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P4 3 Ghz Randomly restarts

Dear All,

About a year ago I built a PC for my friend. In the last 6 months or so it has decided to randomly restart with out any warning etc. For the first 6 months of it's life it was fine with no problems. I feel it is a result of the hardware we have added to the system. Which is another stick of 512 mb RAM. An additional Hard Drive, and a replacement PSU as the last one went pop. I am pretty sure it is not down to the additional Hard Drive.

I have noticed whilst in the BIOS the voltages of the 5+ and the 12+ do fluctuate up and down. Is this normal. The PSU was cheap.

Hope you can shed some light on the matter.

Many Thanks,

Pete

Pete Long

What operating system?

espoke

ASKER

Windows XP SP2

Pete Long

XP reboots?

Bit of a tricky one to track down :-(

First make sure you have all the latest Drivers (particularly your graphics card)
#To find out what hardware you have, use
Everest Home Edition http://www.lavalys.com/products/download.php?dlid=1&lang=en
#To get your hands on the latest drivers
www.driverguide.com

Next: Make sure your service packed up!
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/results.aspx?productID=4C937A02-BAE0-4317-A1A9-0C56CD979D05&freetext=service+pack&DisplayLang=en

OR Visit the update site

http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp

Next You need to find out what’s going on. XP by default will reboot if it has a problem, you need to turn this feature off!

If your using "classic Mode" Right click "My Computer" >Properties >Advanced > In the "startup and recovery section click "Settings" > Untick "Automatically restart"
If your not using Classic Menu Start >Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > System >Advanced > In the "startup and recovery section click "Settings" > Untick "Automatically restart"

Now If Windows has an error it will normally stop with an error message, you will need to pastes the "Entire" error message here.

*****Other things to consider*****

Bad RAM : This can cause random reboots to check yours use
http://www.memtest86.com/

CPU Overheating: Your system will reboot to protect itself, monitor your CPU heat with
Hmonitor (1 Month Trial) http://www.hmonitor.com/
OR
CPUCool http://www.podien.onlinehome.de/

For CPU operating Temperatures follow this link
http://www.3degs.net/weblinks/view.php?id=5

Underpowered or failing PSU (Power supply unit) PSU output is rated in watts (W) its capacity SHOULD be written on it, what is it?

Unlikely but you may be infected with a virus go to
Trend Micro (Housecall) http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

*****Known XP "Reboot" issues*****

Windows XP Restarts Unexpectedly or Restarts When You Shut Down the Computer
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;320299

Computer Restarts Unexpectedly When You Browse the Internet
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316416

The Computer Reboots in the "Installing Devices" Section During a Windows XP Upgrade
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;311839

Automatically Reboot Option Does Not Work if the Paging File Is Set to Zero in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;320846

The Computer Is Stuck in a Restart Loop After You Upgrade from Windows 98 or Windows Me
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;318018

Windows XP Restarts When You Try to Shut Down Your Computer
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;311806

WINDOWS XP SHUTDOWN & RESTART TROUBLESHOOTING
http://aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.php

*****More reading!*****
http://www.compphix.com/rebootsunexpectedly.html

http://www.windows-help.net/WindowsXP/troub-03.html

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

Pete Long

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espoke

ASKER

Fantastic! That has given me plenty to work with! Many Thanks....Not sure if I can do this but I have added more points!

Pete Long

ThanQ