You were happily writing your school paper, playing a videogame, or doing some other task when poof!-- your computer suddenly decided to restart.
You allowed it to boot up again and hoped that it would no longer happen. But sure enough-- like clockwork-- it now keeps restarting again and again and again.
What on earth is going on? Is your computer finally on its last leg?
Believe it or not, no. When a computer restarts, it's usually because of a surprisingly minor issue that's easily fixable. So if you're currently experiencing this problem and worrying that it means that you have to buy a new computer, don't. Your machine may be suffering from any one of the following resolvable issues:Cause one: overheating
Probably the most common and likely cause of a restarting computer is overheating. That is to say, for some reason or other the inside of your computer keeps rising to a nice and toasty level-- nice enough to make some s'mores in, but very bad for your components. When things get a little too hot to handle, your computer restarts as a protective measure.
A tell-tale clue that your computer is overheating is if it keeps shutting off during a program that consumes a lot of resources (like a video game). Another tell-tale sign is that your computer seems to keep restarting after a set period of time (for example, always 20-30 minutes from when you first power it on).
What can you do if you suspect that overheating is the problem? Try the following:
1. Check for dust clogging air vents in your case
One way that computers keep cool is through the use of air vents. When these air vents get clogged with dust, this prevents cool air from circulating back into the case. Check to see if your case needs a good cleaning, then clear out any clogged vents.
2. Check for dust clogging your fans
Fans are another way to keep your computer nice and cool. If too much dust collects on them, they may stop spinning. To check for any malfunctioning fans, take off your side panel and run your computer briefly to look for any that no longer seem to spin.
If you find one, turn off your computer completely, unplug it, and blow or brush away any heavy dust from the non-spinning fan. Then start your computer up again. If the fan starts spinning, great-- you've solved your problem! If not, go to the next step:
3. Check for dead fan
If the non-spinning fan still isn't working after you brushed away any dust, check its plug and make sure that it's pressed firmly into your mobo. If it still fails to spin afterwards, it's definitely no good and you'll have to replace it.
4. Check thermal paste (for DIYers)
If you built your own computer, maybe the thermal paste you applied has dried out. Check to see if that indeed is the caseCause two: faulty device driver or hard disk error
Drivers are what allow your hardware to interface with your computer. Without the proper drivers, nothing would really work-- not your printer, your sound, your internet connection, or any other important computer feature.
Sometimes for whatever reason, you may wind up with a bad or faulty driver. When it malfunctions, your computer will restart to protect this driver from screwing up the rest of your system.
Another thing that can cause a computer restart is a faulty hard disk. When your hard drive starts coughing up errors, the same thing happens as with a faulty driver. Your computer will then immediately shut off and restart to prevent any further damage being done to your system.
If your computer is restarting, how can you know whether it's one of these issues (driver vs hard drive) that's behind it?
1. The first tell-tale sign is a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death). Seeing one of these is almost certainly a sign that this is either a hard drive or driver issue.
2. A more direct sign is the message Windows gives you right after you reboot. You will usually see a web page from Microsoft (called "The Windows Reporting Screen") informing you that either a hard drive or faulty device driver has caused your system to shut down.
Okay, great, now what?
Research error message
To drill down the exact cause of your restart, you can write down the error message you're getting from the BSOD and then research it online. But first you'll have to get around the problem of the BSOD zipping past your eyes faster than you can see it. To prevent this from happening, you can do this:
1. Go to the My Computer icon on your desktop
2. Right click and choose Properties
3. Click the Advanced tab
4. Look for "Settings and Recovery"
5. Click Settings
6. Then uncheck "Automatically Restart"
What will happen now is that whenever you get a BSOD, it will remain long enough for you to read what's on the screen. Jot down whatever message you see and do a search. Provided it's not an obscure issue, nine times out of ten you'll discover what the cause behind the restart is, as well as how to fix it.Cause Three: Virus or Malware
Could our old friend, Mr. Virus, be the cause of all our restarting problems? Perhaps! If you've determined that neither overheating or a disk/ driver failing is the issue, run a virus and malware scan. Something may have just snuck onto your system without you being aware of it.Cause Four: Bad RAM
Installing the wrong type of RAM can create an error that causes your computer to restart. So can a failing stick in RAM. To see whether faulty memory is the problem, test your current sticks by removing one at a time or swapping them out with any other sticks you have lying around.Cause Five: Power Supply Unit
The Power Supply Unit is a metal box inside your computer that supplies it with the necessary juice to turn it on. If it malfunctions, it will cause a computer to restart. To check if the PSU is the problem, you'll have to swap the one you have installed in your machine with another one to see of the restarting problem persists.
If your computer no longer restarts after the swap, then you'll know for sure that your PSU was the problem all along. If, however, your computer still restarts, then you'll have to figure out which one of the aforementioned causes in this hub might be behind the issue.
