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  1. My small office has a wireless router. we have one desktop connected by ethernet cable and one wireless laptop on our network. I recently also installed an ethernet printer that also connects to the router. Around the same time (not sure), both the laptop and the desktop computers started to have unexplained shutdowns once or twice per day. It MAY be related to when we print (seems to be once in a while right as i print from the desktop, but certainly not "usually" as we print often).

    the laptop gives a blue screen with some error msgs (very fast, what we wrote down doesn't seem to find any answers in a google search) then shuts off. the desktop just restarts immediatly as if the reset button was hit - it does not shut down properly, just right away.

    Any ideas?
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  2. Member Soopafresh's Avatar
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    Unlikely it's the router. It could be the printer drivers, however. Plug your PC into a different electrical outlet if you can. Heat can also create spontaneous reboots.
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    Sounds like you have a driver conflict - probably your print driver, or even your wireless driver.

    And why are you still operating with WinXP SP1?
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  4. Member Soopafresh's Avatar
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    And why are you still operating with WinXP SP1?

    Good point, but do NOT upgrade to SP2 until you've stabilized the current situation. You'll introduce too many new variables into the mix. Start with the printer drivers.

    Watch the video on PC dust and heat issues as well. Take a can of compressed air to your system if it looks similar.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkgq9a3JGjM
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    By the way if your computer is rebooting automatically when hitting the error, and you actually want to see the error message before it reboots, then you probably have the default setting of restart on system failure turned on, which you may want to turn off..

    1.Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.

    2.Click the Advanced tab.

    3.Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings to open the Startup and Recovery dialog box.

    4.Clear the Automatically restart check box, and click OK the necessary number of times.

    5.Restart your computer for the settings to take effect.
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    The OP said that both machines are affected by the reboots. This makes dust and heat issues unlikely the cause. Since the problem seemed to begin with the printers, I would suspect a software conflict. I would remove the printer driver from the laptop entirely and see if the reboot problem goes away. Resolving these types of conflicts can be difficult.

    WinXP didn't really get stable until SP2, so updating your OS may be needed in your immediate future, but I agree with Soopafresh - stabilize your systems FIRST, then upgrade.

    Have you recently installed any new hardware in either systems?
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  7. Member
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    I'd still lean towards the power issue. Many printers will sit in standby mode drawing a miniscule amount of power until they are activated to actually print. THEN the power consumption zooms to get everything warmed up and levels off after printing. If printing multiple printouts within a relatively short amount of time doesn't do it, but it happens when you haven't printed for a while, this may be the reason.

    Do you notice a slight dim in the lights when turning on your printer or when you start printing? If so, my guess is you're experiencing brownouts.
    Have a good one,

    neomaine

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  8. OK, good advise. It may be a power issue with my desktop PC as it shares a surge protector bank with the printer and the printer does wake up fairly abrubtly. - I'll change the plug in for the printer.

    The Laptop may b a totally different issue. i'll clean out any dust, then re-apply the silver compound to cool the chip if needed. I did this years ago at one point. I may have a utility installed on it that can monitor temp.
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