fong@ksuvax1.ksu.ksu.EDU (Eric Fong) (11/06/90)
Hi, I have posted an article on comp.windows.ms sometime ago, seems like there are quite a few people having this problem, so I decided to post the problem here also, since I suspect this might be a new virus or trojan-horse. The problem is this, it started 2 to 3 weeks ago, my PC starts to reboot itself once or twice a day without any reason. At first, I thought it was something about the window 3, but it proved to be wrong because it also reboot itself under Procomm, some other people replied to me that their PC reboots even under other non-communication softwares. I used scanv67c to check, but it didn't report any virus and probably wouldn't do so since the phenomenon started to appear 2 to 3 weeks ago. I wonder if there is anyone in the netland has the same problem, and if so, is there a guess of why this happens and how to fix the problem. Thanks in advance. My machine is Zenith 248/12, running DOS3.3+ and himem.sys, smartdrv installed. - --Eric Fong-- (fong@ksuvax1.cis.ksu.edu, fong@matt.ksu.ksu.edu)
AN5@CORNELLC.BITNET (Alex Nemeth) (11/07/90)
One of the first things I would do is to have your PC checked out from
a Hardware standpoint. The next step would be to have the power in
your building checked out. After 5+ years in the PC repair field ( 2
with a ZDS Dealer) I've seen many strange things happen because of
power problems.
When checking out the power in the building I would recommend using a
line monitor, with a paper tape preferably, inline with the PC in
question. The next best choice would be a UPS, while these won't tell
you what the condition of the power is, they will beep when the power
fails and they usually supply a well regulated voltage output.
Good luck,
Alex
P.S.
Don't completely rule out a software problem. You might want to
try to RE-SYS your Hard drive. If this solves your problem let me
know.
Acknowledge-To: <AN5@CORNELLC>padgett%tccslr.dnet@uvs1.orl.mmc.com (Padgett Peterson) (11/09/90)
Erik Fong writes: >Subject: sudden reboot on PC (PC) > my PC starts to reboot itself once or twice a day without > any reason. > My machine is Zenith 248/12, running DOS3.3+ and himem.sys, smartdrv > is nstalled. I have seen this more times than desired but the effect is usually immediate both on the 386-25 in my den and the Zenith 248/386 at work. The cause has always been something writing/executing into a BIOS area in high memory. This normally occurs right after I decide to load something into an "unused" area, and I find out that it was not unused when either the system reboots continually or the screen puts on a spectacular light show. The latest excursion was caused by a faulty AboveBoard (just got the RA from Intel) that made the system reboot immediately after displaying the QEMM logo. Consquently, since your system was working & does not crash immediately on boot (from your description) I would suspect a marginal ram chip might be the cause in this case, but you never can tell. Padgett