why does my computer just cut out and reboot at random (sometimes blue screen sayin dumping physical memory)?

Answer 1

It could be a software or hardware problem.

First, boot into safe mode, scan the harddisk for spywares and viruses. You may even try re-installing your Windows after you backed up the data.

A bad power supply could also cause system instability.

Answer 2

The blue screen (assuming you use XP) is usually caused by a hardware problem, Try removing all unnecessary hardware (printers, scanners, webcams, basically everything except for your monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speakers) and use your computer for a while. If this does not work, you can immeadiately rule out the devices themselves. The next problem could be a dodgy driver or a problem with one of your cards (video card, sound card, etc.) Out-of-date drivers can do this, so update all of your drivers from the internet.

However, the sudden cutting out and rebooting suggests to me that there is a problem with your PSU (power supply unit) or anything that would have a safety cut-out (due to large currents, over-heating, etc.) This is a problem I personally would have a professional look at (I am more of a software-orientated computer-geek, although I would not say I know little about hardware; I would say quite the contrary.)

Another suggestion may be that the two are not linked, but rather a coincedence, or the power cut off whilst a certain peice of hardware was being used, corrupting the driver and causing your "Blue Sceen of Death."

If you are not using XP, blue screens are to be expected regularly, Microsoft's previous operating systems weren't the most stable on the market. However, if the computer cuts off completely (i.e. switches off or instantly restarts with no warning or logging off) then your problem is certainly not software-related. If you get warnings such as "Computer shutting down in 30 seconds" then it is probably a virus, but I highly doubt that is your problem.

Summary: Get your PC seen to by an expert, the problem sounds like a dodgy PSU or board inside the machine, and possibly external hardware as well. And don't worry about viruses - they can NOT turn the power off instantly as you described, so it is not a virus problem.

Answer 3

I have seen this problem before. First thing I would do is shut down your computer, open the case and remove the RAM sticks. Use canned air to blow out any dust that might be caked in the slots. Check the RAM for any physical damage and if not, replace it back in the slots. See if it happens again. If it does, you may need new RAM. If you have more than one stick, take one out and monitor. Do that for each stick until it doesn't happen again. If that doesn't work, write down the code you see on your blue screen (something like 0x123445698, but not exactly.) Do a keyword search on the Internet with that number and you'll see lots of websites that discuss these same problems. They're very illuminating!

Answer 4

I had this problem but being new to computers did not realise it was a problem...I asked a question about virtual memory on Answers and was told i needed to buy some more memory...i bought 250 ram....since then I have never had the blue screen or memory dump message...so perhaps this is the answer to your question too...I hope you get sorted soon.I found out how to check my ram on Answers too...some kind person will tell you how if you dont already know.....from a very new computer user.

Answer 5

Could be a bad power supply, if your computer is just suddenly cutting out. Also, could be a fault on the motherboard causing the CPU to overheat, and the reboot is what temporarily fixes it.

Could be malware. Try downloading adaware or spybodt S&D:

Download adaware here:
http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5

Download spybot here:
http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10401314.html?tag=lst-0-1

Both are FREE.

I would also advise getting a decent virus scanner, for this try AVG free:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

I recommend getting all three of these (all are free). Hopefully that should clear up your problem.

Alternatively, if there is an error message on the blue screen, then if you can look it up online you may be able to find out what that error is. There is a chance that it is the RAM that is starting to go funny. There are RAM checking tools that you can find on the net. If you got windows XP then there is one here:

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
Always worth a try

Answer 6

The power supply could be bad but first make sure that your power cord is not loose. It could be something as silly as that your foot is lightly hitting the power cord and since its loose the computer is turning off or rebooting.

The physical memory dump probably means your hard drive is failing. I would back up all of your files as soon as possible and do a full reformat.

Answer 7

You might want to check the event viewer, by going into control panel --> administrative tools --> event viewer. Look through the entries to see if there is anything obvious.

Also, scan the hard disk for physical errors. The hard disk might be on its way out - so make sure you back up anything important whilst you can.

If its none of this, then its probably down to the other suggestions on this forum (e.g. motherboard, RAM, virus)

Answer 8

You may have a temperature problem.

Open your case & inspect your fans for dirt and make sure they are all running.

Clean your fans & the leave a side off. See if everything works. If so close it up & see if it still works.

If it does fine if not you may have a memory stick going bad. If you have two sticks of memory remove one & try. If it works you have your culprit if not switch sticks & try again.

Answer 9

The only anwer that seriously makes lots of sense is saying you have a virus.. to many virus do that i'm not going to name their names but it would be good to scan you computer with McAfee Virus Scan that work best for me but if that don't help and you already have a virus scanner update the virus scanner and scan ur pc...

Answer 10

basically you have run out of ram memory windows automatically reboots itself to free up memory. (ram memory is not permanent it deletes itself when windows shuts down) to stop this problem you will need to upgrade your ram or get a new computer

sorry i cant help more