Computer Keeps Resetting

[Squid_uk]

When using my system it will suddenly without warnig reset itself,

this is getting quite annoying, I dont know how long it has been happening cause i have been away,

does anybody know what i could do to solve the problem?

[Dv8ted2]

Go to windows update and update your operating system. Update your virus definitions. Turn your firewall on and scan for viruses. If that does not work, boot into safe mode and do a hard drive integrity check.

It also would help us if you would fill in your computer details in your profile.

[Cobra]

I've seen this before. It was an issue with the power supply. Could also be an issue with the motherboard, BIOS settings or temperature. Need as much information as you can provide to give an accurate diagnostic.

[Dv8ted2]

It would also help if you told us what you were doing before the computer started rebooting. There is also a setting in the bios that will make the computer reboot after a crash. If that is enabled, that could also be a reason, but more info is needed.

[Prot]

Open the unit and see if you have an accumulation of dust. This happened to me a couple months ago, only my computer shut down instead.

[Squid_uk]

it is hard to say why it might be restarting what i have noticed is it happening when the system is hot, Cobra what info would you need to help me further?

[Prot]

My motherboard came with a utility that allows me to monitor my system, such as fan speed and cpu temp. I had that running after my incident with the dust to see if I resolved the problem. If you don't have any such utility, I'm sure there are others available for download.

[Cobra]

Squid_uk - it is very hard to offer any further advice without knowing what components are in your machine. Please fill in your profile.

[ROF]

It could be one of several different issues. It may even be a combination of issues which is causing your machine to reboot.

First thing to look at is power consumption. What is the maximum power rating for your power supply? What components to you have installed and attached that utilize this power? Remember external devices such as self powered USB hubs consume power supply power as do other devices attached to these hubs. Without knowing what devices you have to include motherboard, CPU, Ram(amount and type), drives(optical and magnetic), and accessories it's virtually impossible to diagnose this issue.

Another thing which has been mentioned is heat. The only system component that will cause a re-boot or shutdown due to heat is your CPU. First examine the CPU to ensure proper operation of it's cooling system(ie. the fan on top of the heatsink is spinning freely). Next shut down the system and examine this fan for any signs of excessive dust. With the system powered down you should be able to see through the fan blades into the heatsink below. If this fan or the heatsink blades below it have enough dust which blocks direct line of sight to bottom of the heatsink it is recommended that you unplug the fan from the motherboard and unscrew the four screws holding this fan in place on top of the heatsink. Using a soft brush (a model paintbrush will do) you should be able to clean the heatsink elements and the removed fan of all dust and debris. Reattach the heatsink fan(make sure to plug it back in) and re-power up the system to see if this solved the problem.

Those are really the only two components (CPU and power supply) that will cause a system to re-boot or shutdown. All other components such as hard disk errors or ROM failures will either cause OS errors(BSOD) or system lockups. Without knowing what components you have it's impossible for anyone to determine the cause of your reboots.

[Squid_uk]

Ok i trid cleaning the inside where there was quite alot of dust i used copressed air to clean it out and there was alot of it, ok that has solved the overheating problem but it still restarts itself, one time that i can make it do it is if i run norton anti virus 2005 it will get so far through a scan and the system will restart, i have also had a couple of dark blue error screens appear one saying that there was a BAD_POOL_CALLER (didn't write the whole thing down) and another say;

0x0000008E (0xC0000005, 0xBF820258, 0xADC16BC0, 0x00000000

Win32k.sys - Address BF820258 base at BF800000 Date Stamp 43446a58

And i have also seen IRQL_NOT_LESS OR EQUAL

I have not made any recent hardware/software changes as i have been away for 3 weeks and i was not suffering from the problem before i went, my parent claim that it just started happening

[ROF]

Sounds like unstable RAM. That's usually the cause for IRQL_NOT_LESS OR EQUAL. Continuing to run a system with Bad RAM will eventually corrupt your windows files to include the win32k.sys and other system files. If you recently added some RAM remove it and try the system. If you have more than one piece installed try removing one and see how it functions. If it still reboots, insert that RAM and remove the other.

More than likely the cause of this issue is bad RAM.

[Squid_uk]

I have never installed any RAM i still have the RAM that came with the original system, could it be corrupt? Do any of the other error have anything to do with it?

Also, i dont know if this is related but when loading IE and trying to go to Yahoo the page cannot be displayed not matther how many time i refresh it Ebay.co.uk is displayed but with pictures missing but i refresh a couple of times it eventually appears and also i just tried the MS Window Update page and the same would not display, one last thing is whenever i turn the system on i always tries to do a HD consistency check even if i let the process complete next time i shut down and start up it will do it again

[ROF]

The Klez family of Virii have also been known to cause issues with the win32k.sys or other system files, but more than likely what you've told me here it sounds like bad RAM. If your system had two pieces, follow the directions in my post to test the RAM for proper functionality. Your windows and applications might load more slowly during this test because of reduced system resources. This is normal. Do you have two pieces of RAM?

