PC reboots itself

[LTOwnalot]

Plz help...I built a new PC and everything is well except the OS (I think). My PC would restart every once in a while and an error report would be sent right after it boots. The reply from Microsoft's Crash Analysis said that it was caused by a driver problem. I tried reinstalling several different drivers, updating the drivers & Window, and I tried scanning the hard disk for file corruption...etc but they all didn't help. Some times when the PC reboots on its own it display a message right after the POST saying that there is a "Window could not start because system32\.... is missing or corrupted" (don't remember which file it was, but it was a .DLL file) and told me to replace it. Since I already tried ScanDisk to fix corrupted files, it could only mean that the file is missing. If that is the problem how would I reinstall that file? Microsoft won't give me help because I got my software as an OEM from Newegg. Thanks. P.S. I posted this in the OS section but no one replied.

 

[loic2003]

I build PC's and have had a couple that do random reboots even with all the very latest drivers and operating system updates, etc. The cause of my problems were settings for the graphics card. Have a look around the net for information on what settings affect the graphics card and tweak these settings. to solve my problem I put all the sttings down to the basic ones and then gradually tweaked them all and checked the performance.

Off the top of my head:

AGP aperature size should be set to half the amount of RAM you have (if you have 512 RAM, AGP aperature should be 256).
AGP datarate should be setup for your card (4x, 8x, etc...)
Palette snoop should be tried in both enabled and disabled to check if it affects it...

I can't remember any more, but here's a handy site:
http://www.a1-electronics.net/AMD_Section/Mobos/Mobo_BIOSTuning.shtml

 

[eofeapr]

Originally posted by: loic2003
I build PC's and have had a couple that do random reboots even with all the very latest drivers and operating system updates, etc. The cause of my problems were settings for the graphics card. Have a look around the net for information on what settings affect the graphics card and tweak these settings. to solve my problem I put all the sttings down to the basic ones and then gradually tweaked them all and checked the performance. Off the top of my head: AGP aperature size should be set to half the amount of RAM you have (if you have 512 RAM, AGP aperature should be 256). AGP datarate should be setup for your card (4x, 8x, etc...) Palette snoop should be tried in both enabled and disabled to check if it affects it... I can't remember any more, but here's a handy site: http://www.a1-electronics.net/AMD_Section/Mobos/Mobo_BIOSTuning.shtml

Good stuff there,,, graphic cards are many times the problem.
I also build and I use mostly "retail box" inseat of OEMs. Saves me ,, saves my customer...
I want to add that you mention nothing about power supply, so check that you have one capable of running your new system.

As far as error replies from Microsoft, I simply don't bother... Everything I've ever reoprted comes back as device driver or simply as unkown issue with links to some article that simply makes no sense.

I'd reset to factory settings.
Strip her down to the barebones and inspect all wires and connections.
Don't overlook the case power buttons, just because...
And work my way up from there in terms of Hware, check manufacturer sites for issues.

Hope U work it through, let us know...