Computer restarts randomly for no reason! Help!

I have an HP Slimline s3200t running Vista Home 32bit. A few days ago my computer started restarting on its own. No updates were installed beforehand, no error messages, nothing. The whole thing just shuts down - at times for up to 3 minutes - and then restarts. When it restarts I get the usual question whether to start in Safe Mode or start Windows Normally. This shows me that the computer KNOWS something's up. And there's no one thing I've been doing to cause this.

I was told by HP Chat support agents to disable "automatic restart" under System Failure, which I did, and I was also told to disable all Windows Updates, which I did. But the problem persists. I was told to go into BIOS and wait to see if it restarted there, and it didn't. I ran a BiOS short test which I passed with zero errors. I was then told that I would have no choice but to run system recovery erasing all of my data! This computer is only about 2 years old, less even. I was hoping someone might have another solution. This happens randomly, and for no reason. And one thing I've noticed is that if it happens, chances are it will happen again soon right after.

Anyone have any solution to this?
All help is greatly appreciated.

(I have searched the related queries on this forum but none seemed to have been resolved, or were different from my problem).

 

When your pc restarts does it say "Windows is shutting down"? Or just it just reset and go back to the hp logo.

It could be overheating issues. I would check temps. May also be helpful to post in hardware section.

 

I am not 100% sure because it restarts so quickly that I'd have to be staring at the screen at the precise moment it happens and not blink, but I am pretty positive that there is no error message. Nothing. It restarts so abruptly. What's weird is that when I want to restart (or shut down), it takes much longer for the computer to do it. When the error happens, it restarts instantly.

 

SolitarySue

Re: your subject line
It is most unlikely that your system is restarting randomly. It is also not likely that your system is restarting for no reason! The "Help!" bit ... we can do.

You said: "The whole thing just shuts down - at times for up to 3 minutes - and then restarts."
You also said: "it restarts so quickly that I'd have to be staring at the screen at the precise moment it happens and not blink"
I have a hard time reconciling those two seemingly contradictory statements. Please explain.

Please confirm that you have disabled "Automatic restart on system failure" by checking with the following link ...
Disable Automatic Restart
http://www.winvistatips.com/disable-automatic-restart-t84.html
If you are not 100% positive that you have followed the instructions, please ask questions/let us know.

 

OK thanks IMMENSELY for these replies.

Yes, I have already unchecked "Automatically Restart" per the instructions from the HP rep. That didn't help. I got no BSOD, nor did I get any error messages. The random restarting continued, twice.

The computer goes from doing its regular doings, to restarting in like a milisecond. What takes 2-3 minutes is for it took turn back on again. But this is only sometimes. Other times the computer starts back up again quickly.

 

My immediate prime suspect is the PSU (power supply unit), but since it is easy to check for overheating, how about you do that now.
----------
CPU overheating causes a system to turn off immediately, with no error message, usually by default at 70°C. (A system does NOT usually re-start when it has an over-heating CPU problem.)
Use something like Speedfan http://majorgeeks.com/SpeedFan_d337.html
to monitor the CPU temperature, and if you see temps in excess of 50°C, then you may have cause for concern, and if temps approach 70°C, then you have found the problem.

Other tools:
Everest:http://majorgeeks.com/download4181.html
Motherboard Monitor: http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=311

A quick way to test this is to download and run toast.exe http://majorgeeks.com/Toast_d867.html
This will run the CPU at 100%. If you can run this for 20 minutes without any problem, then your CPU cooling system is fine.

If the thermal paste contact between the CPU and the heatsink is broken, temps may appear to be "normal", under most conditions.
However, when the CPU is heavily utilised, the temps can spike upward sharply, causing the system to turn off.

Let us know what temperatures are reported while running toast.exe for 20 minutes

Edit: The test of a PSU requires replacing it with a known working suitable PSU: There is no other way of testing it effectively.

