Virus or XPism?

[Extreme1]

My brother-in-law was kind enough to install our new harddrive, format it and load up XP for us over the holidays. This was part of an upgrade from an old 233 mhz processor to a 2. 4 ghz unit along with a new graphics card and motherboard.



The problem is that the machine will periodically reboot with no warning. Sometimes when no one is near it. Somethimes while it's being used.



It seems to happen more frequently when internet explorer is being used. Specifically, when a close window or back button is pressed.



I initially thought it was a program problem that needed a reload to heal but now I'm wondering if it could be a virus. I have Norton Anti-Virus 2002 (current), Ad-Aware and Spybot. Norton has never found anything but sometimes after running these, it will be OK for a few days. Then it will happen several times in a night.



Any thoughts from the computer experts?

 

[TORQUE THIS]

Sounds like the sasser worm...

 

[Deezul1]

That is one of the newest viruses quirks.

 

[Doc Tinker]

I believe there is a new virus going around that none of the anti-virus services are aware of yet. I have observed some rather strange things on many XP systems over the last couple of weeks. I suggest that you start updating your anti-virus dat files and run a scan daily. Eventually your anti-virus program should detect and destroy the undected stuff.



Doc

 

[ARedetzke]

http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/sasser.asp



Go to that link, it will check your CPU for the sasser worm, and tell you how to remove it.

AJ

 

[ARedetzke]

Sorry, Click on the "Check my PC for infection" button, it should do the rest

AJ

 

[Extreme1]

Thanks for the ideas. I ran the Windows check, no infection.



The night before last, in order to run the new and "improved" e-bay favorites searches I had to delete all my cookies. I deleted everything in the internet file folder and all the auto-complete info as well.



It hasn't rebooted since.



Well, I shouldn't have spoken so soon. It just rebooted when I hit the formula button in excel. I lost a bit of work.



I HATE WINDOWS I HATE WINDOWS I HATE WINDOWS



Did I mention that I"m not a fan of windows?

 

[jarsong]

Originally posted by Extreme1

Thanks for the ideas. I ran the Windows check, no infection.



The night before last, in order to run the new and "improved" e-bay favorites searches I had to delete all my cookies. I deleted everything in the internet file folder and all the auto-complete info as well.



It hasn't rebooted since.



Well, I shouldn't have spoken so soon. It just rebooted when I hit the formula button in excel. I lost a bit of work.



I HATE WINDOWS I HATE WINDOWS I HATE WINDOWS



Did I mention that I"m not a fan of windows?

Seen this many times. Your CPU is over heating. So make sure your CPU fan is working AND move all the crap away from your computer so air can get to it.

jarsong

 

[TexasDodgeRam]

Try running msconfig from a run line.

Then go to the start-up tab. Remove all.

Then go to the services tab. Check the "Hide all Microsoft Services" check box. Disable everything that is left.

Reboot.

Then check msconfig again on the start-up tab. Make sure nothing has come back. If nothing has come back run with this config and see if you can get it to crash.



If you get no crash it is mostlikely something that was disabled. If that is the case you will need to enable one at a time and reboot untill your system crashes again which will ID the problem. I hope that helps.



If none of that helps then the problem might be between the keyboard and the chair. Just kidding.

 

[wanderson]

Extreme1: I had the same problem a few weeks back. I found out it was being caused by the Symantec Corporation(Norton). I sent the error message I was getting after the reboot completed to Microsoft. The diagnosis was that Symantec was the cause of the trouble. I then uninstalled all of the components titled Symantec or Norton. Then I down loaded another company's Anti-Virus and firewall. Everything has been fine since. If this happens to be your problem, you could probably uninstall and then reinstall your Norton and it should work. Something in the program became corrupt. The version I had of Norton was also 2002.

Your going to want to also double check all of the connections in your computer case. Spontaneous reboots are not uncommon in new machines or machines that have been upgraded like yours. All it takes is a loose cable to give you trouble. I have also personally had a new hard drive with some bad clusters on it that would crash and reboot.



Hope this helps, Wayne



P. S. Make sure your error reporting is turned on so the next time your computer reboots you can send the error to Microsoft.

 

[jarsong]

Keep in mind he not reporting any Blue screen of death. This is a hardware level issue not the OS. Check you CPU fan and make sure it's working. If your computer is in some sort of cabinet with walls close to the sides, take it out for a while and test. When you are at low utilization it will never show up but if your computer start running the autoscans or something then the CPU start heating up, Motherboard reports an overheating situation and REBOOT to stop what process is about to cause you a meltdown... .

jarsong

 

[wanderson]

Jarsong: When I was having the trouble with the Norton, the blue screen would flash so fast you could not read it before it started to reboot, but I do understand where you coming from. I just thought I would share my common experience with Extreme1. I know how frustrating some of these computer problems can be.

 

[jarsong]

Originally posted by wanderson

Jarsong: When I was having the trouble with the Norton, the blue screen would flash so fast you could not read it before it started to reboot, but I do understand where you coming from. I just thought I would share my common experience with Extreme1. I know how frustrating some of these computer problems can be.

