Mysterious PC shutdowns

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Richard Darling

Richard Darling

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Feb 24, 2006
Posts
1,540
Loc
Bozeman, Montana
I have an old PC at a design station. It's an HP Pavillion, I think. 2.4Ghz. Sometimes I do some work on it, walk away to do something, and come back minutes later to find it has restarted. Today, my wife was working with a customer, and in the middle of entering information, the computer restarted.

I run AVG daily.

Any ideas why the Great PC Spirit needs to reboot the computer? It does seem to happen mostly in the morning, but not necessarily the exact same time.
 
AVG isn't very good, but isn't the issue.

Just to make sure all is well, do a free scan with the utility at www.malwarebytes.org

To me it sounds like the pc may be having a hardware issue. Check both fans to make sure they are spinning ok and free of dust (CPU and Power Supply). If the video card has a fan, check that too. Any intake or output vents outside the pc should have room around them, and be checked for dust/obstructions.

I would also re-seat the RAM chips (memory).

Also check the power cord to make sure it is firmly plugged in at both ends. You'd be surprised how often this is the cause :)

Hopefully one of the above will be your fix.

Mike
 
Richard Darling said:
Thanks Mike. I'll try those.
Click to expand...

Richard - It could also be an issue with the power to your shop. Have you got a good power filter, surge suppressor or UPS on that PC ? I have seen instances where when machinery or equipment starts up (Kettle, air compressor, heater etc) it causes a 'brownout' on the power supply to the PC and it restarts !

Good luck :)
 
Thanks Oz. I do have a UPS on the computer. I do notice that everytime a power hog like a printer starts up on that same circuit, that the UPS clicks. But it doesn't shut down the computer, at least when I'm observing it.

The computer is at least 6 years old, so it may be time for a new one anyway.
 
Just make sure the laser printer isnt plugged IN to the ups :) Laser printers use a bunch of power, beyond what a regular UPS can handle.

UPS batteries last 2-3 years before they need to be replaced. When they're at the end, you may hear an alarm or beeping from the UPS. They'll also be unable to hold the load during a brief outage (or if your laser printer causes it to kick on)

Mike
 
Is Windows running updates? I've had windows shut down and reboot itself when updating. Really frustrating to say the least!

My other shop was wired poorly. Three prong outlets, but two wire in the walls. Before getting the UPS that computer would reboot many times a day. Usually right before the AC kicked in. Any common occurences when your computer reboots? Printer cycling? AC turning on? Compressor kicking in? Maybe too many high drain things on one circuit.
 
Since your wife saw it reboot, what did it do exactly at the time of the reboot?

did it
  • bluescreen and reboot
  • screen go black and sit there
  • immediately go back to the BIOS and boot up again
  • does it have any issues after it restarts?
  • etc.

Given what you described, it does make me lean towards a power problem. If your UPS has a power conditioner it may allow you to change the tolerances on over/under voltage to be tighter.

Or if the power supply in the system is going bad that could be it as well. The output capacity of power supplies generally degrades over time, so after 6 years it might be on the edge. If specific things conspire, it might brown out some components and trigger a reboot when it comes back.

That's only one idea that may be causing it. It will take more investigation to confirm that and there are many other things that could be the culprit. I've had many issues with computers caused by seemingly unrelated components that can be really tricky to track down. It's best to figure it out before you start buying replacement parts. Although, given the age of the system, it might be better to scope out deals on a new system on sites like http://hotdealsclub.com/ .
 
Thanks for your input Jim.

It did it once to me. Screen went black and immediately started to reboot. I'm not sure what bios is.

I did reseat the ram chips and check all the connections as Mike suggested. I left it on all weekend with solitaire on, and solitaire was still there this morning when I came in.

I decided over the weekend that it was probably time to replace it as my main machine. Office Depot had a dual core Compaq for $310 after rebate, so I picked one up. There's no sense having to spend alot of time worrying about whether my primary POS is going to crash when I can replace the computer for a few hundred dollars.
 
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