Okay, IT, especially hardware experts around here. My new computer (about 4 months old)started rebooting itself, about 3-4 or so times a day, itermittently. Doesn't seem to be in regular intervals. Sometimes twice in 10 min, sometimes hours between reboots.
thee seems to be a three second vacuum cleaner (bootup noise) just before the shutdown, then the computer shuts down and restarts.

Hardware issue? Virus? Dust in the fan?

I thought overheating - but seems like that would be a bit more regular intervals?
Doesn't seem to be dependent on whether I'm doing something with it or not.

I checked all the cables, power and otherwise.

It's still under warranty, so I'll probably call the makers see what's up. No custom parts in it yet. Its still straight out of the box.

Have you seen this happen before? Anything else I should be thinking about.

Maybe it's my animal magnetizam. Whenever I get super stressed, the electronics around me start blowing up and not working.
Statistical cluster... klutz...or... twillight zone?

(I really didn't need one more thing going wrong... so pardon me while I histerically laugh off some of the stress)

Okay ... have worked in IT, but not an expert by any means.  Here are a couple of things you can check.

1. Desktop properties for "sleep" time or other settings that could be a little off.
2. Yes there are viruses out there that would do this.  You should have protection though. 
3. It could be a bad BIOS, in that case use the warrenty by all means.  Back up all you can first, on CD, DVD, External drive, whatever you have.  IF it goes in for repair, chances are the techs will reformat the harddrive. 

To be totally honest here.  After all I've said, after working in the computer industry ... by all means if you are under warrenty, use it.  Don't let them talk you into an upgrade, make the techs earn thier $$$.  :)

Anyone else have a better plan, please jump in, I' ve been out of the loop for a while.
Boni

Thanks boni :) ... Good suggestions :)

yes, I forgot to mention, I checked the sleep settings, Virus protection is up to date with McAfee, also, I don't load windows updates automatically, and none have been loaded for a week.
Also, no new software installed just before this started happening.

It's after hours here today, I'll call Gateway tomorrow, see what they have to say for themselves.

What was really funny is that the computer rebooted itself while the movers were in the office. They had just started looking at it, like leaned over it and looked at the screen, and poof it reboots itself.  They freaked out thinking they broke it.
ROFL... that was pretty funny. Their faces could have gone to america's funniest home video's.

Have you thought about the power supply? It might be getting overheated or another problem. Yes, use warrenty and have it checked. I had a machine do what yours is doing..re-booting at undetermined intervals and it was a weak power supply.

You don't have a space heater near the CPU do you? The reason I ask is because a friend of mine has been having this issue and I was trying to help her.One day she suddeny mentions her space heater.  Since I told her to move the space heater across the room, her computer hasn't been shutting off.

Last year when I got my new computer it started to shut off on it's own too. Turns out it was only doing it when I was copying/pasting/moving  a large number of files IE: from CD back to computer after a reinstall.  Seems my virus scanner was scanning every file as it was being copied and that taxed my computer causing it to shut down.

if its running windows xp look at administration tools , event logs . You might find a common error that might point to something.  That might be available in Vista as well.

It could be a HDD problem.  I had intermittent reboots about a month before the HDD died.

Hmm... it rebooted itself about 10 min ago.
The event log shows, among other things couple of items that I have no clue what they are:

Log Name: Intel DH
Source: CCU_Engine

Log Name: IntelDH
Source: Remote UI service

Power settings double check... All of them state don't ever turn the computer off or sleep or hybernate, no power save.
This is Vista by the way.

I'd say either overheating or a power supply that's not up to snuff. You can monitor temperature values in the BIOS, but then you can't stress the computer, so it probably won't reboot due to overheating.
Most non-HP/Dell machines come with a mainboard utility program that can monitor temperatures too. Could be useful for finding out if it's overheating.

Weak power supply - could also be the case. Monitoring utilities can watch for drops in voltage, if it does drop just prior to rebooting, chances are that your power supply is giving out.

Hmmm, power supply sounds very suspect now that you mention it! 
The computer came with Nvidia 6800 graphics card. I remember a cpomputer before thius last one had to have power supply upgraded to handle a graphics card which is even lesser then Nvidia 6800. Now I'm wondering if gateway put in a good power supply or a marginal one. Probably a marginal one.

I thought with a power supply it either works or it doesn't.. but I don't have that much experience when it comes to that detail.   I'll be by that computer again tomorrow morning and will have a chance to check it all out.

Couple times when it shut itself off I thought I was doing something more intense graphically, and that the graphics card was causing overheating, but the computer temperature was nowhere near overheating....  The whole box was cool to the touch. Unlike the computer few feet from it. No heat, heck even warmth coming out the back side of the fan or near power supply.

I didn't think of checking the power supply wattage. But then again... if the power supply was under powered, it would be heating up, wouldn't it????   Hmmm..back to being puzzled.

Could be several things, the mother board, the RAM, the hard disk, the video card, also if i remember correctly, Blaster virus does restarts your computer if infected.

