PC spontaneously shutting down

  • Thread starter Thread starter Carver Lee
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Carver Lee

It's been running for a couple weeks straight without a reboot then suddenly
last night it restarted itself. It booted back up fine but then restarted
again.. and again.. and again.. I'm running XP Pro but this seems
inconsequential because sometimes it restarts itself before windows even
loads. At one point last night it would post, RAM check, IDE detect,
restart.. wash-rinse-repeat.

Here's what I have done already, looking for other suggestions..

Checked all fans to make sure they were working because my initial though is
that it was an overheating problem. All fans are working fine and the system
shows the core temp to be <100­°F.

Removed everything from the case including MB and thoroughly blew out each
component.

Cleaned the contacts and reseated the RAM strip.

Double-checked connection of ATX wire harness and all IDE cables.

Disconnected and removed all unessential components (sound card, Ethernet
card, CD Rom Drives, Slave HD and extra case fans) and tried with 1 HD,
floppy, video card & keyboard.

Ran everything outside the case to ensure the MB wasn't grounding somewhere
against the case.

All these tests yielded exactly the same result and I don't know where to go
from here. At this point it could still be the HD, the MB, the power supply,
the RAM..? I don't want to just start replacing components one by one until
I figure out what it is so if anyone has any other suggestions I would love
to hear them.

Thank you.
 
Carver Lee said:
It's been running for a couple weeks straight without a reboot then suddenly
last night it restarted itself. It booted back up fine but then restarted
again.. and again.. and again.. I'm running XP Pro but this seems
inconsequential because sometimes it restarts itself before windows even
loads. At one point last night it would post, RAM check, IDE detect,
restart.. wash-rinse-repeat.

Here's what I have done already, looking for other suggestions..

Checked all fans to make sure they were working because my initial though is
that it was an overheating problem. All fans are working fine and the system
shows the core temp to be <100­°F.

Removed everything from the case including MB and thoroughly blew out each
component.

Cleaned the contacts and reseated the RAM strip.

Double-checked connection of ATX wire harness and all IDE cables.

Disconnected and removed all unessential components (sound card, Ethernet
card, CD Rom Drives, Slave HD and extra case fans) and tried with 1 HD,
floppy, video card & keyboard.

Ran everything outside the case to ensure the MB wasn't grounding somewhere
against the case.

All these tests yielded exactly the same result and I don't know where to go
from here. At this point it could still be the HD, the MB, the power supply,
the RAM..? I don't want to just start replacing components one by one until
I figure out what it is so if anyone has any other suggestions I would love
to hear them.

Thank you.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you did your homework. I would check the voltage coming from
the power supply while you have it powered on. If you are not getting 12+
DC volts from the Molex you are having a PS problem. Normally, this causes
lock ups not reboots. Reset your Mobo setting by moving the jumper to set
it back to default or remove the battery for 30 seconds while the unit is
unplugged. Sometimes the BIOS settings can cause this and this is the
easiest way I know to do this. There are more but this works for me.

Good luck!

Roger
 
Carver Lee said:
It's been running for a couple weeks straight without a reboot then suddenly
last night it restarted itself. It booted back up fine but then restarted
again.. and again.. and again.. I'm running XP Pro but this seems
inconsequential because sometimes it restarts itself before windows even
loads. At one point last night it would post, RAM check, IDE detect,
restart.. wash-rinse-repeat.

Here's what I have done already, looking for other suggestions..

Checked all fans to make sure they were working because my initial though is
that it was an overheating problem. All fans are working fine and the system
shows the core temp to be <100­°F.

Removed everything from the case including MB and thoroughly blew out each
component.

Cleaned the contacts and reseated the RAM strip.

Double-checked connection of ATX wire harness and all IDE cables.

Disconnected and removed all unessential components (sound card, Ethernet
card, CD Rom Drives, Slave HD and extra case fans) and tried with 1 HD,
floppy, video card & keyboard.

Ran everything outside the case to ensure the MB wasn't grounding somewhere
against the case.

All these tests yielded exactly the same result and I don't know where to go
from here. At this point it could still be the HD, the MB, the power supply,
the RAM..? I don't want to just start replacing components one by one until
I figure out what it is so if anyone has any other suggestions I would love
to hear them.
Click to expand...

