Random Restarts...

[NadeChaser]

I have had my brand new computer for about 2 or more weeks now and it has been running great, except for one thing... every 2 or more hours it will just restart... and I have no idea what is causing it.

Should I try a system restore... although I would prefer this be a last resort. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[jester]

Honestly, if its a pre-buillt from like dell I would call them. Maybe not a big enough power supply could cause it which is the only thing I can think of but Im sure there are many possible hardware/software culprits that could cause it.

[undergroundtech]

Have you OC'ed it?

Also, it might help if you list your system spec's

[silenze]

It wouldn't likely be software unless windows is blue screening or just locking up (froze screen, not always software either), or giving some kind of indication.. if it's just randomly rebooting it could be a misconfigured cpu or ram.. bad psu..

I remember you ran into a stick of bad memory.. did you run the memtest86 again?

And what kind of PSU are you running?

[NadeChaser]

Here is system specs:

3.2 Ghz Intel P4 (Not overclocked)
Radeon X800 Pro
512 MB RAM
80 GB Hard Drive
One CD Drive
350 Wat PSU

I think it might be a virus because ever since I hooked it up to my network on the internet it has been happening. Any good virus programs you guys reccomend.

[jester]

Are you getin some "NT" error just after you get on the internet? If so that means you have probly been infected by a worm virus.

Get a firewall like outpost, block anything in it that says "svchost" cause thats what most of the worms use to transmit to the internet. Then youll need to run windows update to get the patch, then run a virus scan in safe mode to get rid of it. Google the mblaster worm & see if thats whats happenin wit your pc.

I dont mean to be dis-respectful, if your getin on the internet with no anti-virus and/or firewall installed you shouldnt even be on the internet cause some of these worms like the mblaster will infect your pc just by connecting to the internet.


AVG antivirus is a nice free solution for anti virus & sygate has a nice free firewall. If you want a good firewall get outpost pro. Ive used it & it gives you the more technical info (like what ports are open & what is actually access the internet in real time) without navigating thru a bunch of menus.

[siq]

What's the required wattage for the X800?

[NadeChaser]

Acually I don't think i mentioned earlier but i do hav a firewall and virus scanner. Anyway I think Ill upgrade to serivce pack 2 and do a couple virus scans an see what that comes up with.

Also the required wattage for the x800 is 300 so i think mine is ok. hopefully this will fix it.

[jester]

Appologize bout the firewall/AV thing, Im amazed be how many people that dont have one.

[jester]

Well I just happened to come across a nice lil article.

Eventually you wont have a choice with automatic updates since MS is going to force xp users to dl & install sp2.


http://news.com.com/Ready+or+not%2C+Windows+XP+update+is+coming/2100-1016_3-5590501.html?tag=nefd.top

[NadeChaser]

Wow this really sucks. Microsoft has great products but I hate the way they do some of this stuff. I guess I can say goodbye to one of my PCs... because service pack 2 seems to kill it for some reason. Anyway, I will put service pack 2 on my PC and the restarts seemed to have just stopped... maybe my virus scanner or firewall stopped them I don't know. Thanks for all the help.

[jester]

Ya gota read a lil bit closer, "all customers using Automatic Update", so looks like if you have auto update turned off you wont be forced.

[undergroundtech]

What is your CPU temps and what is your core voltage?

Also, your PSU could be to small, your system spec's looks like it could be putting a real strain on your 350W PSU.

[NadeChaser]

The CPU is stable around 50 C (about 48 - 52 C depending on usage) and I dont know about the corevoltage i think 3.2 or something (althoguh this is most likely wrong)

Also how do you disable automatic update. I know it is in some system setting but I don't feel like searching everywhere for it so could someone just give me a pointer.

[jester]

right click on "my computer" go to "properties" and click on the "automatic updates" tab

[undergroundtech]

Your temps seem about right for a P4 that size.... You can D/L a small program called CPU-Z (should be able to find it fairly quickly with Google) that will tell you your core voltage. If that turns out OK, I would kinda suspect that your PSU could be the cause of your restarts. I would look for one in the range of 450-500W from a quality MFR.

[NadeChaser]

Ok thanks for all the help guys. But one last question, while I am waiting for the order of my new power supply. will running it on my 350 watt one damage it?

[undergroundtech]

I supose there could be a slight risk involved, but chances are it prolly won't kill any hardware.
However, it could shorten the life of a harddrive if it happens to reboot while it's writing.

[NadeChaser]

Ok, I'll order the new power supply asap. Thanks for all the help and I hope this fixes it. :P