computer turns on and off

[marie642]

I noticed this when i came home one day. The computer would turn on and off and there was nothing i could do to stop it.
When it turns on, the screen goes to americain megatrends page, and then turns off. Sometimes it doesn't even reach there at all. A rare occasion it will get past the american megatrends page (to the DOS or BIOS, im not sure witch) but only for a second or two. I think i got to the regular windows page once but then it turned off again. (and then on and then off...)

I've tried putting the computer into safe mode by pressing and holding F8 but it turns off too quickly for me to even have the options screen.

How can i fix it?

[marie642]

By the way im using windows xp

[Broni]

by pressing and holding F8

As soon as computer restarts, keep TAPPING F8 key.

[hawthorn]

My computer was doing that and I stopped it (but it was the leadup to a major problem).  To stop it I went to Control Panel and then System.  After that I clicked on the advanced tab, settings (under Startup and recovery) and then unticked automatically restart.  Then I clicked OK and then OK again.

That stopped the resetting that was happening about every 15-20 minutes no matter what I was doing.

After doing that then not long after the blue screen began happening very regularly until one day the computer just wouldn't get past the welcome screen on Windows.  I took the computer in to be checked and they quickly diagnosed that the motherboard was dead.  Supposedly it had been dying a long time ago because a few of the things that make it work had started coming off the board and eroding.  When one of them starts eroding, it does the bluescreen, when two do it contines to do it but just more often and then after 3 of them do it the computer will not load (that's according to the computer tech who diagnosed it).

If you open the computer case up you may be able to see them they are about 1cm or so in height and a few millimetres wide kind of resembeling a battery standing on its end with a couple of bits of wire attaching it to the board.  If those are looking like they are rusty or eroding you've got the same problem I did and it won't be going away until you get a new motherboard.

If after changing this setting you begin getting the blue screen often I think that your motherboard is on it's last legs.

[Broni]

She can't get to Windows.