Windows 2000 Professional auto restarts?

  • Thread starter Thread starter siddi
  • Start date Start date
S

siddi

I am not sure whether or not this problem is
considered 'normal' for Windows 2000 Pro edition... but it
is sure as heck annoying me to death.

All the programs I use are compatible with Win 2k(all
editions if not Pro) and they work fine.

The problem I have is that the computer restarts
automatically when I engage more than one-three programs.

At other times, I can have as much as six going on at once
and it never encounters a problem.

I'm not sure what's going on. I did a clean installation
of Win 2000 pro edition just two days ago...

anyways, if someone can shed some light into this problem,
it will be greatly appreciated... And I sure hope that the
computer restarting while giving me absolutely no warning
before hand is not "normal" for this edition of the OS.
 
before hand is not "normal" for this edition of the OS.

It is not normal for any OS.

Check for viruses. Check that you have firewall between Internet and your
computer - some worms cause that.
Check that you have installed all current updates from
windowsupdate.microsoft.com

If this does not help check your CPU for overheating, test your memory
(memtest/86 is good test).

There are hunders of reasons..... Get help from your local technical
support.


Bojidar Alexandrov
 
I have Sygate Firewall, Norton Antivirus(fully updated)
with all of the critical updates neccessary for Microsoft
2000 prof.

Virus scanned the HD with no results. Can you suggest any
programs for finding worms?

Thanks.
 
Worms usually get detected by Antivirus software.
This is a good firewall - I hope that it is not set to allow all mode :)

AdAware is good tool to detect spyware, but I do not think that this is the
cause.

Get Motherboard monitor or restart, go to BIOS and check computer health
page to see what is the CPU temperature
http://mbm.livewiredev.com/download.html

Get memtest/86
http://www.memtest86.com/
This will create a boot diskette that will check your system memory.

Bojidar Alexandrov
 
I agree. Just want to add that a bad/flaky power supply can also cause a lot of
random problems. --- Steve
 
I downloaded the motherboard monitor and it came out with
an 85F on one set and 125F on the other.

I'm not sure what's normal...

Aside that, before I clean installed Windows Professional
I had Windows Server Edition on the same computer(I
recently formatted the main drive and installed
professional)... When I had Windows Server Edition it gave
me the following problem, which is very different than the
Windows Prof Edition.

When I choose to restart the computer, it will go through
the checksums and where it typically pops up with a
Windows booting bar(black and white) it would hang and
give me a plain grey screen. I typically fixed that
problem by restarting quite a few times, manually.

I'm using the exact same computer(Only newly formatted)
with the same old hardware with Windows Prof. And my
problem now is the restart bug.

I wonder if either of you could tell me whether those two
are related in any way.

And also, is that temperature correct? Or should it be
lower? Could that be the problem (I unfortunately can't
check memtest/86 since this computer lacks a floppy
diskette drive)?
 
Processors run hot these days and you are probably in an acceptable range. The lower
temperature is probably a reading for the motherboard while the higher is the cpu. My
XP1800 is currently reading 82F and 120F and I run Seti full time. However if you can
take the top off of your computer it would not hurt to make sure the cpu fan is
spinning freely and blow out the dust from the fan blade and heatsink.

Since you are experiencing problems on two different installations, I would tend to
believe it is a hardware issue, especially if you are confident you don't have a
virus problem. Hardware problems tend to be more of random and abrupt nature and
often cause unexplained stalls, reboots, and lockups. A virus will often cause a
shutdown that gives a warning ahead of time or cause errors in Event Viewer relating
to service problems, etc. I would first try to clean the cpu/heatsink. Cans of
compressed air are sold for computer maintenance. Otherwise I would suspect flaky
power supply or memory to be the main culprits however it could certainly be other
issues.

If you feel comfortable taking the top off of your computer, make sure all the
pci/agp cards and memory sticks are firmly in place, and the cable connections are
secure to the mainboard and the drive devices. It is also worthwhile to run the
computer in safe mode for a while to see if the problem persists or not. If safe mode
seems to cure a problem, then it may be a conflict with a startup
program/service/driver in which case msconfig can be used to troubleshoot by
selectively disabling startup programs/services. Msconfig can be copied from a XP
computer to the \winnt\system32 folder or downloaded from various places on the
internet by searching for "msconfig download". --- Steve
 
I agree and I will say again - get help from local computer technician if
you are not experienced.

