JeepRyder Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 My computer keeps restarting itself within about 15-20 seconds of turning on. I cant even get it going in safe mode. I know the Geek Squad will come to your home and look at it but they charge so much. Has anyone had any experience or recommend a good company that might be less expensive? I live in the Leesburg VA area. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenspandan Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 first, make sure there are no CDs, flash drives, or other disks in any of your drives. after eliminating that as the cause, then most likely the problem is one of these things: 1. your processor fan quit working. 2. your processor's heat sink isn't making proper contact with the chip. 3. your power supply is not providing enough steady current for your components. 4. your operating system is corrupt. did you move your computer recently? that can cause #1 or #2. did you upgrade any hardware recently? that can cause #3. #4 could be caused by installing new software. if it's an old machine, stability can be compromised by too much dust accumulating on the heat sink. you can try opening her up and cleaning it off. you can use a vacuum attachment if you are careful (and unplug the machine). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frommd Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Is your computer a Dell? If, so this is a pretty common problem. Here is a site that talks about it. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/107767-30-dell-rebooting-problems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepRyder Posted November 13, 2008 Author Share Posted November 13, 2008 Thanks. Its a Sony Vaio. I got it in 2003. The first year I had it smoke came pouring out of the back and they said there was a recall on the power supply lol. It may just be old now. I just hate to pay Geek Squad $169 to tell me it needs to be fixed. Id rather that 169 go to fixing the problem. It may be time to get something new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebornempowered Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Google memtest86. Download it and burn the ISO to a CD and let it run. It could be bad memory. I would suggest you just get something new. If it is 5+ years old it is time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swisha Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Can you be any clearer than it shutting down 15-20 seconds after turning it on? Where does it get to? Past the BIOS screen? Windows logo screen? If you can, get into the BIOS and let it sit there for a while and see if it shuts down. If it does, it's most likely a hardware problem. If you're going to pay someone anything more than $100 to fix a 2003 year old computer. Might as well put in a few more hundreds an purchase a new computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinfan2k Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 My computer is almost 5 years running but its a warrior. There is no need to buy a new computer for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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