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Laptop restarting?

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by lara_cy

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I've got a laptop, and like to leave it over night on sometimes when im downloading stuff( big files) lately, everytime i wake up my laptop has either restarted by itself ( and is asking me for my login info). i have no idea why it shuts down, i don't have any power savings options, and to make sure its not hibernation or standy by, i switched those off to see if it still did it. Anybody got any clues? its really confusing me!

17 replies

by lara_cy

something i forgot to mention, when it restarts and i enter my login details again, the desktop loads up and i can an error msg saying a big error has been casued by windows. i click close and the laptop runs fine.....

by willcomp

Kinda shooting in the dark here since there's not much to go on. Possible causes:
1. Critical service termination (check event log) if XP or 2000.
2. Virus
3. Adware or spyware. Install, update, and run Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy (both are available from download.com).

If you can come up with more specifics, it would help.

Maybe one of the other gurus has a specific solution.

Good luck.

by willcomp

Some others might provide a better description of processes, but here's seat of britches one. Win XP loads and run processes upon startup that handle a variety of services. To see waht they are press Ctrl+Alt+Del and select the Processes tab. Some of these processes are critical, meaning they are required for Windows to function normally. If one of the critical processes terminates abnormally, Windows will either initiate a controlled shutdown or reboot.

Select Control Panel then Administrative Tools then Event Viewer to review events. Most will be normal startup or shutdown information. Look under different categories (System, Security, Application) for entries with a red X beside them denoting abnormal start or termination. You may get a clue from there.

Most likely suspect is a network service.

Clear all events (right click on each category) before troubleshooting to lessen data. Then see what occurs over the next few days.

by lara_cy

it helped to see where i can find out about the problem.... but i haven't been able to solve it, as i still don't know what its doing wrong :( thanks anyway

by lara_cy

i dont think its a virus, because it only happens when i leave my computer idle for many hours. at first thought it may be one of my fans, not cooling down my system enough. but i don't think thats the case. i run adware and spybot regularly..so not that either...
about the termination thing u mentioned, no idea what you mean about that.

Can't really specify anymore as i don't know what it's doing. Got Xp Professional ..and i don't know if its xp trying to be smart..

by oz_media

IF XP crashes, it will reboot the system by default (this is why people say they never get a blue screen of death on XP). In order to determine if the system is failing at some point, you need to disable the reboot on system error switch, this way if there ae any system issues, you will get the BSOD so you can debug the issue, here's how.

START>CONTROL PANEL>SYSTEM
click the Advanced Tab and then the SETTINGS button the start up and recovery section.

Where it says SYSTEM FAILURE, uncheck the box labelled restart System.

NOW if you run it overnight ad an ERROR causes it to reboot, you wil get the full Stop error message.

Even though I run and recommend AdAware, it's not very good at finding trojans. Run an online trojan scan for free (there are many you can find by simple search)they won't remove the trojans in the online scan but you will at leat identify them, then Google for removal instructs.

Good luck,
OM

by brian

2 possible causes I can think of. Both very different.

If you have automatic updates set to download and install updates. It will restart if the update requires it.

I have seen some laptops (toshiba's in particular) that will overheat easily and crash. The only sure way to prevent it if it is occurring is to slow down the CPU a bit and crank all the cooling. If plugged in power is usually full so you may want to turn it down a bit if leaving unattended.

by lara_cy

WILLCOMP, i checked te event viewer a found about 3 system errors at around 7am in the morning saying something like this :

Error code 1000008e, parameter1 c0000005, parameter2 bfa7fd40, parameter3 f1a018fc, parameter4 00000000.

there are other small ones, about not connecting to the ip router. but those were during the day when the laptop didn't switch off.

dunno if that makes sense to u !

by oz_media

There is a good reason that you will need to stop the autorestart on error though.

You cannot debug a system error properly without knowing WHAT the stop error is.

The idea behind shutting off the system reboot is so you can POST the error message and get help resolving the issue, whether it is a hardwae or software error.

THat's the easy way, the hard way is to just try everything in a HOPE that something works.

In order to resolve a STOP error you need to at least see the STOP error.

It's almost like taking your car in for repair and when the mechanic asks what is happening, you simply don't know. What is he going to fix? The ignition, a flat tire, a steering issue?

by lara_cy

have a look at my top comments, cant post below! i've re posted this question with more points, cuz this one got a bit messed up.

by lara_cy

I understand what you saying, makes total sense. thing is when i did that, the blue screen came up but was so magnified that all i could see what it telling me a system error occured and system should be restarted. i couldnt copy apste anything as it was all over the screen, but can't really tell whats going on with it! at first thought it was network, but ive moved house now and dont have my network up and running yet, so its not that. i posted the error msg above, but its just numbers and letters, dont know if it makes sense to you, does it ?

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