Why Would a Computer Automatically Restart?

Restart is a popular term for computer operation, which means restarting the computer. The main role is to save the settings and modifications to the system and immediately start related services. The most common reasons for restarting are because of the installation of new software or hardware, or because the application software did not respond for some reason.

Restart

(Computer term)

Chinese name: Restart
Foreign name: restart

Use: Computer operation
Mind: Restart
Restart classification: Force restart automatically restart

Reboot (reboot) is to restart the computer and reload the operating system; in Windows that supports fast startup, turn off the fast startup function and shut down completely, and then start the system by cold booting. The most common reasons for restarting are because of the installation of new software or hardware, or because the application software did not respond for some reason. On computers running Windows, you can usually restart by selecting "Shut Down Computer" in the Start menu and then pressing "Restart" that appears in the window. Another method (the method often used when the first method does not work) is through the Ctrl-Alt-Delete key combination [this method is only applicable to DOS-based operating systems (including BIOS)] sometimes called a warm boot, Maybe it's more gentle than a cold boot (just press the computer's power switch to turn it off and then press it again to turn it on).

On larger computers (including the host), the equivalent of the term "boot" is "Initial Loader" (IPL) and the equivalent of "restart" is "Reinitial Loader" (re -IPL). ^[1]

1. Quick power on / off or restart will generate extremely high instantaneous induced voltage in the circuit of the power supply, that is, a surge phenomenon will occur, which will damage the power supply and the motherboard.

2. The magnetic head and the disk surface of a typical Winchester hard disk are separated and will not contact, but at the moment of instant startup or restart, the disk surface and the magnetic head will briefly contact each other, which will cause physical scratches. Make the data in the hard disk cache cannot be written to the disk, or the data written to the disk is wrong, causing soft

The following issues should be considered when the computer restarts automatically:

Software:

Restart the virus

"Shockwave" virus also prompts the system to automatically restart after 60 seconds.

The Trojan program remotely controls all activities of your computer, including restarting your computer.

Remove viruses, Trojans, or reinstall the system.

Restart system file is corrupted

System files are damaged, such as KERNEL32.DLL under Win2K, fonts under the Win98 FONTS directory, and other basic files during system running. The system will be damaged during startup, and the system will be unable to complete initialization and force a restart.

Workaround: Overwrite or reinstall.

Scheduled software or scheduled software works

If you set restart or load some work programs in the "Scheduled Taskbar", the computer will start again when the time comes. In this case, we can open the "Startup" item and check whether there are any execution files or other timed working procedures that are unfamiliar with it, shield them, and then turn on the machine to check. Of course, we can also directly enter the "Msconfig" command in "Run" to select the startup item.

Restart hardware

Chassis power insufficient

The DC output is impure and the dynamic response is slow.

Users or installers often do not pay attention to the power supply and use a cheap power supply, so it is one of the biggest suspects that cause the system to restart automatically.

Insufficient power output from the power supply. When running software such as large-scale 3D games that take up a lot of CPU resources, when the CPU needs high-power power supply, the power supply is insufficient and overload causes power protection and stops outputting. After the power supply stops outputting, the load is reduced, and the power supply starts again at this time. Since the protection / recovery time is short, the performance for us is that the host automatically restarts.

The DC output of the power supply is not pure, and the digital circuit requires pure DC power supply. When the harmonic content in the DC output of the power supply is too large, it will cause the digital circuit to work incorrectly, and the performance is often a crash or restart.

The workload of the CPU is dynamic, the requirements for current are also dynamic, and the dynamic response speed is required to be fast. Some poor-quality power supplies have long dynamic response times, which can also cause frequent crashes or restarts.

After updating the device (high-end graphics card / large hard disk / video card) and increasing the device (recorder / hard disk), the power exceeds the rated output power of the original power supply, which will cause frequent crashes or restarts.

Solution: Now replace the high-quality high-power computer power supply.

Restart memory with poor thermal stability

Chip is damaged or set incorrectly

There is a relatively high probability that a memory problem will cause the system to restart.

The thermal stability of the memory is not good, and it can work normally when it is turned on. When the temperature of the memory rises to a certain temperature, it cannot work normally, resulting in a crash or restart.

When the memory chip is slightly damaged, the boot can pass the self-test (set the quick startup to not fully detect the memory), or you can enter the normal desktop for normal operations.

Solution: Replace the memory.

Setting the CAS value of the memory too small will also cause memory instability and cause the system to restart automatically. It is generally best to use the default BIOS settings and do not change them yourself.

