My computer is resetting itself between 3-3:30am daily and i have no idea why! anyone got any clues?

Question

i know this isnt a support thread but its weird....My computer is resetting itself between 3-3:30am daily and i have no idea why! anyone got any clues?
ive been using the same image of windows and my programs for years and ive never had such a thing. only thing thats changed is i got a dvd cloning program recently. and its been resetting itself for the last 4 days in a row now.
i run norton 2k6. adaware and xoftspy and all are reporting a clean system....

found problem - automatic updates were turned on for some reason....
was rebooting after it had installed them

THX 4 HELP GUYS :D

Answer 1

Yes, you should check shedueld tasks.

START > PROGRAMS > ACCESORIES > SCHEDULED TASKS

Automatic updates won't always restart your pc. There may be a task there that is set to restart the computer when it's done, like a scandisk say.

There is also a small chance that a service is running in the background that may be telling it to restart.

If you are permanetly connected to the internet definitly make sure everything is uptodate and scan again. the dvd cloning program might contain a new trojan depending where you got the program from (p2p maybe?). In that case it might still be anything from a 1 day to a month before some else discovers that there is a new trojan and submits it to anti-virus programs company for analysis. If it is an unknown trojan your machine might be part of a zombie network and a hacker is sending it signals to restart, after it's done it's evil deeds (assuming, you are connected to the internet at the time). It's possible but unlikely.

But first check the sheduled tasks.

Answer 2

if you have updates set for that time then it will restart when they download. mine does that because i have microsoft updates scheduled for then.

Answer 3

Have you checked your scheduled tasks?

Answer 4

VIRUS