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snapa · Sun Sep 28, 2003 8:26 pm

Ok i hope it doesn't restart while i write this...

Windows is restarting for no reason...well there is prob a reason...and i need to find out why...it started restarted round 2 am on sunday...while i was at home...away from my dorm...wtf!

Anything i shuold check?

etilena · Sun Sep 28, 2003 8:46 pm

Virus? There've been plenty of late.
Hardware overheating?

What OS you using? If it's WinXP, you might right click on properties in My Computer, go to advanced startup and disable automatic restart. It usually gives you some cryptic message but at least it's a hint to what's going wrong with your system.

Sun Sep 28, 2003 8:48 pm

Got the latest RPC Vulnerability (Blaster worm) Patch installed? The revised one dated 9/10, not the original one...

If the answer is 'no', then I'd say you've most likely been infected by a worm.. most likely Blaster or some variant thereof.

snapa · Sun Sep 28, 2003 9:52 pm

Norton doesn't want to load...so i had to dl free anti-virus software...found 3 files infected...

Now i have random start ups whenever i use my tv card...i think its stable now...haven't had a restart yet...but i'm not using my tv card...i'm also running on two monitors...with 256 ram...and a 32 meg vid card...

snapa · Sun Sep 28, 2003 10:10 pm

I want to cry...still not working

snapa · Wed Oct 01, 2003 12:31 am

ok so i reformated...and same thing!!!

any more ideas!

Wed Oct 01, 2003 12:35 am

I would run maxtor's drive checking program to verify the drive is not damaged. I would also check the drive cable to make sure it is not bad also. If that is all good, I would check the voltages in your bios to make sure they are not dropping too low and causing the system to restart.

Wed Oct 01, 2003 7:42 am

Did you install the Microsoft RPC vulnerability patch before you re-connected the system to the Internet? Are you behind a firewall? If the answer to both of these questions is 'no', it is quite possible that your system is already infected again.

If you are not behind a firewall, you need to reinstall the OS with the network cable unplugged, and have a copy of the patch on a floppy or CD so that you can install it without going online.

Blaster/Welchia/etc. are some really nasty sh*t...

Buub · Wed Oct 01, 2003 3:42 pm

You should double-check some hardware issues. Make sure all your fans, especially your CPU fan, are spinning properly. Make sure every card and DIMM is solidly seated. Pull them out and reinsert them if you need to. Don't skip the memory modules. Make sure all the cables are still well-connected.

If after all that you still have problems, it's possible you have a failing power supply. Get a volt meter and test your +5v and +12v lines. Watch it over time to see if it sags. If you have an off-brand PSU this is even more likely.

If that doesn't fix it, it might be software (virus as others have said?). But it sounds like hardware to me.

thegleek · Thu Oct 02, 2003 8:51 am

i think he has a power supply issue. i suggest purchase an antec 350/400
watt unit and splurge that $100 on it. those cheap $25/$50 cases with
humasakkayoto psu's that claim to handle 300/350 watts. pffft!

i claim this to be true, cuz the same thing yer experiencing that everyone
is blaming it on a virus is not true, cuz you have reformatted and fdisked
and everything above, it's definately a PSU issue. period. end of story.

the end.

LicketySplit · Thu Oct 02, 2003 9:01 am

Blunt...to the point..and most probably true..... :wink:

It could also be a heat problem with your cpu or case temp. If it does it immediately after a coldstart i would be inclined to agree with the psu...I also see noone here has mentioned ram...it could be flaky as well...do u have any other to try?

Thu Oct 02, 2003 9:11 am

thegleek wrote:
i think he has a power supply issue. i suggest purchase an antec 350/400 watt unit and splurge that $100 on it. those cheap $25/$50 cases with humasakkayoto psu's that claim to handle 300/350 watts. pffft!

Yes, bad PSU (or other failing hardware) is certainly possibile, but the original post implied that the problems just started recently. Marginal PSUs generally seem to be unstable from the get-go, or fail outright after a while. It just seemed to me like a virus was more likely in this case.

I agree, Antec TruePower PSUs are decent. $100 seems a little high though? NewEgg has the Antec TruePower 380W for $70.

i claim this to be true, cuz the same thing yer experiencing that everyone is blaming it on a virus is not true, cuz you have reformatted and fdisked and everything above, it's definately a PSU issue. period. end of story.

Well he definitely was infected at some point, he said the virus scan found 3 infected files. And if he reformatted but reconnected to the Internet without installing the Blaster/Wehchia patch, he's almost certainly infected again. It only takes a few minutes if you have an unpatched system on a broadband connection.

