So I basically need a "geek's" help on this. My computer's been restarting itself like every 10-15 minutes from no apparent reason.

I unchecked the "Automatic restart" option in case of system failure and instead of the reboot's I get a blue screen telling me to check for newly installed programs or hardware and un-install them.

I don't think it's the power source, because I bought a new one 2-3 months ago. I didn't install any hardware or software recently.

Does anyone know what might be causing this ?

dyodyo

Philippines578 Posts

August 16 2008 14:47 GMT

Your PC might be overheating. Check your board especially your processor for dust buildup. Check the fans and make sure that they are working fine. Then try getting a temperature monitor (like speedfan).

ToT)OjKa(

Korea (South)2437 Posts

August 16 2008 14:48 GMT

open your pc and check all your hardware is connected properly. I had this problem awhile back and i believe on of the cables for my HDD was loose.

.kaz

1963 Posts

August 16 2008 14:53 GMT

There can be a lot of problems that cause this. A few would be computer overheating. Does your fan still work? Can you hear it? How long has it been since you've dusted out your computer? Next I would have to say is bad memory, or RAM. If you have more than 1 stick of ram, try taking one out, if that doesn't fix it try the other. If you have a friend that can let you borrow his ram and take yours out and see if that fixes it thats good too. If neither of these fix it, it could be a problem with the hard drive. If the computer is accessing something that is damaged and it causes an error your computer protects itself by restarting. Try messing around with things and try to determine what it is that happens 10-15 minutes into the computer being turned on that could be messed up. If you have tried and or know these are not the problems, than it could be a virus. Start your computer in safe mode and see if it restarts at about the same time. While in safe mode do as many scans as you can, just download some free ones that have high ratings and aren't full of spyware. You may also want to try defragmenting your hard drive which makes it easier to access the files and puts less strain on your computer over all resulting in lower heat and less problems. If you just changed your power supply, do you still have your old one? The one you have may have been faulty and is just now messing up. There is a really wide amount of things that can cause this, even down to things wrong with the motherboard or a cord inside. Goodluck, and try searching google and seeing what other people have said or the answer's they've gotten when they had this problem.

Pulimuli

Sweden2766 Posts

August 16 2008 15:18 GMT

from my experience its either overheating or theres some problem with the RAM like .kaz said

Mickey

United States2606 Posts

August 16 2008 15:47 GMT

On August 17 2008 00:18 Pulimuli wrote:
from my experience its either overheating or theres some problem with the RAM like .kaz said

From my experience I gotta agree. I remember having corrupted RAM, and my comp restarting before it even booted up properly.

tracer

Korea (South)693 Posts

August 16 2008 16:39 GMT

When I put my rig together a few months back, I had this exact same problem (constantly getting a BSOD 5-10 minutes after booting). Anyways, I dug through the internet and found that my particular drivers (could have been for nVidia, not sure) were not compatible with SATA optical drives, causing the BSODs. I unplugged my LG SATA ODD and installed a spare I had (which was IDE) and sure enough, my computer worked just fine without any reboots. Of course, given the infinitesimal nature of computer errors, your problem might not be consistent with what I had but I would check to make sure. Fiddling with software for hours, then realizing its a simple hardware incompatability isn't the greatest experience.

EDIT: Then again, you say your computer just started doing this without any alterations in hardware? I wouldn't worry about a hardware error in that case. From my experience, RAM doesn't just "go bad" from general use. Have you tried running anti-virus softwares? I would go into the BIOS and check your CPU's temperature to rule out overheating.

infinity21

Canada6683 Posts

August 16 2008 16:55 GMT

Heat is the first thing that came to my mind as well.

Naib

Hungary4952 Posts

August 16 2008 18:40 GMT

On August 17 2008 01:39 tracer wrote:
When I put my rig together a few months back, I had this exact same problem (constantly getting a BSOD 5-10 minutes after booting). Anyways, I dug through the internet and found that my particular drivers (could have been for nVidia, not sure) were not compatible with SATA optical drives, causing the BSODs. I unplugged my LG SATA ODD and installed a spare I had (which was IDE) and sure enough, my computer worked just fine without any reboots. Of course, given the infinitesimal nature of computer errors, your problem might not be consistent with what I had but I would check to make sure. Fiddling with software for hours, then realizing its a simple hardware incompatability isn't the greatest experience.

EDIT: Then again, you say your computer just started doing this without any alterations in hardware? I wouldn't worry about a hardware error in that case. From my experience, RAM doesn't just "go bad" from general use. Have you tried running anti-virus softwares? I would go into the BIOS and check your CPU's temperature to rule out overheating.

@ your edit: Yes, usually. But it can wear down in time and start to overheat (graphics cards though, not RAM). As many have already mentioned, this could be faulty RAM or overheating graphics card most likely - when I had a similar problem (mind you, wasn't random restart, just bluescreens) it appeared to be an overheating graphics card.

But as others have mentioned, it can be many more, so try to go one by one if you can.

IzzyCraft

United States4487 Posts

August 16 2008 19:38 GMT

#10

I would guess a RAM stick mem leaks

Zelniq

United States7166 Posts

August 16 2008 19:51 GMT

#11

most likely it's overheating. ive had the same issue before

FirstBorn

Romania3955 Posts

August 16 2008 22:06 GMT

#12

OK, ty for the feedback guys, I have some more info too.

I scanned the computer and there were indeed some infected files, deleted them and unistalled the programs. I also noticed that if Im playing bw with no winamp on, so im running just bw the comp does not restart. Also, my bro played wow for like 6 hrs ina row and it didn't restart.

My computer restarts either when my winamp or my firefox are on, or I have more programs opened in the same time.