[funkedup]

Firstly, i'm not sure if this is in the write thread so i apologise for that...
My parents home pc keeps crashing and restarting about a minute after i log into windows, and restarts, doing the same thing again.
I'm guessing it has some virus, but i cant even stay in windows long enough to try do anything or run a virus program..
What's my best option? should i just format the whole thing?
Thanks!

[Advertisements]

It may be a virus, and it may be a hardware problem.

Try getting a better PSU. The last time I had this problem on my desktop, I was so stupid and I actually sold it. Months later, when I got into the Internet, learnt about basic computer management and stuffs like that, I found out the PSU was not enough to power my computer.

Try using the PSU first. If the problem still comes up, I think you'll have to reformat.

~Kelvin

[Kelvin]

It may be a virus, and it may be a hardware problem.

Try getting a better PSU. The last time I had this problem on my desktop, I was so stupid and I actually sold it. Months later, when I got into the Internet, learnt about basic computer management and stuffs like that, I found out the PSU was not enough to power my computer.

Try using the PSU first. If the problem still comes up, I think you'll have to reformat.

~Kelvin

[Ztruker]

If they have SP2 on this computer, boot to Safe Mode by pressing F8 (or F5) during the early part of the boot process. When you get the Safe Mode selection menu, select the entry to turn off Automatic restarts. If not, do the following:

Right click on My Computer.
Click Properties > Advanced > Startup and Recovery Settings.
Uncheck box for "Automatically restart".

The next time the problem occurs, you should get a blue screen (called a BSOD - Blue Screen Of Death) with some information on it. Record that info and post it here please. That should help determine what is happening.

My guess is bad ram or a corrupted device driver. What have they done to the computer lately? Did they add or remove any software or hardware, run a registry cleaner, ???

[latigid]

I'd first run a chkdsk /f .

http://computerclean...for-errors.html

[funkedup]

So i tried all the above, with no luck. The computer runs in safe mode, so im guessing its not the PSU. Tried turning off the auto restart setting but it wasnt there? so think SP2 isnt on. I dont know wat they've done to the PC, just got back from college and they not the most tech savy parents, so doubt they messed around with settings.

[Kelvin]

It may be the PSU, again. Being in Safe Mode or Normal Mode doesn't matter, if the computer can't survive on the PSU's power supply, then it will crash. Experienced it before.

Another hardware problem that also happens is the fan overheating. Try checking the computer fan and see whether it spins abnormally fast and gets hot very quickly after restart.

Also, can you write down what error message do you get when you encounter this problem?

~Kelvin

[Gravity Gripp]

I doubt it would be the power supply if it is the original one. Typically if a power supply fails, it's just dead and you won't be able to turn the machine on.

As far as your problem goes, since you know it runs in safe mode, I would do a virus/spyware scan first to make sure the machine is clean. If you are certain that the machine is clean and you are still having problems, it could very well be an overheating issue as Kelvin suggest.

You can try to take the side of the computer off and put a fan blowing into the machine to see if that helps. Also, while you have the computer open, it wouldn't hurt to blow it out with some compressed air. Pay close attention to the amount of dust on the CPU heatsink and fan.


Let me know how that goes.

[Ztruker]

Since it runs in Safe Mode, try the following:

First, physically disconnect from the Internet to prevent a malware infection while your Anti-virus and/or Firewall are disabled in the following steps, then do a normal boot:

Click on Start then Run, type msconfig and press Enter.
Click on the Startup tab and disable everything.
Do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable several items at a time till you find the culprit.

If no, click on the Services tab. Check the Hide All Microsoft Services box then disable what's left.
Again, do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable services till you find the culprit.

Reconnect to the Internet when done.

Once you've found the culprit, uninstall it or find out how to eliminate it from your system. Simply disabling it in msconfig is a temporary fix at best.