handy right now, but it should be
very similar.)

windows key+pause,advanced,startup and recovery, automatically reboot.
 
Your problem is power related. It's not memory. It is possible the
motherboard has one or more capicitators that have popped. If you look
inside your case the capacitaors are the barrel shaped parts that have a
cross on them. If you were to run your finger over it, you would feel a
slight indentation. If you don't it has been popped.

I believe that the more likely culprit is the power supply. It is culprit
number one. It leaves no error messages in the System logs located at
Start>Settings>Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Event Viewer>System .
Usually when hardware is having a problem, it leaves a warning or an error in
the system log. You are not getting a " The system has recovered from a
serious error". There is nothing.

I recommend at least 400w preferably 500 if you play games or have a lot of
other devices. CDs, DVD, Hard Disk Drives, Raid Controller, Video Card, lots
of fans....

Only one rail has to have an incorrect voltage. You can get a Power Supply
from your local computer store. Look for the combined total power supply or
for an efficiency rating. The efficiency rating is the amount of power
supplied under a very heavy load for a certain number of days. They cost
generally about $50
 
It could also be a UPS if he has one attached. My computer would shut off
when I turned on my rug cleaner in the same room and sporadically for no
reason. I changed out the UPS and it now doesn't shut off with the rug
cleaner. Still need more time to verify that it won't sporadically power
off.
 
Heat is how to find defective hardware. Too many want to cure
symptoms (more fans) rather than 'identify before replacing' defective
hardware.

You have corrupted disk files? What disk subsystem are you using?
NTFS or FAT? Unexpected power loss would only restore a previous
version of that file - not corrupt files - if using current technology.

Important facts are necessary before anyone can properly answer your
question. For example, information provided by (old technology) BSOD
is located in the system (event) log. Also what does Device Manager
report? If you don't know, then use Windows Help to find this
essential information that is common in all Windows NT based OSes.

Is power supply problematic? Less than two minutes with a 3.5 digit
multimeter would identify or elminate this potential problem
immediately and without disconnecting anything. In your case, voltages
on a purple, red, orange, and yellow wire from power supply to
motherboard while computer is accessing many peripheral simultaneously
(multitasking) would have answered that question and elicited useful
replies. Those voltages must exceed 3.23, 4.87, and 11.7.
 
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