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I have a very annoying and potentially harmful problem with my computer. It keeps randomly restarting for no reason without warning. This has caused 2 users on the computer to lose documents in OpenOffice and it is just plain annoying when anyone is browsing the Internet or playing a game and it restarts. I am running Windows Vista Home Premium.

There is no STOP error, blue screen, error reporting or anything. All it does is shut off and boot up again. When Windows is started again though, the Recovery Menu appears. The one where you can choose either Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking or Start Windows Normally (not the full Advanced Boot Options menu).

It happens with all 3 user accounts on the computer, Standard or Administrator. I highly doubt it is a software problem because I have tried uninstalling all non-factory installed software (everything except Dell Support Center, Roxio CD Burning and other stuff that Dell installed) but the problem still persists. This problem began about 1-2 months after we purchased this computer. As of November 20, 2008 it will be 6 months.

I also don't think it is a hardware related issue because the problem does not happen with Ubuntu or OpenSUSE and Dell Diagnostics runs fine. It only happens with Windows and this computer is quite new so it shouldn't be a hardware issue anyways...

I have narrowed it down to the operating system if I'm correct, but I don't know how to resolve this problem. I have checked Event Viewer logs in Control Panel but that only showed me what happens during boot up.
The restarting usually occurs in the evening, and when it does, it goes off a few times in a row, I had 6 times once.

This problem is very annoying, any help here?

This post has been edited by FirefoxRocks: Nov 1 2008, 01:20 PM

Same guy working on the system ? Are you also involved ? Does it happen while you are working ?
If you are involved, I would like to suggest you to use a liveCD Windows version and try working a couple of hours ?
If the livecd version has no problem, definitively you have a Windows problem.
However, the problem could also be due to the sites you are surfing on or to the size of the OpenOffice documents you are using, then the diagnostic is harder to perform.

Try installing newer driver versions - my Windows regularly restarts due to bad graphics card driver. Well, not really bad, they just seem to work in an odd way on my configuration...

It could be some corruption in your Windows Registry or system service that keeps forcing Windows to crash and restart. It is best to reinstall Windows.

xboxrulz

It could be a driver or compatibility problem. If you are a Vista user, make sure any and everything you install is compatible with Vista 32 or 64. You have to check the proper version. Also read the EULA, read me, and any other last minute documentation, especially on compatibility with Vista or other Microsoft components/technology. Some updates supersede others and/or disable certain compatibility with other software. If you're running OpenOffice make sure you have the latest graphic drivers, check your Java Runtime software/update for compatibility. If this does not help. Check what starts up when your computer loads. Something is not right compatibility wise, not configured properly, or you're stressing the load on your processor/memory. Keeps notes on what you're doing with your machine before any hardware and software additions. If this doesn't work make use of your tech support and/or warranties. You may even have to let your pc sit on the sidelines till newer updates are available - provided this is not a custom setup. good luck

This means it is time to reinstall your operating system. This problem probably has something to do with your system's registry. Try buying RegCure or something to probably fix it and make your computer good as new...

I have had that kind of problem over the years on several computers. As others have said, it can be a driver problem. I have a machine that dual-boots Windows XP Home and SuSE Linux. In Windows, I can let it idle for days, and nothing happens. However, when I am in a word processing program or graphics program, I typically lose a half-hour of work when it reboots, usually when I use the mouse to do something. In Linux, this machine is rock-solid -- it has never, ever rebooted in Linux.

I had another computer with a Gigabyte motherboard, vintage 2001. After 3 or 4 years (long enough to outlast the warranty), several of the capacitors on the motherboard started leaking. That produced spontaneous reboots. The difference there was that I didn't have to be doing anything -- it would just reboot when it felt like it, and the reboots gradually became more frequent. Fortunately, I got worried and backed up the computer before the motherboard died completely.

Similar behavior can also be caused by a slowly-degrading power supply. If that is the case, it is simple to diagnose and fix. Modern BIOSes can read out the voltages. If they are below spec, it is time to replace the power supply, which is usually the least expensive problem you can have.

Because windows vista may not be good as windows xp for hardware compatibility.
It seems that you should first make a backup of the system registry.
Just in case if the restart corrupted it.
You still could restore it without fullly re-install the OS.

So, please try to boot to the safe mode and test it if this unexpected restart still occur.
If this failed to work. You might need to unplug some hardware inside the case.
Such as TV card, and then try again.

It is the home computer and yes I am affected also. It happens on all profiles. I don't know what a LiveCD Windows is (never heard of a live CD for Windows). It doesn't happen with certain sites (in fact sometimes I am not even browsing the Internet and it restarts).


I have all latest Windows Updates installed and I updated some drivers (monitor, video card and ethernet card). The problem still persists.


I am using Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit edition. I have minimal software on startup (antivirus, firewall, Dell Support center, Windows Sidebar, Microsoft FolderShare and Windows Live Messenger beta). It doesn't matter what software is in startup or is running, it still happens. I have tried phoning Dell technical support and my warranty only covers hardware issues and as for issues to do with the operating system itself, the best they can do is to assist me in reinstalling Windows Vista. They also have a paid "software" support option but I am not willing to pay to fix this problem.



I have tried several utilities available from Download.com and found them to be no use.


In Safe Mode it still occurs but less frequently. I don't think people will like the fact that I am pulling out PCI cards and stuff from inside the computer.

The most famous LiveCD is knoppix, have a little goggling in order to know where to download it from. You download the iso file, you burn it on a CD, and you boot this CD.
This boots a ready-made Linux system, your system is on the network, you can surf on the net, it uses nothing from your hard disk, everything is on the CD.
Try that, try surfing on the net for a couple of hours. This will eliminate the question to know if it's a hardware problem.