 

OK so I'm running toast.exe (I clicked on it and I know it's running because it's listed in my task manager) and I've also running Speed Fan. I started toast.exe at 1:14, and now it's 1:38 so that's more than 20 minutes with no restarts.

Speed Fan says the following: CPU Usage is high, almost to the top. And then it says this:

Local 0C
Temp1 0C
Temp2 0C
HDQ 48C
Temp1 40C
Core 0 54C
Core 1 53C

HDQ and Temp1 both have green checks next to them. Core 0 and Core 1 both have little flame icons next to them.

No restarts. It's now 1:42.
So what does all that mean?

 

Ah, you are good!

Without knowing much about your system or how Speedfan has configured itself on your particular machine ... I am going to assume that your CPU temps are Core 0 &/or Core 1 .... and those temps are OK!

The fact that it didn't shut down at all indicates that you do NOT have a CPU over-heating problem.
That is all as-expected, but it is nice to know for-sure.
---------------

Unless someone else has an alternative plausible option ...... I am left with the PSU as the prime suspect and the next to check. You may wish to have that work done by a repair shop, unless you have access/or a friend who has access to an alternative PSU ?

PS I could of course be wrong: We don't have a lot of info to work with here.

 

Thanks for the response.
I have questions.

What's a PSU?

And, is there any more information I could give you to make this diagnosis easier?

Thanks,
~ Andrea

 

PSU = power supply unit (that's where you plug in your main power supply lead, most likely)
It changes the mains voltage to various other DC voltages used by the computer system such as +12v, -12v, +5v etc.

Sorry, Andrea, wish I could do that for you .... BUT as I said, the only way I know of diagnosing a failing PSU is by replacing it and testing the system. I always have a spare PSU (or two) for that express purpose, and I think that is what other people do also, if they are working with computers.

There are a couple of things that point toward the PSU:
1. Immediate switch OFF, and then re-start, rather than error message/BSOD
2. You said sometimes there is a lapse (of up to 3 minutes) before it re-starts itself ... and this is most unusual, and I can think of no other possibility than the PSU causing this time lapse.
3. The problem as you described it "computer restarts randomly for no reason" is also a pointer toward a failing PSU. They tend to produce symtoms erratically and are therefore difficult to diagnose conclusively until almost complete failure occurs.

 

Thank you.

So what would I have to do to know definitively if it is the PSU? The HP tech agents I spoke to online said that it was probably a corrupt file or a virus, but I've run Symantec virus-scan twice, and no viruses were detected.

Could I replace the PSU myself or would I have to take the CPU to some type of repair shop? Does anyone know how much that would cost? My hard drive is pretty full so I was thinking about maybe just getting a new computer. I want to have Windows 7 anyway.

 

I can answer only the one of your questions comfortably:
1. Put the questionable PSU in another system and use it: If a problem is evident on that system then, that is an indication.
2. Replace the questionable PSU in your system with a known good PSU, and test the system: If there is now no longer a problem evident that is an indicator.
Add 1 + 2 and end up with the conclusion 3 = faulty/NOT faulty PSU .... and that's about the best you can do without wasting a lot more time.
-------------------

Your thread is in the best place in the MG Forums for the widest exposure and hopefully you will get the considered response of some experienced members re your problem. Give it a little time, before making any decisions to proceed further. You may get a quite different idea turn up?

If it is the PSU failing, there is only one way the problem will go, and that is downhill, becoming more and more of a problem until your machine no longer starts at all. In the meantime, I suggest that you should run Error checking on your hard drive to check and repair any file system errors (chkdsk /f) created by the untimely shut-down of your system.

 

Thanks!

