random restarts

**Yuri-G** · 2015-03-09 14:41

Hello BG Tech,

So my computer keeps randomly restarting. It goes black/signal-less, and then boots back up as if I had just turned the power on. It never bitches at me or complains or gives me any sort of message so I'm fairly certain this is a hardware issue, not a software/OS one. Sometimes it happens when I bump the case, other times it happens for no apparent reason at all.

I've been running it panel-less for the moment so it was easy to go in and check all the connections - they seem fine, but I can't be sure I'm not missing something.

Any thoughts? I think it must either be a) bad connections between the power source and MOBO b) MOBO problems or c) power source problems. Obviously hoping it's a) because that's the least annoying/expensive issue to diagnose and fix. Or maybe it's d) none of the above, in which case I have no clue.

What should I do besides rechecking all the connections?

I mean I'm running a SDD now so it's not the end of the world that I have to randomly boot fresh... I shudder to think of how painful this would be on a regular HDD. Still, it's annoying as fuck. It hasn't happened during a dungeon run in XIV yet and I'd rather fix this before it does.

**chiyio** · 2015-03-09 16:41

test your ram, that's where I'd start.

Run memtest86 or something for a bunch of hours and see if you get any errors. most linux distributions have it as an option when you boot off the install disk. I think windows has a mem test option now as well on the install media.

**Yuri-G** · 2015-03-09 17:51

ram you think? I wouldn't have thought to look there... hmm that could be it. I had some issues with the RAM when I built the computer, although it seems to be working fine now. thanks, I'll try that when I get home!

**Ratatapa** · 2015-03-09 19:02

Do this

1) right click on computer > properties
2) go to Advanced System Settings
3) Go to Advanced Tab
4) click Start up and Recovery
5) Uncheck Automaticly Restart

That will prevent your PC from auto restarting and show you a BSOD with an error code instead

**tenkiki** · 2015-03-09 19:47

This sounds similar to what happened to me, it was something with the power source, as soon as I replaced it, everything has been fine. It seems like it's in the initial stages where it randomly fails, but works for hours at a time. Eventually, my computer failed to turn on or would constantly restart, so I had to replace it.

**Yuri-G** · 2015-03-09 20:50

Originally Posted by tenkiki

This sounds similar to what happened to me, it was something with the power source, as soon as I replaced it, everything has been fine. It seems like it's in the initial stages where it randomly fails, but works for hours at a time. Eventually, my computer failed to turn on or would constantly restart, so I had to replace it.

bleh. I hope it's not the PSU... although that's one of the cheaper replacement options. still, rather not have to replace anything!

Originally Posted by Ratatapa

Do this

1) right click on computer > properties
2) go to Advanced System Settings
3) Go to Advanced Tab
4) click Start up and Recovery
5) Uncheck Automaticly Restart

That will prevent your PC from auto restarting and show you a BSOD with an error code instead

thanks, but this is why I think it's not software/OS related; I already tried this and it still reboots with no error message. it''s not really a reboot; more like a brownout - the machine turns instantly off and then begins booting up a second later.

**chiyio** · 2015-03-10 14:06

Power supply also sounds likely, but so does motherboard. Ram is the easiest to check, and it could be that when windows tries to use a bad sector, it decides to nope out.

**orinthia** · 2015-03-10 15:30

You can check for error codes with this: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html , provided there happened to actually be blue screens and it was able to create data dumps before reboot.

It sounds more like a power issue though like the others noted. Either the power coming from the wall isn't stable (do you have a UPS or surge protector hooked up?), plugs/cables are messed up (do you smell anything burned? check cables and wall socket for burns/frays), psu is going bad, mobo itself is going bad (expanded/exploded capacitors, etc), or something randumb.

**Yuri-G** · 2015-03-11 17:10

hmm now that you mention it I'm using an older power strip that is questionable... although the Christmas lights I have plugged in don't flicker (that I notice) when this happens. still, something else to check on - for which I thank you!

**Senji** · 2015-03-12 01:30

This happened to 4 PCs I know; 1 was faulty power button on case, 1 PSU, 2 MB. MB's left a log and strangely wouldn't do it when playing games/actually doing anything, only when idle or net browsing.

**Yuri-G** · 2015-03-12 19:08

the interesting thing is that this never happens when I'm idle. I leave my PC on for days to download shit (don't judge, I need to get rid of my DSL) and never once have I come back to a reboot. it seems to happen almost exclusively with FFXIV, now that I think about it... but it hasn't happened since I went into the case and checked all of the cables and connections, so I'm hoping it was just something that was a little loose.

I get depressed every time someone says "PSU or MOBO"... because you're probably right, but I REALLY don't want to deal with either one.

haven't done any further testing because it seems to be fine now... knock on wood. still I appreciate all the advice and (god forbid) if it starts again, this thread will come in handy.

come to think of it, I'm going to run that memory utility regardless because why not?

**bluefan** · 2015-03-12 22:10

Pretty certain it's the PSU. It can hold at times but eventually it'll just die.

**legionffxi** · 2015-03-13 06:19

Sounds to me like a PSU or a heating issue, from what I am gathering your system is rebooting when under load. Try running Prime95 on it to simulate max load and see what happens.

**Yuri-G** · 2015-04-08 13:43

so... interesting. two times now the problem has gotten really bad. both times I adjusted all the cables, cleared them from touching any of the guts (which I don't think matters? but I'm not a hardware guy so idk), made sure they were plugged in tight (especially the mobo to power supply connection which is a bit wobbly) and the problem is solved... for a while. add in the fact that it often happens when I jostle or bump the computer and I think we have a culprit...

hmm. the struggle, it continues.

**Spicyryan** · 2015-04-08 17:49

Originally Posted by Yuri-G

so... interesting. two times now the problem has gotten really bad. both times I adjusted all the cables, cleared them from touching any of the guts (which I don't think matters? but I'm not a hardware guy so idk), made sure they were plugged in tight (especially the mobo to power supply connection which is a bit wobbly) and the problem is solved... for a while. add in the fact that it often happens when I jostle or bump the computer and I think we have a culprit...

hmm. the struggle, it continues.

No, touching cables don't matter. How old is this box? The PSU? What wattage is it? Is it modular?

Assuming you didn't punt it, a PC doesn't just restart from being nudged, especially with an SSD over a spinning drive.

**Yuri-G** · 2015-04-08 18:32

box is pretty new. the PSU is a Corsair 600W so should be solid. I don't know if it's modular. let me see if I can find it in the thread above...

that's the thing; a PC shouldn't go boom from being nudged but mine does... it's gotta be a connection loose, but they all seem fine to me. and like I said, when I reconnect everthing it works fine again... for a while, then it slowly ramps up the power failures over time. it does happen on occasion when I don't bump it at all, but not nearly as often.

at first I thought I was just imagining things, or it was coincidence, but it's happened way too often at this point.

here's my computer specs:

Spoiler: show

**Spicyryan** · 2015-04-08 22:53

So its modular, try swapping some of the cables out for others that came with it. Try also switching some of the inputs that are the same type to open ones. Make sure they are actually in because some cases don't leave you much of an angel at all to verify after you had to try and butter your hand up to get it in there to push the cable in.

Check out the MOBO while you do this just because.

**Yuri-G** · 2015-04-09 14:11

ok, thank you for the tips. I will try that when I have a moment... which is not often lately, lol

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