Not to be confused with resetting your computer (whipping it and setting it back to like the day you got it) rebooting is simply the process of of your computer being turned off and then back on again (booting up).
Sometimes you just need to reboot your computer. Whether you have just installed some new software, there is a fault or a major upgrade, rebooting your computer is a necessary action when making changes to your hardware and software.
However, what does it mean when your computer reboots when you are in the middle of using it?
It always happens at the wrong time. You might be typing a big email our documents, playing a computer game or editing some images or video. The one common theme we see when computers boot themselves, is they are usually in the middle of doing something and it is usually something demanding on the computer. Therefor, when you put pressure on your machine to perform.
Rebooting During Startup
This is perhaps one of the most annoying times to have a rebooting problem, because it does not give you the opportunity to see what is happening when the reboot occurs.
If you are having a reboot problem during the starting of your computer it would most likely be part of 1 of two systems.
Either, there is a program in the startup list which is causing a problem, or you have a problem with your operating system and it reboots to protect itself.
The best way to diagnose and repair this problem is to boot into safe mode. If you can do this and investigate further you are on the right track/ You can check your system logs to see what the problem might indicate, do a restore to an earlier point in time or uninstall any new applications you might have recently installed that could be causing the reboot.
Bad Drivers
Drivers are small bits of code which help your operating system talk to the physical hardware components of your computer.
A common reboot problem is when you are playing computer games. As the game intensifies and as it draws more power and gets recourse hungry on your computer, reboot can sometimes occur.
Most of the time this can be fixed by reloading or upgrading the hardware device drivers such as motherboard chip set and graphics card.
The best way to do this is to go to the manufacturers of your hardware website and download the latest device drivers corresponding to your components.
Don’t forget to reboot!
Software and Operating System Problems
Just because one software package runs good, doesn’t mean it will work well on another system.
Depending on what computer you have and what other software you have on it will contribute to how well an application and your system runs.
If there are problems with a particular application or if there are errors in your operating system it could be causing unexpected reboots on your system.
The best way to remedy this is to work backwards. If you have done a recent update or upgrade, roll back the software or uninstall what you have done.
Some operating system upgrades and updates can sometimes go wrong so take a look and see if there have been any recent operating system changes as well. You can always run a check for a new update and do so if needed – this can fix a lot of stability problems such as unexpected reboots.
Malware and Viruses
Computers viruses can certainly make your computer behave badly, including rebooting unexpectedly.
Antivirus programs aren’t perfect. They stop a lot of viruses in their tracks but they do not get all of them, nor claim too.
If you have a antivirus program on your computer and still get infected, it will probably be hard to remove as the system is already compromised.
I good way to check is to run an offline virus scan if your antivirus program supports it. This is done by booting to a live disk and running a scan on your hard drive when you are not booting from the operating system on it.
Call Ross from Townsville Nerds if you need any computer repair help in Townsville.
