Wierd Problem Causing Reboot

[rwilson2008]

From time to time, usually in Facebook (maybe always in FB, not sure), using Firefox, my PC loses contact with the mouse and keyboard (both USB, mouse wireless), after about 15-20 seconds the PC restarts itself and everything is restored. I'm not sure if the restart is causing the loss of contact or the loss of contact triggers the restart. Usually the first thing I notice is the cursor disappears. Any idea what is going on and what to do about it?

 

[Trouble]

Any idea what is going on and what to do about it?

None what so ever, except to say that the problem is not likely associated with your mouse or keyboard. I'm pretty sure that you can disconnect the mouse, keyboard and for that matter the monitor (we used to call them "headless") for protracted periods of time without that resulting in any unusual behavior.

Are you certain that the computer is actually "rebooting".
When the event occurs, do you actually see the manufacturer's splash screen and other POST information on the screen as you would expect when you intentionally turn the computer off and then back on?
OR
IS it more like the Windows shell (explorer.exe) is crashing and reloading resulting in your desktop going away and then coming back on?

after about 15-20 seconds the PC restarts itself and everything is restored.

"everything is restored" doesn't sound to me like a typical reboot, if you mean .... whatever you had open at the time (facebook, browser, etc.), magically reappears. That simply would not happen if the system was actually "rebooting".

 

[rwilson2008]

None what so ever, except to say that the problem is not likely associated with your mouse or keyboard. I'm pretty sure that you can disconnect the mouse, keyboard and for that matter the monitor (we used to call them "headless") for protracted periods of time without that resulting in any unusual behavior.

Are you certain that the computer is actually "rebooting".
When the event occurs, do you actually see the manufacturer's splash screen and other POST information on the screen as you would expect when you intentionally turn the computer off and then back on?
OR
IS it more like the Windows shell (explorer.exe) is crashing and reloading resulting in your desktop going away and then coming back on?

"everything is restored" doesn't sound to me like a typical reboot, if you mean .... whatever you had open at the time (facebook, browser, etc.), magically reappears. That simply would not happen if the system was actually "rebooting".

It is a restart with splash screen and password log in. "Every thing is restored' was a poor choice of words, I just meant that everything worked again after the restart.

 

[Trouble]

OK.... and then it does it again?
How often or what is the time interval?
Are you certain that you are not getting a BSOD? That is the default behavior when a Blue Screen happens, it auto reboots.
Have you checked the event viewer logs Windows Logs both Application and System for any errors indicating what might be happening.
Have you tried booting the system into Safe Mode with Networking and running it for a while like that, just to see if the problem persists?

 

[ram1220]

If it only happens on FB my bet is on a piece of malware that is somehow triggered by visiting FB. Does the computer reboot on other web pages? Does it reboot every time you go to FB?

 

[rwilson2008]

OK.... and then it does it again?
How often or what is the time interval?
Are you certain that you are not getting a BSOD? That is the default behavior when a Blue Screen happens, it auto reboots.
Have you checked the event viewer logs Windows Logs both Application and System for any errors indicating what might be happening.
Have you tried booting the system into Safe Mode with Networking and running it for a while like that, just to see if the problem persists?

It happens two or three ties a week.

 

[rwilson2008]

I looked at the event viewer and found something called Kernal-power (41) that had occurred once in the last 24 hours and twice in the last 7 days which seem to fit what had happened . I googled that to see what it was and found an article that talked about unexplained restarts caused by out of date audio drivers. I updated the audio drivers so i guess it's just wait and see now. I'll let everyone know if that fixed it.

 

[rwilson2008]

I looked at the event viewer and found something called Kernal-power (41) that had occurred once in the last 24 hours and twice in the last 7 days which seem to fit what had happened . I googled that to see what it was and found an article that talked about unexplained restarts caused by out of date audio drivers. I updated the audio drivers so i guess it's just wait and see now. I'll let everyone know if that fixed it.

Well I had a re-start today so I guess the audio drivers were not the solution. Back to square one.