$%&&*^$ WINDOWS!!!!

[crimejunkie]

Ok, here's my problem. I have WIN98SE and have had it since I purchased this dinosaur back in 2000. It rarely gives me any problems other than the usual slowdowns. Lately (past 4-5 months), it's been more of a headache than usual. When I power on my system, it seems to boot normally. Then, all of a sudden, it reboots itself. I have tried unchecking everything under the startup tab in msconfig. I have tried disabling the autoexec.bat file. I have even tried changing which devices boot first. Nothing seems to work. I cannot find any viruses (although my antivirus is outdated) or spyware. This only happens after I've shutdown my computer. It never happens when I restart. Short of reinstalling Windows, can anyone give me some suggestions on how to figure out and correct this problem? Most days I feel like it's worse than a root canal. This monster reboots so much it can take anywhere form 10-20 minutes for my system to get started right. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!!!

Specs:
Windows 98 Second Edition
Pentium III 733 mHz
128MB RAM
20GB Hard drive
Sony CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive w/Nero software

I can give more info if you need it.

[diver203_98]

What type of Power Supply do you have, and made by who? Sounds like it could be a PSU going bad. That is what was happening to my system. Then I replaced the PSU my problems went away. Also when you replace the PSU make sure you get a quality one.

HERE is a link you should check out. It gives a list of the good and bad Power Supplies.

[HyperTF]

^ I'm with him... although I would go even further to ask when the last spring clean of the PC was? some of those old clunkers gather a fair amount of dust and grime and can play havoc on sensitive little gadgets and moving parts... but don't go shoving your vacuum cleaner in there (very bad), either get it done by someone who knows what they are doing and have the right equipment (that is if you are not sure yourself that is... sorry, don't mean to sound patronising ) or be very careful... and watch that static! (no vacuum cleaners!)

Also check that all cards, plugs and wires are connected and seated properly... time and changes of temperatures can cause things to move, expand and contract... it's worth checking regardless.

But yeah, I tend to think it is the PSU, but I would check out the other too.

[GaryRouth]

Hi HyperTF

Along with checking the power supply (if you can find one to borrow, that might save some money if it turns out not to be the problem), and making sure all your cards are seated well onto the motherboard, leave the case open after inspecting things, and see if the cpu fan is spinning well or not (heat can cause reboots and lockups too). A can of compressed air can help blow out the dust.

Make sure that when you're inside the case, the computer is shutdown & it's power cable unplugged.

If your malware protection is fairly out-of-date, you can visit HouseCall to get a quick idea of how clean the system currently is http://housecall.trendmicro.com

And AVG7 has a free-for-personal use version that would work well with your system (it's not quite as resource-demanding as some) http://www.grisoft.com

Best of luck
. . . Gary

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