A very wierd problem.

Hi. Does anyone know why my computer might restart itself every once in a while? Cuz like, I was running mirc and AIM, and then, all of a sudden, it just restarts. Have you guys ever experienced this before?

It just restarts without warning.


I'm running a P3-600 with Win2k pro.

Yes, it's happened to me although not for a long time. It's usually a sign of instability. Could be a software problem. Could be lots of things. Heat, running out of memory, multitasking overload, who knows? Is your rig overclocked?

no, it's not overclocked. but I think you might be on to something with the heat thing. I replaced my heatsink like 2 days ago. and yesterday, I moved my computer into my dorm. I think it may have gotten a bit loose. I'm gonna open it up and check it now. Thing is, it was running fine that entire day right after I replaced the heatsink, I just noticed the problem last night, after I moved the comp. I'm not using a good heatsink, but the one that was on there before was even crappier, with worse paste too. I don't know, maybe I should replace the paste with arctic silver, but I don't know if that will do much. I'm not an expert on these things.

PhatKirby said:

no, it's not overclocked. but I think you might be on to something with the heat thing. I replaced my heatsink like 2 days ago. and yesterday, I moved my computer into my dorm. I think it may have gotten a bit loose. I'm gonna open it up and check it now. Thing is, it was running fine that entire day right after I replaced the heatsink, I just noticed the problem last night, after I moved the comp. I'm not using a good heatsink, but the one that was on there before was even crappier, with worse paste too. I don't know, maybe I should replace the paste with arctic silver, but I don't know if that will do much. I'm not an expert on these things.

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Definitely check your heat sink. When you experience problems after moving a computer you definitely want to check that not only your heat sink is secure, but all your cards and ram. Overheating can definitely cause your computer to randomly reboot. When you move a computer try to carry it and rest it on its side so the heat sink is not stressed. Some of the larger heat sinks can break the socket clips if carried upright.