Spontaneous PC reboots may occur due to hardware or software problems. In most cases, you can find out the cause of the problem and get rid of it all by yourself without any help, and below we are going to tell you about some typical problems, that may lead to spontaneous reboots.
Table of contents: 1. Power failure 2. Hardware problems 3. Software problems
POWER FAILURE
The standard PSU takes the energy from a standard socket with an alternating voltage of 220 volts. If there are problems with the power supply of the system unit elements, for example, power was interrupted for a while, your PC may automatically shut down or reboot.
To determine if a power failure causes spontaneous reboots of your computer, you need to do the following:
Check the outlet to which the computer is connected. Alternatively, you may try to connect your PC to another power source in the house and check if the problem persists. If the problem persists, it is recommended to measure the voltage in the socket using a multimeter. If it is less than 190 volts (the ideal voltage is met quite rarely in the ordinary homes), you need to report the problem to electricians. Also you can check the outlet operation by connecting any other electrical appliance. By connecting, for example, a lighting device, you should check whether it will blink during operation. If there are no problems with the lamp but your computer continues to reboot itself, the problem is not related to the source of power.
- Check the power supply unit. Stability in the PC operation entirely depends on a PSU. If there are any problems with it, you will need to replace it.
If there are no problems with the power supply of your computer, it is necessary to proceed to troubleshooting other components of the system unit.
HARDWARE PROBLEMS
It is quite difficult to tell for sure which of the computer components is malfunctioning, even after a visual inspection. These are the ways to make sure that your computer spontaneously reboots not because of some hardware problems:
- Check the connection of all elements. Sometimes the cause of malfunction is quite simple, for example: cable occasionally departs from the power supply unit, hard disk is badly connected and is disconnecting spontaneously, operative memory is not inserted in the slot properly and so on. It is recommended to get your PC unassembled completely, clean it and make sure that there are no burnt, tattered, frayed and otherwise damaged wires. If the wires are all right, inspect the capacitors on the motherboard and make sure that there are no blisters among them. When all checks are done, assemble your computer back correctly and connect all the wires well, after this you need to check if the problem with spontaneous rebooting has been solved or no;
- Make sure that there is no overheating of the computer components. When the computer is running, you can check the temperature of all its components using various applications. One of the most well-known programs for diagnosing overheating is AIDA64. Install it and make sure that all elements of your PC have a normal operating temperature even when performing complex tasks;
- Replace thermal paste on the processor. Modern processors have built-in protection, which means skipping cycles if overheated. If such measures do not help to solve the problem, the CPU will be shut down in an emergency mode, which will result in a computer restart or shutdown. Most often, the processor’s overheating is related to the old thermal paste. If the replacement of thermal paste did not solve the problem with CPU overheating, it would be necessary to select the cooler correctly;
- Check the RAM. If there is a problem with RAM operation your computer will reboot itself. If you have several modules installed, one of them may be defective. It must be determined with some tests and then replaced.
In rare cases, a malfunction may occur due to the bad operation of a hard drive or SSD-drive where the operating system is installed. You can diagnose the problem if you install another hard drive with the operating system on your computer and try to work on it. We recommend that you check the hard drive only if there is full confidence in the absence of other software and hardware problems.
SOFTWARE PROBLEMS
During Windows operation, dozens of applications and utilities are interacting with each other. Incompatibility or other problems may lead to the malfunctions in the computer, which in turn will lead to its spontaneous reboots. It is recommended to check the absence of software malfunctions in the following scenario:
If your computer restarts while working with a particular program, you need to remove it and try to install it again (it is better to choose a different version). In some situations if the program is old and not supported by developers the choice of a certain compatibility mode in its properties helps; - When your computer is rebooting itself regardless of the program that is running, you need to check it for viruses. If they are not found, it is recommended that you verify that the problem is not associated with one of the programs that are running in the background when the system starts. You can identify a faulty program in startup if you perform a clean Windows boot;
- Your computer may spontaneously reboot due to the Windows operating system malfunction. In this situation, you can check the integrity of Windows files or reinstall the operating system.
If none of the above tips helped to fix the situation, your computer needs a more serious check using diagnostic equipment. It is possible that from time to time operation of the graphic card, motherboard or other components fails, which leads to a spontaneous PC reboots.