I ran chkdsk /f and it said I needed to restart before it could check the disk, so I restarted, and now it's checking it. It says this:

CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 3)
Deleting corrupt attribute record (128, "")It said this a bunch of times!! Now it keeps saying "Recovering orphaned file" over and over again!
I hope it's doing something good. I've never done this before since I got the computer. Maybe I should've. Maybe I should defrag? Who knows.
Can anyone tell me what that stuff means? It's on stage 3 of 3 now (thank god I have this laptop).
629 unindexed files processed.
243904 security descriptors processed.
It finished now and my desktop is loading. It displayed the results of the scan so fast I couldn't see all the words. But I did notice it said 0 KB in bad sectors. I assume that's good?

 

That is all good!
Now do it again ...... and keep doing it until there are NO errors reported.

 

OK, chkdsk /f second time around:

Stage 1:
1070 large file records processed.
0 bad file records processed.
0 EA records processed.
60 reparse records processed.

(I notice nothing about anything being corrupt this time around!)

Stage 2:
0 unindexed files processed.

Stage 3:
It was too fast for me to see. One thing I noticed was that it said something about "free space" and "allocated to the bitmap" and the word "fixed". But again it all went by too fast! Why would they leave an entire page of important information on your screen for only a nanosecond?

Well I guess it's safe to say that this time around the CHKDSK was great, if not perfect. I also attempted to defrag but Windows said my system performance is good and I didn't need to. I must say I do take excellent care of my machine. Never any malware/spyware/viruses. Never anything that I don't need.

So what else can I do that doesn't involve any tinkering with the hardware?

 

I agree.

Best I could do with a quick google .... and hopefully you can find it/them ...

Vista Tutorial - Where is chkdsk log file in Vista Home Premium??
http://www.vistax64.com/vista-general/166861-where-chkdsk-log-file-vista-home-premium.html

 

Hmmm .... a sense of humour too, I see.

You said: "So what else can I do that doesn't involve any tinkering with the hardware?"
How long have you got .... ?

One thing you probably should do ... come to think of it, something that everybody should do .... is to check the hard drive for signs of failure.
Download the diagnostic utility from the hard drive manufacturer's website to create a bootable floppy or CD. Boot with it, and run the short/quick test and then the long/extended test, and check the S.M.A.R.T. attributes. There should be NO problems what-so-ever reported.

Firstly, you need to find the brand name of your hard drive. You will find this info on the label of the hard drive (most likely you will have to remove the hard drive from the box to read the label). You will also find sufficient info to identify the drive (the model number) by looking in the BIOS Setup Menu. Another alternative is to use something like Everest or Belarc Advisor.

EVEREST Free Edition 2.20
http://majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit (Version 8.1b)
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities
http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287

HD TUNE (use the free version)
http://www.hdtune.com/
----------------------

Oh, yes .... and another ... check the memory ...
Download Memtest86+ 4.00
http://majorgeeks.com/Memtest86_d4226.html
Run it for at least 7 full passes of tests, best for 24 hours!. There must be NO errors what-so-ever.
Here is a guide if you need it ...
Guide to using Memtest86+
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/Guide-to-using-Memtest86-t246994.html

 

I went 6 whole days without an incident. I thought that whatever had been causing this issue had just resolved itself. Then it happened twice in the last hour. I checked my Event Log and these are some of the errors it had:

Cryptographic Services failed while processing the OnIdentity () call in the System Writer Object.

The previous system shutdown at 8:15:20 AM on 11/05/2009 was unexpected.

The previous system shutdown at 8:35:58 AM on 11/05/2009 was unexpected.

The Parallel port driver service failed to start due to the following error:
The service cannot be started, either because it has been disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.

The following boot-start or system-start driver(s) failed to load:
i8042prt

I'm no genius, but that last one looks problematic, but how to know if it's causing the restarts or is a result of them?

Someone from HP tech support originally had me run those diagnostic tests on all my things in BIOS. I passed all of them. I also checked to see if any Windows Updates ocurred but none have, not since yesterday.

I'll get started on investigating this further, meanwhile, someone be a genius and fix this for me ASAP. AHHHHHHHHHH - it JUST DID IT AGAIN!!!! Good thing I was typing this on my laptop or I'd be extra pissed! But I'm actually glad because I hadn't opened even one program after the last restart, so this time was the first time it did that with no programs open. And now I'm just gonna reboot in Safe Mode. Hopefully that'll quell them for awhile.