Failing power supply? Download the free Home Edition of
Everest, available from http://www.lavalys.com/products.php?lang=en.
Run it, expand "Computer", and click on "Sensor". Check to see
whether the voltages are within spec, and watch them for a while to
see whether they fluctuate -- the display updates itself automatically
every few seconds. The voltage of your CMOS battery may also
be shown on this display. If so, replace your CMOS battery if its
voltage is significantly below nominal (usually 3 volts). (Also, see
the last step in this post.)

Scan your computer for spyware and viruses. I doubt whether
that's causing the problem, but it might be good to be sure that
it's not.

Try running a memory diagnostic: download "Memtest86+"
from http://www.memtest.org) and run it for a few cycles.
You should get zero errors.

Reseat everything else in your computer - there could be
a degrading connection somewhere.

Remove your CMOS battery, and measure its voltage.
If the measured voltage is significantly less than the
voltage marked on top of the battery (usually 3 volts),
replace it. Note: If you do this step, you'll have to set up
your BIOS again.

-- Bob Day
http://bobday.vze.com
 
Carver said:
It's been running for a couple weeks straight without a reboot then
suddenly last night it restarted itself. It booted back up fine but
then restarted again.. and again.. and again.. I'm running XP Pro but
this seems inconsequential because sometimes it restarts itself
before windows even loads. At one point last night it would post, RAM
check, IDE detect, restart.. wash-rinse-repeat.

Here's what I have done already, looking for other suggestions..

Checked all fans to make sure they were working because my initial
though is that it was an overheating problem. All fans are working
fine and the system shows the core temp to be <100­°F.

Removed everything from the case including MB and thoroughly blew out
each component.

Cleaned the contacts and reseated the RAM strip.

Double-checked connection of ATX wire harness and all IDE cables.

Disconnected and removed all unessential components (sound card,
Ethernet card, CD Rom Drives, Slave HD and extra case fans) and tried
with 1 HD, floppy, video card & keyboard.

Ran everything outside the case to ensure the MB wasn't grounding
somewhere against the case.

All these tests yielded exactly the same result and I don't know
where to go from here. At this point it could still be the HD, the
MB, the power supply, the RAM..? I don't want to just start replacing
components one by one until I figure out what it is so if anyone has
any other suggestions I would love to hear them.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

If it's an older system (a few years) then it's possible there are bad
electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard. If any of the caps on the
motherboard look like the ones in the photo, then that is your problem.
Otherwise, probably the power supply.
ftp://geerynet.d2g.com/Bad%20Caps%20Pic/BX133%20caps.jpg
 
ICee said:
If it's an older system (a few years) then it's possible there are bad
electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard. If any of the caps on the
motherboard look like the ones in the photo, then that is your problem.
Otherwise, probably the power supply.
ftp://geerynet.d2g.com/Bad%20Caps%20Pic/BX133%20caps.jpg
Click to expand...

Another thing you might want to consider is SP2 for XP. Have you
d-loaded/installed this? Perhaps it was done automatically without you
knowing (though I think the Pro version isnt out yet). Some users who have
installed XP SP2 are reporting exactly your symptoms since 'upgrading'.
Then again - might be totally unrelated but its another thing to cross off
your diagnostic list. Shaun
 
Shawk said:
Another thing you might want to consider is SP2 for XP. Have you
d-loaded/installed this?
Click to expand...

No, I haven't: why should I?

Perhaps it was done automatically without
you knowing (though I think the Pro version isnt out yet). Some
users who have installed XP SP2 are reporting exactly your symptoms
since 'upgrading'. Then again - might be totally unrelated but its
another thing to cross off your diagnostic list. Shaun
Click to expand...

No, I have automatic updates disabled. I'm not the one with the
problem, the OP is. Perhaps you should respond to the OP.
 
ICee said:
No, I haven't: why should I?

Perhaps it was done automatically without

No, I have automatic updates disabled. I'm not the one with the
problem, the OP is. Perhaps you should respond to the OP.
Click to expand...

