Computer has mind of its own

If any of you computer gurus out there could give me a hand I would really appreciate it.

A few times a day my computer will simply restart itself automatically. Sometimes it tells me that I might need to check the hard disk and other times it just boots up as if nothing had happened.

I can't figure out where I might look to figure out what the problem might be. Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?

Thanks in advance.

~CL

 

Could be a number of things.

Get a copy of memtest86 (free) and run some memory tests. This is more thorough than the tests run by the BIOS at startup.

Could be overheating CPU due to failed fan or improperly fitted heat sink. Check the CPU temperature.

 

Ditto... you beat me to it. Those cheap fans drive me nuts.

 

if you have auto update, window will restart your PC
"Some updates cannot be installed or will not take effect until you restart your computer. For those, Windows notifies you to restart your computer for security maintenance. If you are an administrator for your computer, you can delay the restart; otherwise, Windows warns you and then restarts your computer for you." Could be hard drive gone bad, listen for any strange noise. Could be virus, try rolling back to the day before the probl started.

 

Before anyone mentions it:

Your computer is haunted.

 

Overheating can cause those symptoms.

 

yeah i am sorry but i had to get rid of this puppy...too bad it got your pc.

 

Change your power supply

 

i was having exactly the same problem, and it was bad DDR memory, remove from all slots rams, and replays it with yours friend's. ofcourse it might be other problems, but in this case for me it was memory

 

Do you have an AMD CPU? It runs hotter than Intel.

Make sure you do not open the case to keep the computer "cool". Opening the cover will defeat the airflow design, and cause the CPU to overheat.