So to sum up: no random restarts in the last 6 days, then 3 in the last hour. Go figure. And in case I didn't already say this, there is NOTHING that I am doing to cause this. This time, the first restart happened while I was sleeping. The sound of my computer rebooting is actually what woke me. At first I thought it was a Windows Update but (a) those don't act like erroneous shutdowns and ask you to reboot in Safe Mode, and (b) if a Windows Update shuts down IE, it won't say that it was abruptly closed the next time you open it, and (c) I checked and no updates installed today.

All help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

 

Greetings, Sue...

Tough one, yes? If your forum display is set the same as mine, you'll notice at the bottom on this page a 'Similar Threads' section, and you'll also notice that random restarts can be software, hardware, and/or malware related, which makes this sort of problem sometimes near impossible to troubleshoot...

I'll not infringe upon AustrAlien's procedure: he/she is obviously helping you in the correct manner...

I will suggest a hardware slant: if you can open your case, check for any loose connections, dust buildup, foreign objects, etc...

And, most important: hang in there...

 

Thanks Caliban. I like your username (fan of The Tempest?)

Honestly, I wouldn't dare touch the hardware. I am pretty good at solving computer problems by myself but not when it comes to hardware. I don't know anything about hardware, unfortunately.

I was told by HP tech support that my best bet was to do a system recovery, thereby wiping my drive clean of everything not factory installed. That's understandably a pain in the butt. But I'd do it, if I had to. My question is this: if it IS a hardware issue, wouldn't performing system recovery not solve the problem?

Thanx. =)

 

Ha! The Bard ain't bad, but I was leaning more towards Asimov - something about robots not restrained by any laws kinda appeals to me...

Unfortunately, you're right: doesn't matter what you do Windows-wise, if your hardware is the culprit...

If you're not hardware savvy, I'd suggest 'keeping on keeping on' with what you're doing - meanwhile, maybe you could get a friend or local shop to check out your 'puter's innards, see if there's anything obvious...

 

One other quickie you might try: boot into Safe Mode, and let the machine sit for a while, if you can do without using it... that may tell us if it's a 3rd-party problem or not...

 

Yep, that's exactly what I'm doing now. I am hoping that it will behave itself in safe mode.

 

The last (and final) HP rep I spoke to online said that remaining in Safe Mode is a good idea because if it still does the random restarts in safe mode, then it's a hardware issue. Whereas if it doesn't do it in Safe mode, it's a software issue.

But how could I know? I went for 6 days with no problems. Oh well. I'm thinking of just doing a system recovery and seeing if that works. What a pain in the butt that is. But I figure it'd give a good chance to clean my computer up since it's too full!

 

Please check to see if you have any minidumps to work with, as per the following link:
HOW TO: Debug Memory Dumps (Figure out what is causing a BSOD)
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35246

Check the following location ...
C:\Windows\Minidump folder

 

OK, I'll try to do that. Does it matter though, that I haven't had a BSOD? (at least not on this computer!)

 

Are there any relevant minidumps?

relevant = coinciding date & time with the "random" restarts

No BSOD = no minidump is the usual case .... so I am curious

PSU fault causes restart = no BSOD/no minidump is the usual case

 

I can't find any minidumps. I looked and the location it should be in is this:

%SystemRoot%\MEMORY.DMP

I don't know what that means but I figured the "system root" has to be either Windows or Windows/System32 but I can't find anything even dump related there. Nor any files even ending with the file extension of ?.dmp.

Is that because there isn't one or am I doing something wrong?

 

Check the following location ...
C:\Windows\Minidump\ <<< folder

Does the "Minidump" folder exist?
Are there any files inside it?

