computer shuts down on its own all of a sudden.

Hi

Any error messages to work with?

If you don't see any error messages, right click on My Computer, select
Properties and then the Advanced tab. Click on Settings under Startup and
Recovery and disable 'Automatically restart'. Next time your PC reboots
itself,
you should see a Blue Screen. Could you please post the Stop Code from that
BSOD?

Also, please have a look in the Event Viewer to see if any entries there may
refer to the problem.

--

Will Denny
MS-MVP - Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups


"cocodianos" <cocodianos.RemoveThis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1FCD9494-D272-4E4B-8E5F-E3E0A28C4E25@microsoft.com...
 > Does any body have any ideas on how to fix this? all of a sudden the
 > computer
 > restarts making me lose what ever I am doing. Do I have a hardware
 > problem?
 > everything else seems to be working ok.
 > Thanks.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: computer shuts down on its own all of a sudden. 

This problem is also common with bad or inadequate power supplies. If you have just installed a new hard drive or something it could be maxing out the supply, or the supply is bad. Maybe you don't have clean power?

Also with power, you may have a short in a cable, this is common if you have extra lights and fans.

Static can also do this, if you are on carpet use some antistatic spray.

As mentioned heat can be a culprit too, check your processor manufacturer for ideal temperature and use the bios screen to check it or download a trial version of a temp utility.
 >> Stay informed about: computer shuts down on its own all of a sudden. 

A Blue Screen of Death is not needed. Information is stored
in the event (system) log. Important historical information
would be found there (see Windows Help to learn more). Also
important information not provided (which is why few can
provide a useful answer) is information from Device Manager
and results from the manufacturer's comprehensive diagnostics
(that every responsible computer manufacturer provides for
free).

Heat is not a reason for failure. Your computer must work
just fine even when room temperature is 100+ degrees F. Heat
is a diagnostic tool to find defective hardware. In fact
heating selective components as hot as possible with a
hairdryer on high - then running the comprehensive diagnostic
for that component - can find a failed part before it fails
completely.

Too many are quick to blame heat when they have little
knowledge of computers beyond 'board swapping' and 'more
fans'. Heat as a reason for problem means the computer never
worked properly - was defective before it was built - could
not operate in a 100 degree F room.

XP is so stable because very little hardware can cause a
system crash. 'Usual suspects include video card, sound card,
CPU sub-system, memory, power supply, and drivers for those
peripherals. But long before any one can help (and long
before you shotgun - replace - parts in a 'hail mary'
solution), you must first collect and provide useful facts.
Above are standard information first required.

cocodianos wrote:
 > Does any body have any ideas on how to fix this? all of a sudden
 > the computer restarts making me lose what ever I am doing. Do I
 > have a hardware problem? everything else seems to be working ok.
 > Thanks.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: computer shuts down on its own all of a sudden. 

That all sounds good, but processors do get heated up and they do cause a reboot. Things like clogged up heatsink fans, lack of lubrication in the fan, too little or ineffective conductive grease on the processor. All these problems can crop up on a perfectly built PC. This is why PC are "cooled", because they fail when there is too much "heat".
 >> Stay informed about: computer shuts down on its own all of a sudden. 

If a processor heats in a 70 degree F room to cause reboots,
then semiconductor or other hardware is defective. In fact,
Intel CPUs even back to some 486s simply slow down if too hot;
no reboots and no damage.

Posted are other myths about heat such as a 'need' for
thermal compound. Thermal compound typically results in a
less than 10 degree temperature reduction in CPU heat - a
reduction that should be totally irrelevant to whether a CPU
overheats and reboots. More important reasons for using
thermal compounds are heatsinks not properly machined. If
thermal compound results in greater temperature reduction,
then the computer assembler should first start with himself as
reasons for the problem. We recommend thermal compound because
too many computer assemblers buy defective heatsinks. They
buy on price rather than degrees C per watt.

Yes a stuck fan can cause problems. But will more cooling
solve a hardware problem? Of course not. More fans cure
symptoms.

Will a hotter processor (still within manufacturers spec
range) fail faster? Yes. And then we apply numbers to the
conclusion. So it will fail in 100 years instead of 150
years. Who cares? Those who make claims without numbers
promote half truths. When numbers are applied, claims about
'heat causing premature failure' becomes irrelevant.

Heat is a problem when IC temperature exceeds manufacturer
limits. An IC operating within manufacturer numbers that
fails when warmer (and still within specs) is defective and
must be replaced. Heat is the diagnostic tool to find
defective hardware - including a stuck fan or a CPU heatsink
that was not properly machined.

Applying thermal compound to fix a defective heatsink does
not solve the real problem- a human who buys heatsinks on
price rather than first obtaining thermal conductivity
numbers. Heat is a tool to find defects. Too many computer
assemblers would rather cool their mistakes with too many fans
rather than deal with THE reasons for that failure. If the
processor gets so hot as to cause reboots, then we have a
defect that must be fixed. Too much heat did not cause that
processor reboot. Something defective causes too much heat to
cause a reboot. Use heat to find and replace defective
hardware - such as heatsinks machined so poorly as to require
thermal compound or too much thermal compound between CPU and
heatsink.

What is too much heat? Temperatures that exceed those
manufacturer numbers. Old engineer's guideline for
semiconductors: touch it and it does not leave skin, then it
is not too hot.


Kold wrote:
 > That all sounds good, but processors do get heated up and they do
 > cause a reboot. Things like clogged up heatsink fans, lack of
 > lubrication in the fan, too little or ineffective conductive grease on
 > the processor. All these problems can crop up on a perfectly built PC.
 > This is why PC are "cooled", because they fail when there is too
 > much "heat".<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: computer shuts down on its own all of a sudden. 

w_tom,
either you've never used AMD processors, or you read to many books. A fan failure will kill a modern AMD processor in about 30 minutes or less, if you don't believe that, go ahead and try. Also, have you noticed that AMD puts thermal compound on it's heatsinks? Go ahead and peel that off and see how long that lasts.
 >> Stay informed about: computer shuts down on its own all of a sudden.