random restarts from cold boot

[jf]

Hello,

Ive seen quite a few postings on random restart issues, but couldn't find an answer to this
specific problem.

The problem regards random restarting but only when the PC is switched on for the first
time in the morning. Normally it lasts around ten minutes, then it restarts, then it will last a couple
of hours, then it will restart, and then its normally fine for the rest of the day.

Ive not added anything new to the system recently (it has been running *perfect* for 2+ years) - it
seemingly has just started doing it on its own accord. Nothing appears in the WinXP
error logs. The fact that it will never do it whilst it is posting or starting up but only whilst
the operating system is running leads me to believe its a software issue, but I have more
than one WinXP installation on here and its started to do it on them both simultaneously.

So far ive tried a new PSU, clearing the CMOS and switching the memory around and
nothing has helped - does anyone have any other ideas I could try? I don't understand
how it can be an overheating issue (as reboots often are i understand) as the longer its on,
the more stable it seems to be. The CPU is reporting 36C in the BIOS.

Motherboard - ABIT BX 133, Pentium 3 1Ghz processor, 256mb ram (not a major
brand).

thanks
chris

 

[kony]

Hello,

Ive seen quite a few postings on random restart issues, but couldn't find an answer to this
specific problem.

The problem regards random restarting but only when the PC is switched on for the first
time in the morning. Normally it lasts around ten minutes, then it restarts, then it will last a couple
of hours, then it will restart, and then its normally fine for the rest of the day.

Ive not added anything new to the system recently (it has been running *perfect* for 2+ years) - it
seemingly has just started doing it on its own accord. Nothing appears in the WinXP
error logs. The fact that it will never do it whilst it is posting or starting up but only whilst
the operating system is running leads me to believe its a software issue, but I have more
than one WinXP installation on here and its started to do it on them both simultaneously.

So far ive tried a new PSU, clearing the CMOS and switching the memory around and
nothing has helped - does anyone have any other ideas I could try? I don't understand
how it can be an overheating issue (as reboots often are i understand) as the longer its on,
the more stable it seems to be. The CPU is reporting 36C in the BIOS.

Motherboard - ABIT BX 133, Pentium 3 1Ghz processor, 256mb ram (not a major
brand).

thanks
chris

Instability due to low temp is usually either a loose contact (like
the power supply-to-board contacts, another power lead, memory or
another card fitting loosely in the socket/slot/etc) or aged, near
end-of-life capacitors. Since you already replaced the power supply,
_IF_ it's the capacitors the odds are they'd be those powering
on-board voltage regulators, either the motherboard or video card are
the two most common devices using such an arrangement. This applies
to aluminum electrolytic capacitors.

Considering the motherboard brand, age, and looking at a picture which
shows a lot of small, low-end capacitors on the board, my first guess
would be that the motherboard's the problem.

If all else fails you might do some random testing of parts while the
system is cold, to see what seems to aggrevate the condition... for
video testing try running 3DMark (whichever version is appropriate for
the age and performance level of the card) , or for memory use
Memtest86. Either of these (and other similar programs) found easily
via Google search.


Dave

 

[Dummy]

Make sure hybernation is turned off and bios and video catching too.

Hello,

Ive seen quite a few postings on random restart issues, but couldn't find an answer to this
specific problem.

The problem regards random restarting but only when the PC is switched on for the first
time in the morning. Normally it lasts around ten minutes, then it

restarts, then it will last a couple