Curse

FatFighter · Apr 08, 2007, 07:36 PM // 19:36

HELP

My computer randomly restarts I have no idea weather this is a graphics card problem or computer over heating but it is really annoying and always happens at the wrong times

AydenV2 · Apr 08, 2007, 07:42 PM // 19:42

There is a very good chance your GFX Card is overheating. Turn off unneeded programs and place a fan next to the computer, see if that helps.

Jimmy Evol · Apr 08, 2007, 07:55 PM // 19:55

Theres also a possibility of a windows error restarting your pc, they're a way you can set it not to restart on errors but its been a while, don't really remember how. This problem can also be caused by bad RAM, (mem test will test it, google

) and the most frequent cause is overheating of some sort. Open up your case and put a fan next to it, see if that helps, sometime it does, sometimes it don't.

fleetia · Apr 08, 2007, 08:45 PM // 20:45

Yeah, possibility you're overheating. For me, my heatsink was lodged out of place, causing my computer to restart or even shut down.

Angelic Girl · Apr 08, 2007, 09:05 PM // 21:05

I had the same problem before, updating my Graphics Card solved it

Jimmy Evol · Apr 08, 2007, 10:10 PM // 22:10

Updating it, or upgrading it? Big difference

FatFighter · Apr 08, 2007, 10:20 PM // 22:20

The graphics card I am running is ATI radeon 9800 , GW Nightfall says :
minimum : ati radeon 8500 recommended at radeon 9600 ... so my graphics card is better than GW nightfall recommends.

FatFighter · Apr 24, 2007, 06:11 PM // 18:11

Ok , guys my comp is still restarting , i have done basically everything i can to stop it , stopping all unnessery processes on Windows Task Manager , hoovering all the sides and air vents and i even bought a second fan and still it restarts

themeteor · Apr 24, 2007, 06:35 PM // 18:35

strange one, it could be your PSU overheating, a possible sign it's dyeing) the easiest way to rule out this (and any form of overheating) is to get a fan (one made for a room, desktop fan may work) open up your case and turn it on (fan and PC). If your still restarting undo the last thing you changed before the problem, hardware or software, and see what happens

EDIT: forgot to say make sure the fan points inside your PC

Dex · Apr 24, 2007, 11:33 PM // 23:33

Reboots can be caused by about 999,999,999,999 different things....+/- 3.

Seriously, though, you could be looking at overheating, but if you're not overheating anything and you've not changed anything in your configuration (new hardware, different drivers, etc.) then you're probably looking at something like hardware dying, becoming unseated, etc. A dying power supply, dodgy or dying memory modules, blown capacitors on your motherboard (bulging or leaky caps), a dodgy or dying video card, loose cables, bad or shorted cables, and many other things can cause reboots.

Software issues, outside of drivers, malware, and virii, don't cause reboots as a general rule (there are a few exceptions).

Let me ask you this: do you get a flash of a blue screen before the reboot, or do you just quickly reboot?

Ultimate Sacrifice · Apr 25, 2007, 04:18 PM // 16:18

I also had this happen to me, my computer randomly restarted no blue screen or anything. First time this happend.

Hoyt · Apr 25, 2007, 05:58 PM // 17:58

Before you do anything drastic try this:
Turn off the automatic reboot so you can actually see why the system is rebooting.
To change the recovery settings to disable automatic rebooting:

Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
Click the Advanced tab.
Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings to open the Startup and Recovery dialog box
Clear the Automatically restart check box, and click OK the necessary number of times.
Restart your computer for the settings to take effect.

Now when a fatal error occurs, you'll at least see it and it won't cause an automatic reboot.
You will get a BSOD with an error code.
Write down the error code verbatim and post it here. This should help determine if it’s a video card issue, a RAM issue, etc.

VanDamselx · Apr 25, 2007, 06:56 PM // 18:56

I had the same exact problem and it did end up being a faulty graphics card. Mine was ATI as well, although I'm sure it could happen with any graphics card. I ended up using an ATI card from another computer I had around the house and that solved the problem.

calderstrake · Apr 25, 2007, 11:55 PM // 23:55

FatFighter: are you doing any overclocking on the CPU or video card? Have you recently update the BIOS on the video card or motherboard?

The best way to eliminate overheating as an issue is to post your ambient room temperature so we can tell you if that is too high to start with. Then take off the side panel and see if it continues. If you have a room fan you can direct at the side of the case, that will help things even further.

Let us know...

Da Gangsta Life · May 04, 2007, 02:16 AM // 02:16

check if ur powersupply is strong enough for ur computer

MegaMouse · May 04, 2007, 03:06 AM // 03:06

Ok this does sound like your power supply is either failing or is not strong enough to power everything which can turn nasty if not dealt with as soon as possible. If you feel confortable with doing a power supply upgrade yourself then go out and get a new one. There are several things that you need to know first though:
1 the wattage rating of your current power supply, this can be found on a plate somewhere on the power supply itself, depending on teh manufacturer it can be almost anywhere.
2 whether your motherboard has the old style 20 pin connector or the new 24 pin connector (not so much an issue with most newer power supplies as they have convertable plugs).
3 whether you have sata or regular ide hard drives (also not much of an issue as most new power supplies have both the types of needed connectors).

I personaly recommend either the enermax line of silencer as i have had very good luck with them, or the antec power supplies, also which ii have had good luck with and use. Here are a couple links to a couple that may fit the bill for you http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103928 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817194012 . Both of these should fit the bill nicely and are reasonably priced (I have the enermax model in my computer).

Mega Mouse

Hyper.nl · May 05, 2007, 10:11 AM // 10:11

It can be anything, including all what was mentioned about overheating and PSU.

But it also can be things like bad memory, bad bios, bad bios settings, driver issues.

Before you replace your GFX card or PSU without knowing if it will help, first write down the full blue screen messages and post them here. Maybe it gives some more info.

Also use your hardware monitoring program to see if parts are overheating or if the PSU lines give decent voltages.