Auto Restart

[jackhammer_bob]

Hi Guys, need a bit of help

My computer restarts erratically now by itself - usually in 10+ min. after startup.
I'm running WinXP Pro, and I have the latest SP2

OS: WinXP Pro
Motherboard: ASUS P4P8X
Harddrive: Western Digital 80 gb
CPU: P4 2.4 GHz

I wasn't sure if this is an OS problem or a hard ware problem - I recently formatted the harddrive because the S.M.A.R.T. system informed me of a "BAD" Condition upon startup. But now its status is "Capable and OK".

Thanks in advance.

 

[Praetor]

i wasn't sure if this is an os problem or a hard ware problem - I recently formatted the harDDRive because the s. m. a. r. t. system informed me of a "bad" condition upon startup. but now its status is "capable and ok".

.
typically HDD failures don't cause a system restart . more often than not they cause the whole system to 'lockup'. to eliminate the HDD as the source of problems, run a thorough HDD scan or make use of programs like norton disk doctor.

in the meanwhile, have a look at your voltages (you can check either via the hardware monitor in BIOS or [url=http://www.asus.com/support/download/selectftp.aspx?l1_id=1&l2_id=11&l3_id=0&m_id=1&f_name=probe22304.zip~zaqwedc]ASUS Probe[/url]).

 

[jackhammer_bob]

VCORE Voltage 1.552V
3.3V Voltage 3.312V
5V Voltage 5.080V
12V Voltage 11.977 V

CPU Temp 35C/95F

Is this typical? Thanks for the help.

 

[Praetor]

is this typical? thanks for the help.

yes it is. now when you say it "restarts by itself" do you mean "the power cycles and the computer gets restarted" or do you mean "windows shutsdown and restarts"?

 

[jackhammer_bob]

My computer doesn't shut down or restart properly (that's another diff. problem, which i don't mind having as much as this) - when I shut down or restart the computer, I have to hold down the power button to turn it off.

When I Shut Down my computer: 1st Press Power (to turn off comp.) - 2nd Press Power (but nothing displays on monitor but my fans are spinning - it doesn't start up) - 3rd Press Power (to turn Off) - 4th Press (now it turns on properly)

When I Restart my comp: 1st Pressing Power (Shuts down) - 2nd Press Power (Turns on)

Ah sorry if this complicates things.

On average, when I'm using my computer it doesn't restart, when I leave it on and I'm not doing anything on it, it does.

 

[Praetor]

my computer doesn't shut down or restart properly (that's another diff. problem, which I don't mind having as much as this) - when I shut down or restart the computer, I have to hold down the power button to turn it off

motherboard: asus P4p8x

well that motherboard does properly suppor the 'normal' shutdown feature (unless you've selected otherwise in the BIOS if that feature is even available) and this may be related to the problem of your computer restarting

when I shut down my computer: 1st press power (to turn off comp. ) - 2nd press power (but nothing displays on monitor but my fans are spinning - it doesn't start up) - 3rd press power (to turn off) - 4th press (now it turns on properly)

um . . why not just hold the power button for 4seconds?