My Computer Keeps Restarting

Your Computer keeps restarting without warning which is very annoying! What could be wrong? Most often it's caused by either corrupt software or heat. One of the most common reasons for a computer to shut down suddenly and re-start is recently installed software. This could be device drivers or updates to programs and utilities. Even updates to your Firewall, for example. Or perhaps your Flash Player. To check for recently installed software, open Control Panel and click on Add or Remove.

Tick the box at the top 'Show Updates' and in the 'Sort By' box to the right of this, choose-Date Last Used. Run through the list and look for 'Installed On'. Apart from Microsoft Updates and Hot Fixes, do not remove these, look for any others on or near the date your Computer first started to restart by itself. Make a note of the Program this update was for, and then uninstall it. If this fixes your problem you can then attempt to re-install the update. Always go to the Software makers own site to download updates, rather than a third party site.

So for Flash Player, for instance, get your update direct from their site. The second most common cause for a Computer to suddenly shut down and re-start, is overheating. Does your PC have plenty of ventilation? Are all the internal fans working? Do you need to add an extra Case fan? Also, blow off any dust from the fan blades and case vents. Fit a bigger CPU fan, if you can. You could also try cleaning the CPU and Heat sink and apply a fresh smear of Thermal Grease. Viruses and Malicious Spyware can also sometimes cause similar symptoms. Make sure your Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware programs are up to date and run a Full System Scan, with both.

Windows XP Error Messages

Tell me if you have already experienced this. You buy a brand new computer, you have it installed and stand in awe at the speed at which your Windows is working. Then you start installing games and software. In just a few weeks your XP not only starts to slow down but you start seeing some strange and unknown error messages. It is all good if you did not have to restart your machine after them. Here I will give you the only two options that I have found to be well effective in dealing with this problem.

1. The first one and the least favorite - reinstall your Windows XP. This is by far the most effective way to get rid of the windows error messages XP presents. Let me tell you how the process works. If you are not a geek you most probably have only one partition on your hard drive (if you are like most people you probably do not know what a hard drive partition is). This means that all your information is gathered in one place and after a new XP installation guess what happens - you lose ALL of your data. While losing some mp3s or pictures might not be a real issue having important documents deleted might result in financial loss even.

2. The second option has been proven to be much quicker, safer and cost effective - get a PC diagnostic program, have your Windows XP scanned for errors and correct them. You see, most of the error messages you see are caused by internal system discrepancies and missing system files. Windows XP has a certain software architecture and if it is corrupted it starts to "panic" and gives you errors.

The best thing to do in this case if find a good piece of software that will scan your Windows for these discrepancies and suggest a course of action. Some quick tips while searching for it: it has to have a back up function, deep scan feature, it should be fast and most importantly user friendly (you do not need anything too geeky).

These are the two resolutions for the Windows error messages problem that I have found to work best. Believe, I have done the first one so many times that I can do it blind folded. Still it is a pain in the neck.