IlliniKrush Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Just today my computer has begun to restart itself every few minutes. When it comes back on, it says that windows has recovered from a serious error. I've tried to follow the "file a report" thing to see what suggestions they have for fixing the problem, and it mentions things downloaded recently may affect it, etc. I have not installed any new programs recently, so this seems pretty random. It also mentions restoring the system/drive or something. I'm not computer savvy at all and am hoping for some help here. Summary: Computer keeps randomly restarting itself pretty frequently. Windows says it has recovered from a serious error each time it comes back. Thanks in advance for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanOfCorn Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Did you happen to get one of those e-greetings lately? It claims it's from someone you know or someplace you were, like a high school reunion? If you clicked on that, your computer may have downloaded a virus/software that could be the problem. How to fix? Not sure. Geek Squad??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 The random restarting sounds like you might be about to blow some caps. Back-up your system completely if you can to an external drive and call the geek squad. And if that's what it is, start looking around for a new puter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controlled Chaos Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Aug 14, 2007 -> 03:11 PM) Just today my computer has begun to restart itself every few minutes. When it comes back on, it says that windows has recovered from a serious error. I've tried to follow the "file a report" thing to see what suggestions they have for fixing the problem, and it mentions things downloaded recently may affect it, etc. I have not installed any new programs recently, so this seems pretty random. It also mentions restoring the system/drive or something. I'm not computer savvy at all and am hoping for some help here. Summary: Computer keeps randomly restarting itself pretty frequently. Windows says it has recovered from a serious error each time it comes back. Thanks in advance for the help. what are you doing when it restarts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandy125 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 (edited) When your computer boots up, try pressing the F8 button. You should get a menu that allows you to boot into safe mode. If the problem is software related, the rebooting issue shouldn't occur (most likely) when you are in that way. This will allow for more troubleshooting or to move files off of the computer more easily. A couple of possible issues: Over-heating - Is it in a cramped area, or does it have a lot of dust inside (this is something you should be able to look at)? Hard-drive about to go - Just a possibilty, probably need a comp tech out to look at then Memory Issue - Same as hard drive Motherboard Issue - Same as hard drive If it still has a warranty on it, or it has some tech support available from the vendor, you may want to give them a call. Edited August 14, 2007 by vandy125 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish71 Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Aug 14, 2007 -> 03:11 PM) Just today my computer has begun to restart itself every few minutes. When it comes back on, it says that windows has recovered from a serious error. I've tried to follow the "file a report" thing to see what suggestions they have for fixing the problem, and it mentions things downloaded recently may affect it, etc. I have not installed any new programs recently, so this seems pretty random. It also mentions restoring the system/drive or something. I'm not computer savvy at all and am hoping for some help here. Summary: Computer keeps randomly restarting itself pretty frequently. Windows says it has recovered from a serious error each time it comes back. Thanks in advance for the help. You may want to check your machine for a virus/malware/trojan. Update your Antivirus, and if you are not using AV(shame on you), then go and download AVG as its free. They also have a antispyware free software. Remember with spyware, the more detection and removal utilities the better. In the antivirus community they companies share signatures and detects. However in the spyware its more competitive and they don't share. This means that you get only a segment of the detects in a product. Here are a few other free products. Spybot Search and Destroy Adaware Xblock online spyware scan - Facetime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rangercal Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 I had the worst trojan ever that led to popups every time I opened a new window. Even though I was browsing with firefox, the popups were all IE. I tried every free product you can think of, the only one that worked for me was kaspersky anti virus. I used the 30 day free trial, cleaned my system, cancelled my account and switched back to AVG here is the link http://www.kaspersky.com/trials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sox4lifeinPA Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 cmd /shutdown will stop the shutdown process, I believe. I had this same problem and just completely redid my pc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controlled Chaos Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 QUOTE(southsideirish71 @ Aug 14, 2007 -> 03:56 PM) You may want to check your machine for a virus/malware/trojan. Update your Antivirus, and if you are not using AV(shame on you), then go and download AVG as its free. They also have a antispyware free software. Remember with