Help me Please. My PC keeps reseting itself.

[Elysse622]

Ok so this is exactly what happens.  I'll be right in the middle of something when my computer will reset itself without any preamble whatsoever.  I get no error messages before it goes, and it immediately boots up like nothing happened.  The only other thing I should mention is that it seems to be more likely to happen if I"m running a more complicated program (Like a grafics intensive game), but it doesn't only happen when I'm playing a game, and it doesn't always happen when I'm playing a game.  The one thing that will make it happen everytime is running the windows xp "free up space on my hard disk" thing.

If anyone has any clues on something I can try I would be most appreciative.

[Fed]

Turn off Automatic Reboot on System Failure.
Take note of the error screen that will appear the next time it has a fault.
Check your Event Viewer for warnings etc.
Test your RAM.
http://www.memtest86.com

[Elysse622]

First of all thank you for responding. Now I turned off the reboot thing, and waited for it to do it again...This time my screen just went black and I had to manually turn off my pc.  When I restarted it I got a message that my PC had "recovered from a serious error" so I took a look at that and got this:

C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERc807.dir00\Mini083006-01.dmp
C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERc807.dir00\sysdata.xml

I don't know if that'll tell you anything.

I tried to do that memory test, but it didn't seem to work...I'm going to try it again now.

Again thanks.

[Fed]

You will need a floppy disk then then download the Pre-Compiled Windows package to your desktop, unzip it then double click on the install icon.
This will create a the floppy for you then just re-boot to that floppy & let memtest run for a couple of hours to test your RAM.

Did your windows message say anything else at all, numbers?
Did you check in your Event Viewer?

[n0vyf]

check for dirt and dust blocking the heatsink of the CPU and the Powersupply.  Overheating will cause the problems you are seeing.  Another possible cause is a fan has failed most likely on the CPU.  Other causes are bad memory simm, if you added something like a cd the power supply cant keep the rail voltage up under strain, and line voltage sags from heave usage on the grid.  My money is on the dust or the fan.  Either will cost you about $8 (canned air or new fan) at the local computer store, MORE if you try your luck at RadioShuck.  Let me know...

Randy