windows 7 - Find out why PC just restarted for no reason

07
2014-07
  • Vader

    I am using Windows 7. For some reason my PC just shut down and restarted itself. I did not receive any warnings or indication of this. Is there a way to find out why my PC just restarted?

    • Answers
  • AryaW

    Check event viewer. Open up your start menu on the task bar, and type in "Event Viewer" (without the quotes) in the box that says "search programs and files" and press enter. When you have event viewer open, on the left side click the arrow by "Windows Logs". You will most likely find your reboot in "System".


    • Related Question

    windows 7 - Computer keeps restarting in games
  • Questioner

    I just bought a new PSU and video card so this problem might be related to that, but every time I fire up my favorite games (WoW and TF2), my computer will reboot without warning after playing for some time.

    Here are my specs:

    • Windows 7 64-bit
    • Core i7 950 stock
    • ASUS P6TD Deluxe
    • 6 GB Corsair Dominator @ 1600mhz
    • Radeon 5870 (slightly overclocked)
    • Corsair 850W modular PSU (brand new)

    As I mentioned, it started happening more frequently after upgrading to the new power supply. What would happen once a week before is now happening 3-4 times a day. I upgraded from a 650W Corsair.

    EDIT: Clocking my video card a little bit lower fixed this.


    • Related Answers
  • Matthieu Cartier

    Issues like this are often caused or related to overheating components. Try making a log whilst the game runs with a program like SpeedFan (you can find logging in Configure > Log) of your CPU and GPU temperatures, especially. If these figures seem high, they may well be the cause of your problem. If the CPU is overheating at stock frequency/voltage, it may mean that the heatsink is not properly secured, or the TIM has not properly interfaced the CPU heatspreader and the heatsink. In this case, resecure the heatsink and refresh the TIM. If the GPU seems to be overheating, try downclocking (yes, frequency has an effect on temperature), and if you want to you can also try undervolting, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you know what you're doing.

    However, I think the most likely thing is that you have an unstable GPU overclock. What have you done to test the stability of the clocks you are running with?