CPU Restart CPU temperature is too high or cache is corrupted

CPU temperature is too high will often cause protective automatic restart. The high temperature is basically due to the poor heat dissipation of the case and CPU. The reasons for poor heat dissipation of the CPU are: the material of the heat sink has a low thermal conductivity, there is a foreign body between the heat sink and the CPU contact surface (mostly a warranty post), and the fan speed is low. Fans and radiators collect too much dust and so on. There are also damage to the temperature probe under the CPU of the P2 / P3 motherboard or damage to the temperature measurement circuit inside the P4 CPU. The BIOS on the motherboard has a bug in the temperature measurement under certain special conditions. The CPU protection temperature set in the CMOS is too low, etc. Waiting will also cause a protective restart.

Damage to the primary and secondary caches inside the CPU is a common failure of the CPU. If the damage is light, it can still be started. You can enter the normal desktop for normal operations. When running some software with large I / O throughput (media playback, games, flat / 3D drawing), it will restart or freeze.

Solution: Shield the second-level cache (L2) or the first-level cache (L1) in CMOS, or replace the CPU to exclude it.

AGPPCI Automatic restart caused by restarting AGP graphics card or PCI card

4 Automatic restart caused by AGP graphics card, PCI card (network card, cat)

The workmanship of the external card is not standard or the quality is bad, which causes the RESET signal of the AGP / PCI bus to malfunction and causes the system to restart.

There are cases where the graphics card and network card are loose and the system restarts.

The parallel, serial, and USB interfaces are faulty.

Automatic restart on incompatible external devices

There are external faults or incompatibilities, such as the printer's parallel port is damaged, a certain pin is shorted to ground, the USB device is damaged to short to ground, the pin definition, the signal level is not compatible, etc.

When hot-plugging external equipment, the jitter is too large, causing a short-circuit of the signal or power supply.

Restart the optical drive or the internal chip is damaged

The optical drive is damaged, and most of the performance is unable to read / engrav the disk. There is also a sudden restart of the host during work due to internal circuit or chip damage. The optical drive itself is badly designed, and FireWare has bugs. It will also cause a restart when reading the disc.

RESET Restart the chassis front panel RESET switch problem

The RESET button on the front panel of the chassis is actually a normally open switch. The RESET signal on the motherboard is a + 5V level signal, which is connected to the RESET switch. When the switch is closed, the + 5V level is turned on to ground, and the signal level drops to 0V, which triggers the system reset and restart. The RESET switch returns to the normally open position. At this time, the RESET signal returns to + 5V level. If the RESET key is damaged, the switch is always in the closed position, and the RESET signal is always 0V, and the system cannot power on and self-test. When the elasticity of the RESET switch is weakened and it is difficult to pop up when the button is pressed, the switch will be easily closed with a little vibration. As a result, the system resets and restarts.

Solution: Replace the RESET switch.

There is also a short circuit in the RESET switch lead in the chassis, which causes the host to restart automatically.

8. Motherboard failure

It is rare for a motherboard to cause an automatic restart. Generally, the circuit related to RESET is faulty; sockets and sockets are soldered, and the contact is bad; individual chips, capacitors and other components are damaged.

Restart for other reasons

Mains voltage is unstable

The working voltage range of the computer's switching power supply is generally 170V-240V. When the mains voltage is lower than 170V, the computer will automatically restart or shut down.

Solution: add voltage regulator (not UPS) or 130-260V wide switching power supply.

If the computer and a high-power-consumption electrical appliance such as an air conditioner or a refrigerator share a plug-in board, when these electrical appliances are started, the voltage supplied to the computer will be greatly affected, which often manifests as a system restart.

The solution is to separate their power lines.

Strong magnetic interference

Don't underestimate electromagnetic interference. Many times our computer crashes and restarts are also caused by interference. These interferences include interference from the internal CPU fan, case fan, graphics card fan, graphics card, motherboard, and hard disk, as well as external power lines. , Inverter air conditioning and even the interference of large equipment such as cars. If our host has poor interference performance or poor shielding, the host will restart unexpectedly or crash frequently.

The AC power supply line is connected incorrectly

Some users directly ground the zero line of the power supply line (do not go through the zero line of the power meter), which causes automatic restart because the interference signal is introduced from the ground line.

The quality of the power strip or power socket is poor, and the contact is poor.

After the power socket is used for a period of time, the elasticity of the reed slowly loses, resulting in poor contact between the plug and the reed, constant changes in resistance, and the current will fluctuate accordingly. The system will naturally be very unstable. The minimum requirement is to restart the computer. The solution is to buy a good socket with good quality.

Too much dust causes the motherboard RESET line to short circuit and cause automatic restart.