spyware, the more detection and removal utilities the better. In the antivirus community they companies share signatures and detects. However in the spyware its more competitive and they don't share. This means that you get only a segment of the detects in a product. Here are a few other free products. Spybot Search and Destroy Adaware Xblock online spyware scan - Facetime I've dealt with a lot of Malware/Viruses and have never had it restart the computer over and over. Although, I will say at this point Malware is pretty much capable of anything. Steffs guess of some leaky capacitors is definitely something to check out first. The capacitors are those cylinder looking things attached to the motherboard. If they are leaking or blown there will be a bulge or some rustish looking gobbly goo on the top of them. Also, if this is happening when you're working the pc hard, it could be overheating...which could be just a matter of blowing out dust, replacing the fan or the heatsink. It could also just be your power supply. It could also be your RAM. If you have two DIMMS, remove one and see if it still happens. If it does, swap the other one back in and test it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsideirish71 Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 (edited) QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Aug 15, 2007 -> 08:41 AM) I've dealt with a lot of Malware/Viruses and have never had it restart the computer over and over. Although, I will say at this point Malware is pretty much capable of anything. Steffs guess of some leaky capacitors is definitely something to check out first. The capacitors are those cylinder looking things attached to the motherboard. If they are leaking or blown there will be a bulge or some rustish looking gobbly goo on the top of them. Also, if this is happening when you're working the pc hard, it could be overheating...which could be just a matter of blowing out dust, replacing the fan or the heatsink. It could also just be your power supply. It could also be your RAM. If you have two DIMMS, remove one and see if it still happens. If it does, swap the other one back in and test it again. I work as a security engineer and have done a lot of research and work with malware/virii/other associated types of random code. I have seen Viruses cause this type of issue where the system constantly reboots. Am I convinced its a virus, no. Then again it could be hardware, or some other OS corruption. But to me, from a troubleshooting model. Its easier to start with the lower hanging fruit. Do a few scans, see if that fixes anything before you start to rip the case apart and replace hardware. Edited August 15, 2007 by southsideirish71 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlliniKrush Posted August 20, 2007 Author Share Posted August 20, 2007 Geek Squad said it wasn't going to be worth fixing. Got a new desktop, Compaq. Day one, thing comes up with the "blue screen of death" 3 times in 2 hours. Take that one back, now on this new (x2) one. They were able to salvage all my old stuff which was nice. I'm on Vista now and I feel like I'm on crack while trying to use this thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controlled Chaos Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 (edited) QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Aug 20, 2007 -> 03:06 PM) Geek Squad said it wasn't going to be worth fixing. Got a new desktop, Compaq. Day one, thing comes up with the "blue screen of death" 3 times in 2 hours. Take that one back, now on this new (x2) one. They were able to salvage all my old stuff which was nice. I'm on Vista now and I feel like I'm on crack while trying to use this thing. Was it the capacitors? It had to be hardware if they said it wasn't worth fixing? Edited August 21, 2007 by Controlled Chaos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Aug 20, 2007 -> 02:06 PM) Geek Squad said it wasn't going to be worth fixing. Got a new desktop, Compaq. Day one, thing comes up with the "blue screen of death" 3 times in 2 hours. Take that one back, now on this new (x2) one. They were able to salvage all my old stuff which was nice. I'm on Vista now and I feel like I'm on crack while trying to use this thing. Vista takes some getting used to. I've been playing with it for a little over a week and I'm starting to figure out the short cuts. It runs a ton faster than XP though, which I love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Gleason Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 (edited) I've had Vista on my laptop for quite some time now. It sucks. Edited August 21, 2007 by Kid Gleason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanOfCorn Posted August 21, 2007 Share Posted August 21, 2007 QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Aug 21, 2007 -> 09:01 AM) Was it the capacitors? Were they "fluxing?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobDylan Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 QUOTE(IlliniKrush @ Aug 20, 2007 -> 03:06 PM) Geek Squad said it wasn't going to be worth fixing. Got a new desktop, Compaq. Day one, thing comes up with the "blue screen of death" 3 times in 2 hours. Take that one back, now on this new (x2) one. They were able to salvage all my old stuff which was nice. I'm on Vista now and I feel like I'm on crack while trying to use this thing. Of course they'd say that... Next time tell Geek Squad to go f*** themselves and find a real computer technician that won't tell you "just buy a new one" so they will up their sales and earn rewards from the company. Unforutunately finding a real computer tech can be difficult these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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