**Conniekat8 the reboot a lot probably is caused from RAM it takes apart the ram and you clean up it with a rubber in order to cancel over the contacts. The temperature of the cpu controls also, you open the cabinet.

Good luck

Mauk**

Random reboots can be caused by all of the items mentioned above and certainly by hardware in the throws of failing - although in my experience, hardware usually lasts until 2 days after the warranty runs out before it fails...

It could be something simple, but usually there is a good reason for a reboot - certainly take the lid of the case to allow the insides to stay cool and see if that makes a difference. Also while the lid is off, check all your fans are operating and that no cables are fouling any fans - remember the video card fan is hanging upside down, check that there isn't any cables running over it etc.

You should also be able to read the label on your power supply which should show the rating in watts. These days with more powerful video cards and operating systems, you do need some serious grunt under the bonnet power wise.

Given that the computer is only 4 months old, I would get the original builders to have a look - warranty is there to be used if you need it!

I also think that it's either PSU or memory's fault. If it's some noname PSU that is most probably the culprit.

You can test memory with memtest86, although it's not memory's fault, it can also be motherboard's fault. I had similar experience few months ago. Computer rebooted itself at random times. Memtest showed errors, but with same memory on another computer memtest was fine. So I brought motherboard back to the store and they replaced it. New one works fine.

Okay, several causes (most already listed)

The main one is overheating. That's a biggie and will cause reboots a lot.
Take the side / top off and point a fan at it (seriously!) and work like that for a while, see if it's still rebooting. If it is, chances are overheating isn't your problem.
Memory is also a thing, if you are able to pull out sticks, then try them one by one (or pair by pair, if that's how your PC is working) But be sure to GROUND yourself before going into the innards. (Touching the case while doing it is usually enough.)

If it's faulty memory, send the thing back (if you are able)

Power supply is number one suspect on my list, also ram. I ended up with 2 bad sticks of ram each a gig. And they didn't go bad until after I couldn't take them back which really made me happy. Use your warranty and make them honor it. What is your power supply just out of curiosity?

As you didn't say if the computer was a tower or a laptop, I'm with the rest of the group in general.  My older laptop used to overheat and shut down until I bought a cooling pad for it. Walmart sells them, they are around $25.00US, and they plug into the USB port.  It's a pad with two fans that pull air around the base of the laptop and push the hot air out the back of the pad into the atmosphere.
One of the best buys I've made.

Quote - Have you thought about the power supply? It might be getting overheated or another problem. Yes, use warrenty and have it checked. I had a machine do what yours is doing..re-booting at undetermined intervals and it was a weak power supply.

Yeah the first thing I thought was power supply, or something similar (can get similar results with a bad power connection somewhere inside the box, or an electrical outlet or other part of the electrical system in the residence going bad).

But the posts don't state if the computer's actually shutting down (you know, like when you tell it to shut down) or winking out instantly, as in when you pull the plug.

Could be a hard drive, too.  In my experience, almost any problem "could be a hard drive," lol.  They're the most common problem I have with my computers.

I had a bad power supply  ... (overheated) on an old 386 that was given my roommate back in 1991, and it crashed the C prompt.  That was a tough call at the time.  Even the Fry's techs didn't catch it till one of the noob's came to me literally crying cuz he thought he'd fried my motherboard.  I rebuilt that system through 1998 (It ended as a P266) it was my "learning" computer.  I believe by the time I gave it to a doctor in LA to learn on the only part that was original was the ribbon cables inside!!!  Just a story to share.  :) 

All of the scenereos (sp) still point to using the warrenty.  Gateway is good about their warrenties.  I have 2 Gateways here and have been pleased with them. 

Boni

You need to check the items mentioned above.

How old is your PC? Has it been significantly upgraded since new? You could be maxing out the power if the answer is 'yes'. Remedy - new beefed up power supply.

When did you last look inside your PC? With the power off, open the case and check for dust buildup, particularly around the chassis fans and the CPU cooling fan. Taking great care not to do anything utterly stupid, like put your hand / tongue / tender parts into contact with anything inside the PC, turn the power on and visually check all fans are spinning at full speed.

It's not unknown for a CPU fan to gradually drop in efficiency and therefore the average CPU temperature to rise over time. This can cause peak CPU temperatures to be too much and trigger a 'restart'.

The least costly thing you could do would be to install a new CPU cooler. If your problem persists after this, the most likely cause is power supply.

I don't think it would be over-heating on a new computer. Cooling in todays systems is quite good. Start with replacing the power supply - your system/parts should still be under warranty. take care jdc

Computer is a 4 months old Gateway, tower.
This model: http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/1014737R/1014737Rnv.shtml

I blew out any visible dust from the case and out of any slots with one of those 'dust off' high pressure air cans.

It's still under warranty. Talked to Gateway tech support, and they want me to do a system restore to factory settings first - YUCK! 