Memtest have iso images for burning a CD. You can disable quck boot from
Standart BIOS Setting that will cause BIOS to test througly the memory on
start up (POST)

Motherbroad Monitor have indicators about power voltages that can eventually
give you a clue - see +/- 12 V +/-3.5 V and so on if actual values vary with
more than 10% (especially in lower direction) it goes bad - get better power
supply.

125 F (51 C) is not hot, especially if you have an AMD processor. Mine
Athlon runs 50-60 C but I prefered more big and silent fan and it is not
maximally efective.

If you have Intel this i slightly hot.

Bojidar Alexandrov
 
Thank you, both of you, for your answers and support, though now, I have a few more details to add to the initial set of problems/reports

First off, last night before I went off to sleep I noticed that Yahoo.com's news headlines talking about a sasser virus, which is known to cause restarts at random intervals

Seems more than just a coincidence..

I tested my theory out by going to symantec website and downloading their Sasser fix tool. I ran it three-four times, restarted the computer each time to no avail

I also used the sasser detect tool over here at microsoft's support. Again, no dice

Earlier this morning we noticed something quite peculiar. The original problem I had with the original Windows 2000 Server edition OS where when we restarted it the screen would go grey during the startup(and lockup) was happening on this Windows 2000 Professional edition. Now, every time it restarts of its own will, it tends to get stuck in that grey screen

So, I'm really leaning towards the fact that this custom has hardware faults..

I checked the BIOS during one of the startups and went to the hardware information section. We were originally told that the computer had a total of 2 fans hooked to it to keep it nice and cool. In the information I read, it stated that the CPU fan was going at around 6000 while the System Fan was at 0. ZERO

I got the feeling that that particular set of numbers is not normal. I'm also trying to eliminate all possibilities so that when the person who created this custom drops by, he has a set of possibilities to look at. So, any help in narrowing things down is greatly appreciated

Thank you very much.
 
The fact that the other fan is not registering may not be a big deal unless it is a
fan to cool the power supply. The cpu fan is the big issue and it seems to work fine
but as I said I would lean toward a problem with the power supply, possibly memory,
or something else. I would also try the "Stinger" tool from McAfee for a second
opinion on virus infection though I still believe your problem is hardware related.
Good luck.. --- Steve

http://vil.nai.com/vil/averttools.asp#stinger

siddi said:
Thank you, both of you, for your answers and support, though now, I have a few more
Click to expand...
details to add to the initial set of problems/reports.
First off, last night before I went off to sleep I noticed that Yahoo.com's news
Click to expand...
headlines talking about a sasser virus, which is known to cause restarts at random
intervals.
Seems more than just a coincidence...

I tested my theory out by going to symantec website and downloading their Sasser
Click to expand...
fix tool. I ran it three-four times, restarted the computer each time to no avail.
I also used the sasser detect tool over here at microsoft's support. Again, no dice.


Earlier this morning we noticed something quite peculiar. The original problem I
Click to expand...
had with the original Windows 2000 Server edition OS where when we restarted it the
screen would go grey during the startup(and lockup) was happening on this Windows
2000 Professional edition. Now, every time it restarts of its own will, it tends to
get stuck in that grey screen.
So, I'm really leaning towards the fact that this custom has hardware faults...


I checked the BIOS during one of the startups and went to the hardware information
Click to expand...
section. We were originally told that the computer had a total of 2 fans hooked to it
to keep it nice and cool. In the information I read, it stated that the CPU fan was
going at around 6000 while the System Fan was at 0. ZERO.
I got the feeling that that particular set of numbers is not normal. I'm also
Click to expand...
trying to eliminate all possibilities so that when the person who created this custom
drops by, he has a set of possibilities to look at. So, any help in narrowing things
down is greatly appreciated.
 
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