Random Restarts 1

[hksoftware]

This problem went away for a while, and now it's come back.
Every once in a while, perhaps twice in a day my PC restarts, out of nowhere. It's not a clean restart at all, it just goes straight off, then begins to start up again, without warning.

It's WinXP Pro SP2, AMD Athlon 1.3 Protected by Norton AV 2005. I'm pretty sure it isn't a virus.

There have been no recent hardware changes as far as I'm aware.

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[ski]

Possible causes:

-Everything not completely seated on the motherboard.

-Overheating
If the system temp gets over 45 deg. C, then make sure the computer's fans are running, the vents are open, the computer is not located in an enclosed space or near a heat source, and there is no internal dust build up.
If those are ok, then remove the computer's cover, and run an external fan. If this fixes things, then install additional case fans. Recommended locations are lower front and upper rear of the case.
If the CPU gets over 60 deg. C, then make sure the thermal compound has not oozed out from between the CPU die and the heat sink. If that's ok, then replace the compound with Arctic Silver.
If no luck, then install a higher capacity heat sink fan.
If still no luck, then replace the heatsink with a more efficient unit.

-Overtaxed or bad power supply
Either test it, or swap it out with a different(preferably higher wattage) unit.
Also, always use a reliable brand, like Antec or Enermax. Off name cheap brands(even high powered units) can have one voltage leg that's insufficient to handle the load.

-Bad memory
Run Memtest86 and if problems are reported then -> remove and reinsert the memory a few times, if using multiple modules then install just one module at a time and try it in different slots, do not use any optimal settings for the memory in BIOS, and swap it out with known good memory.
Also, do not mix parity and non-parity memory.

-Bad video card.
Make sure it's fully seated, it's fan is running, its heatsink is securely mounted, and there's no dust built up on the fan and the heatsink.
If those are ok, then swap it out with a known good card.

-Bad MB.
Check for bulging, leaking, or ruptured capacitors.
If they look ok, then swap it out with a known good MB.

-IRQ conflict with a network card.
If no problems show up for the NIC in Device Manager, then remove it from DM, shut down, remove the card from the MB, and restart.

-Viruses and spyware.
Run Ad-aware, Spybot, and Hijack This for removing spyware.

-Kazaa.

 

[hksoftware]

Excellent help, thanks.
I'll get right on it. I'm downloading software now which will show me temperatures and fan speeds...

 

[hksoftware]

Here's the results:

Fan1: 4326 RPM
Fan2: 0 RPM
Fan3: 0 RPM

Temp1: 29C
Temp2: 27C
Temp3: 42C
HD0: 36C
HD1: 0C

VCore1: 1.76V
VCore2: 2.48V
+3.3V: 3.20V
+5V: 4.87V
+12V: 12.54V
-12V: 0.48V
-5V: -5.81V
+5V: 4.97V
VBat: 3.39V

What do you think? That -12V value looks very strange. Temp3 is a little high but other than that I can't see any problems. I'm assuming there isn't a Fan 2 or 3.

 

[Frank4d]

Most MOBOs do not report negative voltages properly (if at all) to Speedfan. My -12V reads as -8.5V and mu -5V reads as +1V. Nothing to be concerned about.

Temp3 is probably your CPU, and 42C is a good temp.

 

[Frank4d]

If you want to stress your CPU to see if heat could be a problem, run a "SpyBot Search&Destroy" scan while Speedfan is reporting temperatures. Your probably good if it stays below 55C.

 

[hksoftware]

Interesting. I decided to submit a Windows error report. I never usually do, but decided to anyway.
I was redirected to this Windows Page:

------------------------------------
Virus alert: a virus has been detected on your computer

Thank you for submitting an error report.

Problem description

The error was likely caused by a computer virus that is known by the following names:

* Win32/Apropos.B
* WinNT/Zufyx.A
* Spyware.Apropos.C
* Trojan.Win32.Crypt.t

Solution

A solution is available. However, because you will need to restart your computer to implement the solution, please read and print these instructions. They will not be available after you shut down your computer.
...
------------------------------


I then had a Google and found out this Spyware can only be found in safe mode, and AV's don't detect it (As it's not strictly a virus)

I'm going to scan in safemode with my Spyware scanners, I'll keep you posted.