[Derek Jeter]

Earlier today, when I was in an adjacent room, my PC (which had been on all day) restarted itself without my assistance. I noticed this when I was watching TV and out of nowhere I heard the little jingle that plays everytime I log onto Windows. I'm not sure if it's related but I have my PC plugged into a UPS Power supply. I didn't have a power failure because none of my other electronics when off and back on like the PC did.

Is there something I can do (i.e. change the Power settings) to make sure that this doesn't happen again.

Thanks.

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Sometimes, especially if you have an older computer, you will occasionally get a BSOD while doing absolutely nothing because your machine generated some odd error. They are usually harmless and a one-time thing. When this happens, the system shuts down and reboots almost instantly to prevent any possible damage caused by software errors.

Otherwise, I think Windows Update also reboots automatically... correct me if I'm wrong.

[Chopin]

Sometimes, especially if you have an older computer, you will occasionally get a BSOD while doing absolutely nothing because your machine generated some odd error. They are usually harmless and a one-time thing. When this happens, the system shuts down and reboots almost instantly to prevent any possible damage caused by software errors.

Otherwise, I think Windows Update also reboots automatically... correct me if I'm wrong.

[Derek Jeter]

Well....I don't have an old PC. It's not brand new but definitely not old.

Are you sure my UPS power supply or a properties setting that I have on Windows didn't play a role in it?

[Ztruker]

Have you ever cleaned out the inside of your PC? Dust and stuff build up inside over time and can cause overheating which can cause the system to shutdown.

Malware can also cause this as can Windows Update.

[Chopin]

Ah, right. Malware. Ironic, isn't it, the one thing I forgot to mention

How old is your power supply? And yes, a can of compressed air (or an old bike pump, in my case) can do just the trick.

[Derek Jeter]

Have you ever cleaned out the inside of your PC? Dust and stuff build up inside over time and can cause overheating which can cause the system to shutdown.

Malware can also cause this as can Windows Update.

I had it cleaned out just last week when I had a new HD put in. It can't be Malware because I'm super-cautious about that stuff. I don't how Windows Update could have used it since it's NEVER happened before.

How old is your power supply? And yes, a can of compressed air (or an old bike pump, in my case) can do just the trick.

I had a new one installed last week along with a new HD because a freak accident occured which led to my HD and power supply being fried. I must clarify one thing....when I said "power supply" earlier I meant the APC Backup UPS that I just got...not the power supply that's inside my PC.

[Ztruker]

It can't be Malware because I'm super-cautious about that stuff

Famous last words. Ranks right up there with I didn't know the gun was loaded and The Titanic is the safest ship in the world, she's unsinkable.

[Derek Jeter]

It can't be Malware because I'm super-cautious about that stuff

Famous last words. Ranks right up there with I didn't know the gun was loaded and The Titanic is the safest ship in the world, she's unsinkable.

Actually....if there's one thing that I'm good at when it comes to computers, it's spyware/malware/virus protection AND detection.

[Ztruker]

Sorry, I guess my humor isn't all that funny.

[anzenketh]

Derek Jeter,

Lets go ahead and see if it was a blue screen.

Disable restart on system failure

We want to do is stop windows from automatically restarting and display the blue screen error message.

Right click MY COMPUTER, choose PROPERTIES, choose ADVANCED, choose the SETTINGS button in the Startup And RECOVERY section, and uncheck AUTOMATICALLY RESTART. Click APPLY and OK.

When your computer restarts automatically next report any error messages. If you get a blue screen with white text report all the technical information.

Disable restart on system failure
We want to run the offline crash diagnostics to get a quick snapshot at what could possibly be the problem with you getting Blue screen error messages.

First we want to download the offline crash diagnostic. You can obtain that here
Now we want to Run the Offline Crash Diagnostic tool
After you save the WindowsXP-KB923800-ENU.exe file, follow these steps:

1. Double-click the WindowsXP-KB923800-ENU.exe file to install the Offline Crash Diagnostic tool.
The installer adds the Offline Crash Diagnostic tool files to the %Windir%\Pchealth\Helpctr\Binaries folder.
2. Click Start, click Run, type ocadiagnostic.exe ,and then click OK to run the Offline Crash Diagnostic tool.
3. Agree to let the tool send information to Microsoft. Then, click Next.
The tool performs the following tasks:

• The tool determines the number of dump files on the computer.
• The tool finds any dump files that are located in the %Windir%\Minidump folder. You can choose to send all the dump files, or you can choose to send individual dump files.
Note The last 10 dump files to be created are collected. Dump files are not collected if they are more than one year old.
• The tool automatically sends the dump files to the Office Crash Diagnostic Microsoft database Web site for analysis.
• The tool downloads the response URLs.
• The tool displays the response IDs. The tool also provides hyperlinks to the Office Crash Diagnostic Web site.

Go ahead and report back the Response IDS(if any) with your next post.