[churchie04]

RAM is very easy to install/remove. Just make sure your computer isn't under warranty before opening the case.

If you open the case and find that you have two RAM Modules. You may want to remove one and try to recreate the problem. If the problem flat-out stops after removing one, you have found the faulty stick. If it persists, replace the one you removed and take out the second stick.

[whitejremiah]

ive had something VERY similar happen to me, it ended up being my fan on top of my heatsink was dead.........replaced the whole heatsink and the fan and everything's been goin stable ever since....may be something worth looking into....

[Cobra]

That sounds like RAM to me - when I had dodgy RAM in my machine, I got spontaneous reboots when scanning with Norton.

Try putting MemTest86+ onto a floppy and letting it test your memory for five or six passes (more is better).

As well as that, please, please fill in your profile! It would be a tremendous help to know what equipment you are using, and details of any overclocking/BIOS flashing you may have done.

[psx_pirate]

i had same problem ... with AMD cpu ... the cpu overheated (caused by the heatsink not being in proper contact with the cpu) the pc would just restart itself whenever it suited it and especially when under load .. ie more than 30 - 40% usage (running norton antivirus would always cause it to restart) i found that some of the AMD cpu's do not have overheat protection (keeps the price down) and because it had overheated the cpu was damaged (altho it still worked but would just cut out causing the restarts) ... i purchased a new cpu (one with overheat protection ... this will shut down the cpu before the overheating can cause damage .. this is an integral feature of the cpu) and that solved the restart problems

I have since upgraded the M/B to one that has a hardware monitor (gigabyte K8 triton series) and use the gigabyte easytune software (only works on gigabyte M/B's that support it) this allows me to set an alarm to warn me if there is a risk of cpu overheating (you can set the alarm to sound at your chosen temperature... mine is currently set at 45 degrees)

[Squid_uk]

I have only got one stick of RAM in my system, i will try MemTest86+ and let you know how i get on, Cobra i am really sorry i just havnt had the chance to fill in my profile yet i will do it asap, also i have been on http://www.memtest.org/ but not sure which to d/l

[ROF]

I'd use http://www.memtest.org/download/1.65/memtest86+-1.65.floppy.zip

[Squid_uk]

And i take it i save the folder to floppy and then use the run feature?

[ROF]

Extract all files from the .zip file to a floppy disk. Reboot the system with this disc in the floppy drive.

[Squid_uk]

Ok things just dont seem to be goin my way, my floppy drive does not work is there another way i can run the test

[cd090580]

Check the boot sequence in your bios, It should be something like that CD-Rom, Floppy, Hard Disk.

Hard disk must not be the first if you want to boot from a floppy.
If it doesn't work, try dl an iso image and burn it to a cdrw.

[Squid_uk]

ok ive managed to d/l the iso and burn to a disk i have run the program and it was running for bout 30mins and it seemed like it was doing the same thing, should this happen? Also i do not have a clue as to the information it it giving me

[Cobra]

If it says that there are errors, your RAM may be faulty.

Is the computer resetting itself while it is testing? Are you getting errors?

[Squid_uk]

No it didnt reset during the test and i didnt recieve any of the errors like before, however when the software is testing is does show red line in the bottom half with like numbers and letters, does this mean the RAM is faulty?

[MJA]

what was the last program/driver you installed?
NVIDIA driver did the same thing to my pc few months ago.
try also to scan the hard drive.maybe your hard drive is ganna giveup soon.
backup,and format

[Squid_uk]

Ok system has been running fine all day tried to make it shut down by running Norton didnt do anythin scanned etc (did say that norton needed to be reinstalled as missing components) and bout 10 mins ago i got a error screen and the error was: MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, now to me that sounds really bad!

[ROF]

Still sounds like a bad stick of RAM. It happens when a computer overheats, is induced into a high static or dirty environment, or in some cases age can harm the RAM. My suggestion would be to buy a stick of 256MB PC 3200 SDRAM for $20 and see how your system responds. If your stats in your profile here are accurate you may notice some slow down in computing power, but once you determine that it's your RAM causing the problems (99.9% chance of that) you can always turn around and buy a second piece of 256MB PC3200 SDRAM for $20 and solve your problem completely.

[Squid_uk]

ok ive got an old computer sat around somewhere so i will take the RAM out of that and let you guys know how it goes!