Thought I had
 
I had the same problem in one of my systems. It happened to be overclocking
the CPU.
My CPU was CELERON 600MHz with 66MHz BUS, I was running it at 100MHz BUS,
for a while it was ok but suddenly it keep rebooting itself continuously.
After I realized what was wrong, I fixed the problem and everything went
back to normal.
 
Carver Lee said:
It's been running for a couple weeks straight without a reboot then suddenly
last night it restarted itself. It booted back up fine but then restarted
again.. and again.. and again.. I'm running XP Pro but this seems
inconsequential because sometimes it restarts itself before windows even
loads. At one point last night it would post, RAM check, IDE detect,
restart.. wash-rinse-repeat.

Here's what I have done already, looking for other suggestions..

Checked all fans to make sure they were working because my initial though is
that it was an overheating problem. All fans are working fine and the system
shows the core temp to be <100­°F.

Removed everything from the case including MB and thoroughly blew out each
component.

Cleaned the contacts and reseated the RAM strip.

Double-checked connection of ATX wire harness and all IDE cables.

Disconnected and removed all unessential components (sound card, Ethernet
card, CD Rom Drives, Slave HD and extra case fans) and tried with 1 HD,
floppy, video card & keyboard.

Ran everything outside the case to ensure the MB wasn't grounding somewhere
against the case.

All these tests yielded exactly the same result and I don't know where to go
from here. At this point it could still be the HD, the MB, the power supply,
the RAM..? I don't want to just start replacing components one by one until
I figure out what it is so if anyone has any other suggestions I would love
to hear them.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Open Control Panel - System - Advanced.

In the Startup and Recovery (bottom) section click on the Settings
button.

In the Startup and Recovery window click on the checkbox for
"Automatically restart".

That should put an end to the reboots. However they may be replaced
by "Blue Screen Of Death" STOP errors and the system may then halt
completely, requiring a manual power off and restart. If that does
happen then the contents of the STOP message, including all of the
parameters, will be a direct clue as to the underlying cause of your
problem.

Post the contents of the STOP message back here if you need further
advice or assistance with that.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."
 
kony said:
Lack of SP2
Click to expand...

he was talking about having installed SP2...

And I was talking about something altogether different, the availability
of SP2 for XP Pro, so I'm a bit baffled why you replied to my post.
 
kony said:
-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

Lack of SP2 should NOT cause ANY system to shut off. If there
were an OS error and "reboot on error" setting were enabled (as
it is by default) it might reset the system, but not turn it off.

Generally that is a hardware fault completely unrelated to the
operating system. Check voltages and temps in addition to
examination of capacitors.
Click to expand...

Hi Kony, maybe it wasnt clear but what I meant was 'installing' SP2 has
caused this instability in a few posters to the XP groups NOT a lack of it.
It probably is hardware but this was something for them to consider if SP2
'had' been installed. Shaun
 
Questions:

1. Are you overclocking? (doubt it... but thought I'd ask)

2. Is this a new build?

3. Are any of the "main" components from another system or are they
all new?

4. What is the rating of the power supply? What brand is it?
(in the FWIW category.... I have 500watt name brand power supplies in
all my AMD based systems)

5. Have you recently flashed the BIOS?

6. Does anyone else have access to this system?
(they could have made a BIOS adjustment or downloaded a virus, etc.)

7. Do you have SMART enabled?



Suggestions:

1. Check all the cables for kinks or possible damage. BTW..... is
it possible that you have a 40 pin connected to the hard drive instead
of an 80 pin?

2. Go into the BIOS and leave the system running to see if it reboots
while in the BIOS.

3. While in the BIOS check any settings for: restart or reboot at xx
degrees cpu temp.

4. Run a system diagnostics on the hard drive.

5. You may have to start swapping out known good parts one by one.
How else will you know for sure which part or parts are not up to par?
(that's assuming the problem is hardware based)


Possibilities/Observations:

1. The hard drive may have some bad clusters.

2. Power supply is inadequate. (is this an AMD based system, BTW?)
If so is the power supply AMD certified?

3. Cable(s) may be defective.

The above is enough to get you going forward. (hopefully)

Please post back and let us know of your progress.

Good Luck!


=================================================================
 
Stellar suggestions. Thank you. I'll post back when I find the culprit so it
will be archived.
 
spodosaurus said:
he was talking about having installed SP2...

