Need computer help, freezes up and restarts at random - Dallas Cowboys Forum

IndianaCowboyFan · 09-23-2006

Any ideas? I cannot run Norton or ad aware or spybot without it locking up.

Thanks in advance.

Yeagermeister · 09-23-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndianaCowboyFan

Any ideas? I cannot run Norton or ad aware or spybot without it locking up.

Thanks in advance.

Try going in to safe mode and run them.

IndianaCowboyFan · 09-23-2006

I have tried that but I get a screen that says they cannot be run in safe mode. When I try it anyway the computer freezes up.

the kid 05 · 09-23-2006

only thing i can think off is hdd errors, virus and the freezing could be narrowed down to lack of RAM. Does it give you a notice before it restarts or just BOOM power off then powers back on? cuz that could be due to an over load of the surge protector i have an isolated one for my computer/printer and another for my tv (which dubs as a monitor also)/xbox/ps2/sound system

IndianaCowboyFan · 09-24-2006

The screen just goes black and then restarts without notice.

**Reality** · 09-24-2006

How much RAM do you have in the computer? How many RAM modules do you have? Meaning, if you have 1GB of RAM, is it two 512k modules?

While there are many causes for this kind of problem, one of the most common for random restarts is bad memory. If you have more than one memory module, you can remove all but one, try it and see if it does it still. If it happens again, then you can swap the memory with one of (or the) other modules and try it again.

Another cause that most people overlook is a bad power supply. I had a PC I set up for a family member (I never do this for anyone) and I was getting calls from her almost every other day with random lock-ups and reboots. I replaced everything in the computer part by part .. I eventually bought her a new motherboard, CPU, memory and a hard drive. Reloaded everything and it still kept locking up and rebooting. It turned out that the power supply was flaking out and the voltage was dropping on it peroidically.

Of course it could be something else like a bad hard drive, corrupt .DLL files, corrupt programs or virus/spyware infection.

Oh, and just some advice .. don't go out buying replacement parts until you know what the problem is!

-Reality

IndianaCowboyFan · 09-24-2006

I guess I will have to take it in and have it checked out. It is a emachine and I know they have lots of problems. Wish me luck and thanks.

AmarilloCowboyFan · 09-25-2006

One thing that will cause random restarts is just a lot of dust on the inside. Open the case and blow it out. That usually isn't going to cause lockups but it will cause the restarts.

tomson75 · 09-25-2006

Buy a mac.

**Reality** · 09-25-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomson75

Buy a mac.

Macs are built with mainly PC parts now so that won't help unless it is an operating system problem.

the kid 05 · 09-25-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomson75

Buy a mac.

thats my line :P

Doomsday · 10-04-2006

Ive seen this on a few computers and everytime it was a virus, you need to install a virus software like Avast that has boot-time scanning or get a bootable virus disk that will scan your system before the OS boots up.

And for the record Norton sucks. Ive seen multiple PCs get viruses that had the latest version of Norton corporate edition installed, even though they did full scans on a weekly basis. Everytime I installed Avast's FREE home edition and did a boot-time scan and it found the viruses and cleaned them.

LatinMind · 10-12-2006

just restore everything..in the long run u'l save time..u'll lose everythng but atleast u get a clean working version of your pc

Yeagermeister · 10-12-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by LatinMind

just restore everything..in the long run u'l save time..u'll lose everythng but atleast u get a clean working version of your pc

If my pc was that messed up I'd wipe it and do a clean install also but I usually do that at least once a year anyways.

Doomsday · 10-16-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by LatinMind

just restore everything..in the long run u'l save time..u'll lose everythng but atleast u get a clean working version of your pc

I love that Youll lose everything but hey no biggie. Some people actually use their PCs to do work and need the stuff stored on the hard drive.