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Computer reboots itself or shuts down.
A Overheated CPU is usually the cause. Be sure all air vent
pathways are clear for at least several inches outside the
machine. Check inside of your fan and case, and especially
around the CPU heat sink for dust or pet hair. Replace CPU fan
and/or add a Case fan. Clean is important. Also a bad memory
chip can do this. Remove one at a time or replace the current
module and run the computer.
When a Stop error occurs, by default XP is set to restart. This
makes it hard to troubleshoot the error. To change this
behavior, right click My Computer and click Properties. Click
the Advanced tab, and under Startup and Recovery, click the
Settings button. Uncheck the box that says Automatically
restart. Click OK. This won't prevent the Stop errors, but it
will keep the computer from rebooting when they happen. Now you
can note the error ID and try to troubleshoot the problem.
Hardware problems can also cause unexpected restarts, as can
power problems such as a very brief loss of power. We recommend
always plugging your computer into a UPS (Uninterruptible Power
Supply).
Other possible causes include new device drivers, viruses, and
overheating (a common cause is failure of the processor fan or
power supply fan). To help figure out whether it's a software
problem (Windows, a driver, a virus, etc.) or a hardware
problem, you can try rebooting and entering Setup (CMOS) or
booting to MS-DOS from a floppy or to another operating system
if you have a dual boot configuration. Wait a while and see if
the computer still restarts unexpectedly. If it does, you
probably have a hardware or heat problem. If not, it's probably
a problem with the software in Windows. |