And I was talking about something altogether different, the availability
of SP2 for XP Pro, so I'm a bit baffled why you replied to my post.
Click to expand...

Thanks for pointing out the link for the pro version BTW. I've read a few
more posts about SP2 causing constant reboots - theyre calling it 'loop to
boot'. If the OP has SP2 they should look at some of the posts in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general Shaun
 
Carver Lee said:
It's been running for a couple weeks straight without a reboot then suddenly
last night it restarted itself. It booted back up fine but then restarted
again.. and again.. and again.. I'm running XP Pro but this seems
inconsequential because sometimes it restarts itself before windows even
loads. At one point last night it would post, RAM check, IDE detect,
restart.. wash-rinse-repeat.

Here's what I have done already, looking for other suggestions..

Checked all fans to make sure they were working because my initial though is
that it was an overheating problem. All fans are working fine and the system
shows the core temp to be <100­°F.

Removed everything from the case including MB and thoroughly blew out each
component.

Cleaned the contacts and reseated the RAM strip.

Double-checked connection of ATX wire harness and all IDE cables.

Disconnected and removed all unessential components (sound card, Ethernet
card, CD Rom Drives, Slave HD and extra case fans) and tried with 1 HD,
floppy, video card & keyboard.

Ran everything outside the case to ensure the MB wasn't grounding somewhere
against the case.

All these tests yielded exactly the same result and I don't know where to go
from here. At this point it could still be the HD, the MB, the power supply,
the RAM..? I don't want to just start replacing components one by one until
I figure out what it is so if anyone has any other suggestions I would love
to hear them.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Carver

Some very good advice above, however just one more that will be worth
exploring.

Built a new PC for my son, run of the mill job, used all the bits that have
all proved reliable in countless other PC's. As it was famly it was
patched/antivirus/antispywared to the hilt before delivery. Ran fine for 10
days then started to suddenly reboot just like you describe.

Started with the usuall tests similar to what you describe, however after
passing the hardware and checking for viruses/spyware by scanning the HD in
another PC, I popped a second HD in the machine and did a default install of
XP to that.

Started & ran fine for 4 hours

Put the original HD back in after removing all the boot files out of C:\ and
renamed C:\windows to C:\oldwindows.

Standard install of XP, drivers, apps etc it hasn't stopped since..

My guess is some sort of file screw up.

Cheers
Paul
 
PC said:
Some very good advice above, however just one more that will be
worth exploring.

Built a new PC for my son, run of the mill job, used all the
bits that have all proved reliable in countless other PC's. As
it was famly it was patched/antivirus/antispywared to the hilt
before delivery. Ran fine for 10 days then started to suddenly
reboot just like you describe.

Started with the usuall tests similar to what you describe,
however after passing the hardware and checking for viruses/
spyware by scanning the HD in another PC, I popped a second HD
in the machine and did a default install of XP to that.

Started & ran fine for 4 hours

Put the original HD back in after removing all the boot files
out of C:\ and renamed C:\windows to C:\oldwindows.

Standard install of XP, drivers, apps etc it hasn't stopped
since..

My guess is some sort of file screw up.
Click to expand...

Which doesn't explain why that screw-up in the first place. The
odds are high that there was a memory glitch, possibly caused by a
cosmic-ray, or even power-line noise. These things are inherently
unrepeatable, and their effects can be delayed for long periods,
even years. This is the sort of thing that can always happen, and
the only viable prevention is ECC memory.
 
All these tests yielded exactly the same result and I don't know where to go
from here. At this point it could still be the HD, the MB, the power supply,
the RAM..? I don't want to just start replacing components one by one until
I figure out what it is so if anyone has any other suggestions I would love
to hear them.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of problems I fought year after year. Often when I
replaced the power supply the problems went away. Other times I felt
some components may have been damaged. Sadly the problems resurfaced
as the cheapie power supplies aged.

Last couple systems built I changed my routine by purchasing
separately a quality power supply rather than rely on the oem variety.

Since then everything has been rock solid. Obviously quality
improvements of the installed components may be a factor but I also
feel they last longer and perform better when supplied with power as
specified.
 
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