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[ianeggbert]

Evening all,

I did start a thread in general software issues regarding this problem - and many thanks to the reply's and suggestions. This problem has now moved on somewhat and I wonder if any of you have ever come acros this situation.

Out of the blue in December my Dell computer, for no apparent reason started randomly shutting down and rebooting. No blue screen etc just momentarily frozen and then reboot. There has been no pattern to this and it happens immediately on start up or after being used for an our, or a couple of weeks ago nothing for 5 days.

In january i took the PC to the local (trusted) repair shop who reloaded windows xp and tested everything they could and all appeared fine. The moment I got the desktop PC back home, within 20 minutes it rebooted again! Took it back in to repairers again last week, they had it running all week with absolutely no problems. Changed RAM, ran 3D graphics tests etc etc as you would expect them to do . Absolutely no problems whatsoever. They even commented that if all computers were as reliable they'd be out of work. Got it back home on monday this week, and yes, youve guessed it started doing exactly the same again! This morning I took everything back in  to the shop as it was pretty bad (rebooting a dozen times between 8 and 9 am this morning). They set everything up on the bench (including my Acer monitor and all the leads etc i use at home), and it has been working perfectly all day!

Even the guys in the shop are baffled. Could this be just bad luck on my behalf, a power supply issue at my home or the router causing the problem? I am absolutely baffled and dont really know what to try next

Any suggestions as always, greatly appreciated
regards

IAN

[oldfogy]

Previous thread.
http://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php?topic=4180.msg100185#msg100185

Just a friendly word of advice.
It's always better to keep the same or at least very similar topics within the same thread, as it saves people from having to try and find other threads to see what has already been suggested.


Did you ever try changing the graphics card, as advised suggested?

There are also several reasons why this might not occur when in the repair shop, one being they may have better ventilation and a cooler area, plus on a work-bench the PC will more than likely be free standing and not surrounded by anything and also possibly with the side of.
All of which makes for a much better and cooler environment, so the problem does not then occur.

[exo]

Hi, it may help if you could establish if this is a hardware reboot or a Windows reboot.
If you have not already done so, then disable the Windows automatic restart in the event of a system failure.

Odd that the computer shop could not get the same problem if it is so frequent.
Perhaps your home power supply is subject to surges/spikes on the line.
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/surgeprotectors.html
Do you use a surge protection device?

exo

[ianeggbert]

Hi all,

Old Fogey - points taken and will keep to the same section/ topic in future. Havent changed the graphics card, mainly due to the fact that they have really stressed it in the shop and it hasnt wavered at all. The PC at home is well ventilated and I've also been using it with the side off to see if theres any difference and it doesnt help. The fact that the problem also sometimes occurs within minutes of starting up the PC in the morning doesnt would suggest that its unlikely to be a heat issue.

Exo - its interesting that you suggest disabling the auto restart - I have done this and it STILL restarts! I do use a surge protector and have changed this over to a new one and it hasnt helped. I will however try a UPS device if theres no joy or get an electrician round to see if theres a problem with the supply.

Has anyone ever come across a dsl line or outer issue causing this type of behaviour? Im just trying to rule out what could be happening at home that doesnt get picked up in the repairers 

[exo]

Hi, disabling the Windows auto restart will mean that when Windows gets a system failure, you get a BSOD error message and not a reboot.
As this is not the case, then it may well be a hardware problem that is causing a reboot. This may be anything ranging from overheating issues to a component starting to fail (PSU, motherboard capacitors etc).

For test purposes, I suggest removing or disconnecting unnecessary hardware so you have just the basics.......motherboard with CPU and memory along with graphics card, hard drive and monitor and all cooling fans.
Intermittent problems are difficult to diagnose.

exo

[ianeggbert]

Thanks Exo, useful tips there as well.
My biggest query here is why can the PC run in total for over 8 days in two seperate sessions in the repair shop with virtually perfect results and then start the problem within 20 minutes of setting up when I get it home on both occasions. this is whats really baffling

[oldfogy]

........ this is whats really baffling

I'm not saying it is the problem, but that very same question had me wondering for over 6 months.
(Possibly Kitz also, although more than likely for a much shorter time then myself)

Something is overheating.
Until you try another graphics card you can't rule it out.
You could try checking the fan is nice and free if nothing else.
If it's not...............

[HPsauce]

why can the PC run in total for over 8 days in two seperate sessions in the repair shop with virtually perfect results and then start the problem within 20 minutes of setting up when I get it home on both occasions. this is whats really baffling

What is different:
1. The environment... (temperature, power supply etc. etc.)
2.What is connected... (mouse, keyboard, monitor, and so on)

You need to think very hard about both of those.

[ianeggbert]

Morning all,

Again, many thanks for the replies

Just to confirm - I transported my whole system (including the same power leads, monitor, keyboard, mouse etc) to the repairers, so they have the same system running that I have at home. They have run a lengthy stress test on the graphics with almost perfect results. 

When used at home, the PC is used in the conservatory, under my desk, very well ventilated and obviously being in the conservatory, its the coolest place in the house!  I've run it with the side panel off - the fans are all working and the computer is dust free and clean.

[BritBrat]

I was going to say heat problem.

Maybe you have an electrical problem at the power socket, not unknown for live and neutrol to be wrong way around.

Or maybe a wire is loose and not secured correctly resulting in a short power loss. (Temperature variation of wire in use or conservatory)

Or even another faulty device in the house/conservatory making it trip the computer.

[ianeggbert]

Hi Brit Brat

Going to try putting a UPS in to see whether it makes a difference. I've tried several different sockets but still the same problem unfortunately. Strange thing is, the PC has worked perfectly for 2 years and this just started out of the blue

[ianeggbert]

Evening all!

It appears that after a couple of very frustrating months I have FINALLY tracked down the cause!!!!
It looks like the culprit was my Speedtouch 121g Wireless USB adapter - I have subsequently discovered through the power of google that other people have had the same problems.

So.... if any of you have this product attached and you're having similar problems, unplug it and see if the problem goes away!

Many thanks for all your help and suggestions

regards
IAN

[HPsauce]

I transported my whole system

So you didn't actually 

As I said earlier "2.What is connected"

Incidentally, a few days ago I saw a system that would just hang/freeze part-way through the boot process.
This was due to an attached BT Voyager wireless router (don't recall the model) connected by USB (with another unit on the LAN port). Just rebooting the router fixed it. 

[ianeggbert]

I tracked it down with a little help of course! 
Thanks HP

[UncleUB]

A long winded elimination process Ian but you got there in the end,well done.