Help - why does my computer keep restarting.........

[FAQ]

it does it without any warning or apparent reason, sometimes it does it while on standby, sometimes as I'm mid typng a post, but it's annoying me now and I have no idea why it's doing it.

Also occasionally it'll switch itself off (doesn't shut down - just goes off) and I have to switch it off at the plug and back on again to get it to start up again)

when did it start doing it ?

Can you run a system restore to the day before it started - so that you can get it back to the setup it had then.

started doing it last week (about Wednesday iirc). How do I do a system restore??

Mine keeps shutting down too. And it is getting more often. I have no idea why though and can't afford to get it looked at.

I tried system restore which didn't help.

Hope yours is easily sorted.

I hope so too - it's driving me mad now -

Does it get very hot - it may be a fan problem. Is either of them an Acer? - we are having problems with 2 Acer models which keep shutting down because of overheating - we think it's either a fan problem or the power supply, or a combination.

no it's not an Acer - doesn't get hot

Laptops sometimes do this if the battery isn't in properly.

not a laptop either - really bugging me now as I often have a window open with a game I'm playing, often if I'm busy I'll just leave it running on auto, then it'll switch off/restart and I'll l ose it all.

It could be overheating. You could test by taking the case off, clearing the fans of any dust or fluff that's accumulated, leaving the case off for a bit (maybe put it on a desk if it's been resting on the floor).

If it stops resetting that might be overheating.

Another suggestion is leave it on the 'BIOS' screen overnight. This is normally reached by pressing F2 as the computer starts up. The point of this is that if it restarts while sat on the BIOS screen it is obviously a hardware problem, not a Windows problem, and is much less likely to be an overheating problem.

What operating system are you using? Windows XP?

If you're using XP, then you will find System Restore under Start, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. Choose a restore point from the day before the problem started and see if that fixes the problem.

If it doesn't then you could have a hardware problem. Probably worth backing up any important documents/photos etc anyway..

I'd agree about checking fans etc. You will have a bios setting for the cut off temperature at which the PC reboots/shuts down. (I'm sure they are supposed to always close down if hot, but I know one that reboots)

Vimfuego, that's a good tip about leaving it on the bios screen to narrow down the possibilities. I must remember that one.

ours ahs been doing this recently too!....twice when we were using limewire and EVERYTIME dd uses nickjr.com?????

Thought of another one ... make sure the RAM and all removable cards are seated correctly. Turn the power off, find anything that can be removed, unplug it, then firmly plug it in again.

If it's XP, then it is probably doing a "Blue Screen of Death" which sometimes (but not always) has an error code/description which can help you identify the cause. The problem is that it will reboot automatically and show the screen only very briefly.

If the other things don't work, then you can disable the automatic reboot, to see whether the error message will give you some clues. How to disable automatic reboot here - www.tunexp.com/tips/maintain_your_computer/disabling_blue_screen_of_death_auto-reboot/

it's XP - but not having the blue screen of death (which I know well from my previous computer ) - it the screen just goes blank without any warning and switches off or restarts.

ok - about to restore system - but before I do - if I've installed a programme (such as AVG) at a date after I restore to will I have to do it all again??

^ yes.

Personally I would use System Restore as a last resort. It can have unpredictable effects.

The system restore on FAQ's xcomputer didnt wokr xcame up with an invalid image error message.It looks like it could be the power supply unit not being able to cope with demand. Hopefully she will be back online later