My computer (a piece of garbage Compac I bought cheap at Wally, running Windows XP) keeps rebooting for no reason. I have run the virus scan and also cleaned off the adware, so I can't figure out what's going on. Any thoughts? I read somewhere it might be heat related, but I keep my apt. at 68 degrees year round so I don't think that's the problem.

Any thoughts or suggestions on how to fix this annoying piece of crap before I drop kick it or toss it out the nearest window would be most welcome. :)

It might be heat related, yet completed unrelated to ambient temperature. Processors gets hot! And these days almost always require a cooling system. Maybe your cooling system has failed, recently?

To check on the cooling thing, personally I would open it up and look to see if there is a tiny fan mounted directly on the chip, then power it up and see if the fan is working.

There are other possible causes for this, like software problems... but since you say you've already cleaned the software, I don't know.

Massage, thanks, I hadn't thought of that, will check the fan. The amount of time I spend on this thing it does get a regular workout. Which is more than I can say for myself and the monkey... :)

Aside from the chip-mounted fan, there could simply be a set of radiator fins attached directly to the chip which, conceivably (though unlikely) has simply come loose, and therefore doesn't conduct heat away from the processor.

Also, an accumulation of dust bunnies (thats the technical term) inside your computer could interfere with the overall circulation of air in the box as a whole.

Like I said, I have no compelling reason to think that it is an overheating problem, thats just one of the possibilities. Bad ram could be the problem, as well as a loose cable inside, a defective 'reset' switch, and bad software.

Maybe you could check your ram... your bios can probably check it, or you can also put a special ram checking program onto a floppy or a CD which you would boot from, instead of windows, for the check.

Hi massage (aka VP of Chocolatedom),

Wow, thanks, lots more info., will definitely check all this stuff when I sign on later today. Right now the monkey is calling me to join him for a much needed snooze.

Thanks again for all your wise advice and here's your own key to the secret chocolate vault... :)

OK, it just did it again, and here's the error message I keep getting over and over again every time it reboots, see if it makes any sense:

TrueVector engine Event Type: Error
Event Source: TrueVector Service
Event Category: None
Event ID: 5007
Date: 7/9/2007
Time: 5:47:27 AM
User: N/A
Computer: S
Description:
TrueVector engine: File "C:\WINDOWS\Internet Logs\IAMDB.RDB" was corrupt and has been copied to "C:\WINDOWS\Internet Logs\xDB420.tmp". File "C:\WINDOWS\Internet Logs\IAMDB.RDB" was corrupt and has been deleted.

The event error your recieving is usually associated with server models of Windows 2003. It deals with your error log being too full. To check if this issue is what you are experiencing, open up "my computer'. Right click on your hard drive (normally labeled C:) and choose properties. Look at the disk size, free space, ect. portion of the properties. Let me know how much free space you have. If you are really low, thats your problem. The other cause of this issue is your memory. Inside your box is your memory "sticks".

Here is where it can get tricky, and dangerous for your PC. Anytime you open up your box, make sure some portion of your skin is touching the metal interior of it. This will keep you from "shocking" your system. One little zap can and probably will fry whatever it is that you touched.

Turn your system off. Unplug the power cable. Look inside your system. You will see one or more little sticks. They are the only thing that looks like a a miniature ruler in shape. If you have two or more, just remove all but one. Close your box and restart your PC. Place any sticks that you took out in a static safe environment, like a drawer. Not your sock drawer. Run your PC normally. If it errors out again, try taking out the stick inside your box and swapping it with one that you took out. Rinse and repeat. If your system still errors out with every stick, then your RAM (Memory) is fine. If it never errors out when one stick is in, then the other stick is your issue.

BTW, anytime you get an error message with your PC, just google the error message. It will give you a good idea as to what the issue is, and where to start looking.

Will

Lookingformore,

What are you talking about? That error has nothing to do with RAM or Server 2003.

Shenerd,

The problem can happen with both Zone Alarm and EXTrust/EZarmor. If you have either of these applications, you have to remove the application and then delete the folder that is left behind in "Program Files" and then reinstall the program you removed. This should fix your issue.

Regards,

Johnnie

I don't know. I just had a laptop that kept doing that to me. And it ended up needing a new HDD. Just a thought. I bad one that I am sure. But that is what my experience was to the same type of problem.

whispertoascream,

You probably didn't need a new HDD. Replacing the HDD meant you had a new install of all your software, so that fixed the issue. The issue could probably (almost definitely) have been fixed by the process I described. Sounds like you might have gotten screwed...

ya, my first thought was ... virus. Have you checked that?

The rror message he gave, just google it. Of course the reasons for that error code are way off, which I stated

spidercmb, I took it to two different places for estimates before I sent it back to the owner. And it was the HDD. But also the laptop was old and the HDD not that big and was working harder then it is supposed to. So it was indeed my HDD.

well i sent her an e-mail to run error check

she e-mailed me back and said so far no more reboots on its own

lets hope it stays that way

and error check is a standard x p tool

don't know why it is not used more


but hey what do i know

SheNerd,

At first I thought you were talking about a sudden spontaneous reboot, no warning, no error message - and one which another had good reason to think was heat related. Now that I've seen that error message, I would say that most of my suggestions above almost certainly have nothing to do the your situation.

Spider,

I think Whisper was talking about a 'sudden failure/reboot' situation, not one specifically related to the error message SheNerd has presented.

Hi Spider,

Wow, I do use EZ Armor Firewall and Virus Scan, will do as you say regarding both. Defragged and error checked earlier today and so far no reboots (knock wood and monkey sputum!) but I'm going to reinstall the Firewall and Virus Scan programs later this evening just to make sure everything is on the up and up. Hopefully this will be the end of my spontaneous reboot woes...

Thanks again and free chocolates for life to all from a very grateful SheNerd :)

SheNerd,

Glad I could help and I'm glad to hear that your computer is running better.

interesting

very interesting

if you have never reinstall windows xp entirely you definetly have a system thas been compromise, best thing to do is get a separate new harddrive partition it in two or more part and install windows; before you do this download xp service pack 1 and 2 onto your new harddrive, reboot and disconnect the old drive and boot from the CD, this is the only way to bypass viruses and spyware that may detect you trying to clean the your computer, the reboot you suffer are cause by flaws windows xp has, and hacker design viruses and worm that attack those vulnerabilities. ps after you install windows xp ,install the service pack and antivirus before going conneting to the internet and disconect always when you plan to reinstall windows (unplug cable)

ps once you install windows xp with the upgrades and update antivirus you can reconnect you old hard drive and scan for viruses and delete them it best to reinstall windows every 6 to 12 month to keep it clean and runnig fast unistalling program fragment your hard drive and leave scrap in windows registry, good luck