Computer Restarting on its own

I have an eMachine T6520. It's out of warrenty ('04). Has been a very good machine. Here's my problem. After booting up, within 30 seconds the computer shuts down to restart. It functions fine in safe-mode. (as I am typing this note). Had computer since '04. Only one restore was done in April 09. Had no problems. Only modifications I've made, is new monitor (Samsung SyncMasters206bw; a video card; and upped RAM to 2Gig. Have had no problems till now. I have AVG and it detected NO virus. I have also a Seagate external with all my files backed up.

When troubleshooting, (via config files) nothing looks out of the ordinary) and it's booting up on the C-drive as it's supposed to.

I use Audacity audio/digital editing for voice work I do, but it has not been a problem either.

I would appreciate some guidance on what/where I might further my troubleshooting and/or have someone walk me through.

There are so many threads - this seemed as good as any to interject my issue.

Thank you for your assistance.

Craig Davis
Wichita, KS USA

 

G'day craig2009
as you haven't mentioned what os you are using i am assuming it is xp.first thing you could try is using the built in error check function there is a few ways to start this function myself i click on my computer then right click on c drive then from the drop down menu select properties.in the next window that appears select the tools tab and click on error check and tick both find and fix errors,then follow the prompts you will need to restart the computer for it to be able to scan.this will sort out any problems in your system directories.let us know how you go good luck.

 

Try this ...

In Safe Mode, disable "Automatic Restart on System Failure".

Disable the Automatic Restart on System Failure in Windows XP
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/tipstricks/ht/disautorestart.htm

Instead of restarting when Windows crashes, you should see a BSOD (blue screen of death). Record the error message in full detail and post in this thread.

 

Awesome. Thanks. I didn't think of that at the time.

 

This is the error I finally received from the blue screen,
Stop:0x0000007E(0xC0000005, 0x000004, 0xB7E8CBB8, 0xB7E8C8B4) ...and it noted following this code, that it had dumped physical memory.

 

craig2009

0x0000007E: SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
There are numerous individual causes for this problem, including hardware incompatibility, a faulty device driver or system service, or some software issues. Check Event Viewer (EventVwr.msc) for additional information.
http://www.aumha.org/a/stop.htm

There are two things you can do ...
1. Follow the instructions in the following thread to locate and debug a minidump.
HOW TO: Debug Memory Dumps (Figure out what is causing a BSOD)
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35246

2. Start > Run > and type "eventvwr" and press the ENTER key.
You will need to know the time/date of a BSOD first.
Look for any entries related to the BSOD, and then double-click on the entry which will open up a dialog box with more detailed info.

Post the info in this thread if you need help.