computer rebooting problem

[hummingbird]

I talked to my service provider - my computer has started occasionally rebooting itself for no reason. A couple times in the middle of something I was doing... no error messages or warning, just reboots. The first guy said he wasn't sure what it was, might have to reinstall the system. The second guy said it might be faulty ram. Just wondered, Nick, if you had any experience with this. If it's the ram, I don't have to pay for it, it will be covered under warranty.thanksHummin'bird

[ciskokidd]

Hi Vikki,It could be any number of things but the most likely culprits will be either faulty RAM, a faulty motherboard, or a bad hard drive.I don't think at this point that it could be the OS since it isn't freezing or giving you any errors.To diagnose the issue you will have to take it into a repair facility or back to the manufacturer, especially if it's the motherboard. I would back up your data right away in the event that it's the hard drive.Cisco

[hummingbird]

This is a custom built audio computer with 3 SATA drives, 2 GBs ram, etc, just got it at the end of February 2007. Came with a 3 year parts/labour warranty, so that's good. Will start backing up the newer stuff as soon as I finish this afternoon's gig.thanksV

[jh]

My best guess would be the motherboard or a virus. I´ve had faulty RAM and a bad hard drive, but those didn´t cause rebooting... faulty RAM causes error messages and a bad hard drive causes weird noises But then, of course, I could be wrong I would install the windows on a different hard drive. Then if the problem won´t go away you can switch back the "old hard drive". You would know for sure it´s not the hard drive, it´s not a virus, but it could be the RAM or the motherboard. It could be a spike in current... OR, it could be even the processor...is it AMD? HTH- JH

[mazz]

Vikki,I'd get in touch with the vendor you bought the computer from. Utilize that 3 year warranty and their tech support! Some of these vendors can log on to your computer remotely and do a diagnostic on it. Check with them on that!Good luck, there's nothing worse! Backing up is the best thing you can do right now!!Mazz

[milfus]

another common problem, with audio equiptment around, can be heat, if it trips the thermometer it will shut off

[hummingbird]

Sorry - I should have made this clear in my first post -- I talked to my computer firm, they said to bring it in, and I will, but I'm going to be away for a few days. So I'll do my back-ups and turn it off until I get back, and then take it in for an exam/diagnostic/treatment H

[hummingbird]

So my hard drive has gone off to the shop to get straightened out, and I am left bereft of my music making box. However, last night I wrote a cool acoustic guitar lick that could potentially become an instrumental, and I wrote a two part medieval style instrumental for two recorders, and practiced it until I could play it up to speed. I have a coaching with my voice coach tomorrow and my first mandolin lesson in two weeks. And I called the teacher of Irish flute & pennywhistle to see about taking a class or private lessons. Hope to get my audio computer back by Thursday at the latest - I got music to make!!

[hummingbird]

Just want to let you all know how this problem was resolved. The hard drive went into the shop. I asked them to clean it cause I know the house is very dusty. They examined it thoroughly, could find nothing wrong with the system except that it was very dusty inside. They suggested it perhaps was an overheating problem, that shouldn't happen anymore. I made a note to myself to have the system cleaned every 6 months. (While it was there, I got them to add 2 GBs of ram, so I now have 4.)But then the rebooting happened again a couple of times. I called and talked to the service rep. He asked what else was plugged to the socket with the computer. That got me thinking. I said I lived in a very old character house. He said sometimes that can be an issue. So I bought a battery back-up system for the computer. This means that, in the event of a shortfall in electricity the battery clicks in. It also acts as a surge protect.I've been running that for a week at the computer has not rebooted once. So that could be the answer.Still, let us all remember to BACK UP OUR WORK this weekend. I'm doing mine right now.

[timbehrens]

Hi Vikki,I know I've come in late in the conversation, but just wanted to add a few things. I try and keep a thing of canned air near my computer and use it to dust out it's innards once a month or so. The fan around the CPU can easily get clogged up with dust, cause it to overheat and reboot. Another common problem, especially when you run multiple hard drives, is that your Power Supply is just cranking out enough juice to power everything. If there is any fluctuation, it can overload and cause a reboot. A lot of hard-core gamers say that the power supply is the most important part of the box because of that and I think it might be true for musicians as they have components that draw more power (sound cards, extra backup drives, etc). Anyways, glad to hear you're back up and running. Best wishes.