And Buub already suggested that it might be the PSU, in the post immediately preceeding yours.

thegleek · Thu Oct 02, 2003 9:14 am

just brew it! wrote:
And Buub already suggested that it might be the PSU, in the post immediately preceeding yours.

lol oh so i'm a bit late with mine then. sorry.! haha

dont viruses suck? why then, do tell, that i have never got one in my
entire life? huh? tell me. i gotta know.

well i'll tell you - cuz I DONT USE WINDOWS

thank you. carry on.

Thu Oct 02, 2003 9:19 am

thegleek wrote:
dont viruses suck? why then, do tell, that i have never got one in my entire life? huh? tell me. i gotta know.

well i'll tell you - cuz I DONT USE WINDOWS

Unfortunately, we live in a Windows-centric world. Some of us have no choice but to use Windows at least part of the time.

And if we move to a Linux-centric world, the virus writers will start targeting Linux more frequently. Sure, Linux security is better, but it isn't perfect; I can guarantee you'll see an increase in Linux-based viruses and worms as it gains market share.

xBSD would be a better choice from a security standpoint. But it doesn't have the momentum Linux does for desktop use.

thegleek · Thu Oct 02, 2003 10:27 am

just brew it! wrote:
And if we move to a Linux-centric world, the virus writers will start targeting Linux more frequently. Sure, Linux security is better, but it isn't perfect; I can guarantee you'll see an increase in Linux-based viruses and worms as it gains market share.

xBSD would be a better choice from a security standpoint. But it doesn't have the momentum Linux does for desktop use.

ok sorry, i didnt mean to drag this thread into another *nix -vs- windoze debate.

i'm simply stating that windows here IS the fault of ALL the virus problems
because of their bad programing and the fact all their code is NOT open
source.

no matter HOW big *nix gets, it still will NEVER have as many stupid
problems and holes as microsoft has. ever.

mstrmold · Thu Oct 02, 2003 1:31 pm

Guys, Snapa says that his box is an SN41G2 XPC. How does he install an Antec Power Supply in this? :-?

Just curious

-E

Forge · Thu Oct 02, 2003 1:51 pm

mstrmold - snapa never specified, and there are TWO boxes in his sig.

Thu Oct 02, 2003 2:45 pm

Hmm... he did post it in the SFF forum, however. Guess that should've been a clue. D'oh!

(Sometimes when I read a thread through a "Hot Threads" link, I don't even pay attention to what forum it is in.)

Forge · Thu Oct 02, 2003 3:18 pm

Doh. I, too, came in through Hot Links. That's all the more forum browsing I seem to do anymore.

That rules out PSU pretty much. I'm betting on Welchia/Blaster/CodeRed or some of their evil friends being at fault. My last reinstall, I had to:

1. Download all the relevant updates
2. Unplug CAT5
3. Install WinXP
4. Latest SP2 beta
5. Install drivers
6. Install updates
7. Plug in CAT5

Blaster and friends are making Win* life very ugly. Makes me glad to be dual booting on almost every PC in the house.

Thu Oct 02, 2003 3:25 pm

Yup, Blaster/Welchia is nasty sh*t. When all of my Win2K boxes got infected with Welchia, it actually rendered my LAN nearly unusable due to all the ICMP traffic flying around -- even with my Internet connection disabled. I had to turn everything off, then bring the machines back up one at a time, run Symantec's Welchia removal tool, and install the MS patch.

Magnus · Thu Oct 02, 2003 3:44 pm

Have you tried memtest to check if a memory module has gone screwy? A guy not long ago was complaining about restarts and it was memory that had gone bad. And i myself had some trouble with memory that was fine but then started causing random restarts.

http://www.memtest86.com/

snapa · Thu Oct 02, 2003 6:09 pm

Mem is fine...installed patch before i pluged in cat 5...

Thu Oct 02, 2003 6:13 pm

What did you test the memory with? The only freeware memory test I trust these days is Memtest86...

Does your motherboard give you CPU temperature readings?

snapa · Thu Oct 02, 2003 6:28 pm

yes and temps are normal according to HD

Taddeusz · Thu Oct 02, 2003 6:46 pm

Seriously, check the capacitors on your motherboard. Depending on how old your machine is I wouldn't be suprised if Shuttle succumbed to using capacitors with that stolen formula that has plagued so many. I've been working as a professional field computer technician for a couple months now and have see at least two computers that were doing the same exact thing with random restarts. Turned out the capacitors on the motherboard were all bloated and bad. This was an IBM computer so nobody is immune. I think the motherboard manufacturers have definitely fixed the problem by now but there are still many older systems out there that will have the same exact problem.

Taddeusz

snapa · Thu Oct 02, 2003 8:27 pm

the comp was about a month old...

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