They want to make sure it's not a software issue and say if that doesn't work, the computer may need servicing.

Oddly, I can't find any info on the power supply. I haven't opened up the case since it's still factory sealed. If I'm really close to sending it for a warranty service, I'll let them unseal it. Then they can't say that I tampered with anything and goofed it up myself. (Not that I would goof thigs up... Just don't have to go through convincing them.)

It's been running for 2 hours today, and no reboots yet. I just looked through the logs, and it looks like Yesterday it seems to have rebooted once per hour.

Reboot behaves if someone hit the power shutdwn (What used to be a 'cold boot' in the old days). Fan stops, HD dismounts. It doesn't just zap out - hardware wise. Software wise, it doesn't give you a chance to save. Screen goes blank pretty quickly.. then you hear the hardware shutting down.

When everything stops spinning and humming, it boots itself back up.

My money is on the power supply!  
If there was motherboard or memory or overheating, it would have likely happened in the first few weeks. Last 4 months I used it the computer is ON almost 24-7, and I was running home pretty heavy 3D stuff. If it didn't overheat then, it shouldn't be overheating this week when I'm not using it a lot.

What I know anbout power supplies, if they are overtaxed or run close to a maximum for a prolonged period of time, they will slowly fail .... I think?

Hmmm.... after reading this thread: http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7586_102-0.html?forumID=68&threadID=269432&start=90
I may try the bios update - if it's available for my model.

Hmm.... online sales documentation from Buy.com says this model comes with a 400W power supply.   http://www.buy.com/prod/Gateway-GT5628-Quad-Core-Desktop-Intel-Core-2-Q6600-2-4GHz-Quad-Core/q/loc/58207/207544960.html
If that's what's really inside, it's not too shabby.

I installed the bios update, and no spontaneous reboots yet - well in last 3 hours.

If that's fixes it... tech support people should be aware of it!!!

That graphics card, is it a 6800 (unlikely) or a 8600 (more likely), and if it's a 8600, what suffix? GS, GT ,GTX?
400 W is skimpy on a Q6600 system with a decent graphics card. A 8600GS doesn't need a PCIE power connector and doesn't use that much power, but a GT or GTX uses significantly more.
I don't know the Delta brand of PSUs. For my own Q6600 systems I use 600W Zalman PSUs, and those have more than enough power for the CPU, the drives, the graphics card. But I would upgrade the PSU if I were going to use dual graphics cards, in that case 600W is not enough (750 is a workable minimum for a Q6600 with dual graphics cards).

Even if the BIOS update seems to fix the rebooting problem, the first upgrade you do to that machine will cause problems again.

Apparently Gateway makes the same mistake as Dell and HP: don't plan for expansion and install a very minimal cheap power supply.

there was an old autostart worm involving quicktime and the CD-drive back in the 90s
affecting mac OS 9 or earlier.  I hope that this problem isn't another version of said
worm.

The graphics card is: NVIDIA® GeForce® 8500GT   it came with the system.

Two more hours without reboot... maybe it was the bios... I hope I hope

Hi Connie - It may be worth downloading the trial version of Everest by Lavalys which allows you to monitor all kinds of internal functions including temperature. It also checks memory for you.
http://www.lavalys.com/products/download.php?ps=UE&dlid=35&frm=0&lang=en

Hmm, a 8500GT uses 45 watt max, a Q6600 uses 105 watt max, add some watts for hard drive, optical drive, mainboard, sound and peripherals, and the total power consumption of the system should not exceed 220 W.
If the efficiency of that 400W Delta PSU is 70% (quite standard for el cheapo PSUs), it would deliver about 280 W to the system, divided over 5V and 12V lines.
That SHOULD be enough. You don't have much to spare, but it should be enough.

Aside from the wattage itself, there's also voltage stability. High quality PSUs have stable 3.3 V, 5 V and 12 V outputs, with variations of at most 20 mV. Low quality PSUs have far less stable outputs, and the variations can be as much as 500 mV.
If the voltage delivered to a component deviates too much from the specifications, the component will protect itself by shutting down. So a low quality PSU that has too much variation and deviation in its voltages WILL cause random shutdowns.

I was afraid they may have slipped in a 250W Power supply with a system that needs 220 minimum :lol:

Just a quick update in case anyone is curious. Upgrading BIOS seems to have made the reboots go away. 24 hours with no reboots. I'm close to calling this 'fixed'

just a side issue. Depending on how often it reboots, it would never hurt to back up your data files, recent downloads, etc.

I like the one about cleaning your memory tabs with a rubber...; ) Actually, that's an oldie but a goodie (though not what we originally used...use a pencil eraser, and make sure the crumbs fall outside the insides of the machine...;) Or if you go with the original plan, make sure you don't use the lubri....ah...never mind...;)

Could be the Bios. If it's working now, and this fixes it, another safety feature would be to create a System Restore point. Never know when you might have to revisit it....

Do you have it on a battery backup?