 

There is no such folder. I checked five times (just in case I was doing something wrong) and I even made it so I could see hidden files in case it was hidden. That folder simply does not exist on my computer.

Is that bad?

 

You might not see a memory dump file until one is written...

 

>>> You have never had a BSOD/fatal system fault: That is what it is most likely to mean (all other things being as normal).

Now, that can't be a bad thing!

 

Nope, not on this computer! This PC is only like a couple of years old. I think I got it in like December of '07.

OK so no minidump. Now what?

I am trying to exhaust all possibilities before I hunker down and do a system recovery. It's really gonna annoy me if I do all that work of backing everything up and then it turns out it was a hardware issue!

So far no restarts since the last one. What do you think it means that they usually come in sets? The last 6 days I had none, now this morning 4! That's gotta mean something.

 

>>> PSU <<< Already said: erratic behaviour, very difficult to diagnose

Very easy job to replace the PSU ... even you could do it !!!
You just need to actually HAVE one.

Two years .... some people manage to accumulate a LOT of minidumps in that length of time. You have done well.

 

I have just had a quick google ...

Try googling HP Slimline s3200t psu

.... and have a read.

 

Thanks!

Well here's what I know the problem isn't:

- a virus
- overheating
- anything regarding dumping
- a system failure
- a Windows update problem
- a BIOS problem
- a diagnostic problem
- something I'm doing
- any 1 specific program I use (because it happened with no applications running)

Any ideas?

 

I just thought of something that might be important but didn't dawn on me until now.

About a month ago my monitor shut down for no reason. The CPU was still on, but the monitor just shut off. It looked like it was still on (the light was on) but it just shut off. I had to manually restart.

Then, it did it again a little while later and this time I saw a puff of smoke come out the top/back area where the vents are. So I unplugged it, put it in the basement, and bought a new monitor, which works fine.

Do you think the two could be connected?

(And I am not exactly sure what you saw in those Google searches? I am not good with hardware. I don't even know what a PSU is, I am ashamed to say).

 

Extremely cheap/minimum specification hardware provided with the HP Slimline? That's all.

After a two-minute google, I am prepared to gamble your money and my reputation (only because I don't believe it is any gamble what-so-ever) .... the Slimline is absolute MINIMUM specifiction hardware by the look of it. Don't bother with your HP tech's advice: I'd back Window's system software against the hardware in the Slimline !

You said: "And I am not exactly sure what you saw in those Google searches?"
Enough! The PSU supplied has a very low output of 160watts by the look of it, and there are a good number of other people wanting to replace the same.

Tell me this: What have you got plugged into your computer? .... USB devices, printers, mouse/keyboard, lights, coffee warmers??? .... etc
Please provide a list of everything, and whether or not they are self-powered (have their own power supply from the mains).
All these devices will be drawing power from the computer system.
Any extra hard drives?
Any extra RAM?

Any extra load like this and you will see the exact problem you are experiencing on that VERY MINIMUM output PSU.

 

OK let's see...here's everything I've got plugged into my computer:

- USB hub
- mouse
- keyboard
- printer
- cable modem
- router

I can't think of anything else, except my monitor of course. Everything is plugged into the computer itself, the only things I plugged into the USB hub are my keyboard and my flash drives when I use them.

You know, when I first got this computer, within a month or two I had this problem. I remember it like it was yesterday. But I thought that maybe the computer was just updating itself (Windows Updates A LOT when the computer is new, and sometimes it restarts on its own) but the problem went away by itself. I think for someone like me who uses the PC a lot and does not shut down, I should get a better bigger machine.

 

Does the USB hub have its own power supply?

You said: "for someone like me who uses the PC a lot .......... I should get a better bigger machine"
That seems like a wise move, but that is entirely your decision. With the release of Windows 7, it is good timing too!

 

Yeah the hub has its own power supply because I tried to use it without the A/C adapter (because it says you can) but I couldn't get it to work (which now makes sense, with what you're saying) unless i plugged it into an outlet.