I hear ya... . Dang computers. The only good part for me is it pays the bills... . I still think your looking at a hardware issue. Something isn't plugged in tight, memory configuration is off somehow... People can cuss WInXP all they want. It's pretty stable and forgiving... Post like this give Windows a bad rap right off the get go and we have no proof what the root cause is. Seems by default we trash Windows when in my line of work I rarely find a problem with Window but rather some other program/parasite/Virus/hardware is to blame. One click of the mouse can cause a heap of trouble... .

jarsong

 

[Cowboy Medic]

We had this reboot problem happening on some computers at school that had been upgraded to XP. They wound up reformatting the hard drive installing XP OS and not the upgrade from a previous windows and the problem was gone.

 

[TexasDodgeRam]

Originally posted by Cowboy Medic

We had this reboot problem happening on some computers at school that had been upgraded to XP. They wound up reformatting the hard drive installing XP OS and not the upgrade from a previous windows and the problem was gone.

By formating and reinstalling you proved that the hardware was fine. So if there was no hardware issues must have been software. That is why I suggested that you use MSCONFIG to rule out most software.

 

[KatDiesel]

What is your Power Supply rated wattage? Did you buy a new computer, or just the items you mentioned? PSU could not be enough to handle new load and or could be overheating. That will cause random reboots.



The Power Supply is often overlooked, but yet it is the heart of the system, just as the processor is the brain.

 

[jarsong]

Originally posted by KatDiesel

What is your Power Supply rated wattage? Did you buy a new computer, or just the items you mentioned? PSU could not be enough to handle new load and or could be overheating. That will cause random reboots.



The Power Supply is often overlooked, but yet it is the heart of the system, just as the processor is the brain.

Bingo... . The fan system in my 2. 8GHz processor machine sound like a 747 when I get it working it hard... . If I hadn't seen this upgrade then overheating issue so many time I would think I was crazy. These cases/CPU fan/Power supply fans really are made to work together...

jarsong

 

[Extreme1]

Thanks for your replies. I'll answer in some sort of order...



The fan is running and the side of the case is open, no air flow problems. I also added a case fan (Christmas gift from my brother-in-law) but it isn't doing anything because the side is not on (and hasn't been on since it came home).



The upgrade was a rebuild of an old unit (used the case with air holes added). I also updated the powersupply. The unit I installed is either 400 or 450 watt. (I needed the new power supply to get the power connection for the processor).



The XP install was a new install, not an upgrade.



I don't get an error message. When windows does come back up, it states that the sectors needs to be checked. Everthing always comes back OK.



I haven't tried the MS config changes or reloaded Norton. It mostly happens when a command is executed either in IE or excel(the last one).



Sorry if I offended anyone with my comments about windows but I use SolidWorks (a 3D CAD program) to make a living. We recently "upgraded" to the business version of XP. It has seriously slowed down the CAD program. Opening a folder with 25. 000 models in it used to take about 30 seconds (with a slower PC) to display all the files. Now it takes about 2 minutes and then, when scrolling through the folder, each display has to update before it will display. You can no longer open the folder and scroll through it to look for files so the business wrote a search program that can be driven from SolidWorks.



The best analogy I have for windows newer versions is similar to giving your truck more power but making it heavier so it doesn't perform as well as it did. But it is new and costs more and "is more powerful".

 

[jarsong]

Originally posted by KatDiesel

What is your Power Supply rated wattage? Did you buy a new computer, or just the items you mentioned? PSU could not be enough to handle new load and or could be overheating. That will cause random reboots.



The Power Supply is often overlooked, but yet it is the heart of the system, just as the processor is the brain.

Bingo... . The fan system in my 2. 8GHz processor machine sound like a 747 when I get it working it hard... . If I hadn't seen this upgrade then overheating issue so many time I would think I was crazy. These cases/CPU fan/Power supply fans really are made to work together...

jarsong

 

[jarsong]

Originally posted by Extreme1

Thanks for your replies. I'll answer in some sort of order...



The fan is running and the side of the case is open, no air flow problems. I also added a case fan (Christmas gift from my brother-in-law) but it isn't doing anything because the side is not on (and hasn't been on since it came home).



The upgrade was a rebuild of an old unit (used the case with air holes added). I also updated the powersupply. The unit I installed is either 400 or 450 watt. (I needed the new power supply to get the power connection for the processor).



The XP install was a new install, not an upgrade.



I don't get an error message. When windows does come back up, it states that the sectors needs to be checked. Everthing always comes back OK.



I haven't tried the MS config changes or reloaded Norton. It mostly happens when a command is executed either in IE or excel(the last one).



Sorry if I offended anyone with my comments about windows but I use SolidWorks (a 3D CAD program) to make a living. We recently "upgraded" to the business version of XP. It has seriously slowed down the CAD program. Opening a folder with 25. 000 models in it used to take about 30 seconds (with a slower PC) to display all the files. Now it takes about 2 minutes and then, when scrolling through the folder, each display has to update before it will display. You can no longer open the folder and scroll through it to look for files so the business wrote a search program that can be driven from SolidWorks.



The best analogy I have for windows newer versions is similar to giving your truck more power but making it heavier so it doesn't perform as well as it did. But it is new and costs more and "is more powerful".

With this info now I'm thinking you have a possible memory module issue. Possible two different speeds or wrong supported speed all together? THis would cause the reboots and also kill performance at the same time from disk caching. I have also seen the latest MS security patch do some real strange things after it's installed but if this acted wierd from the get go then I still am pointing to hardware. One thing I haven't seen on the Dozens of fresh XP home or Pro installs is the performace degration you speak of here... How much Memory do you have? 512MB min. is what I recommend for Windows 2000/XP. USB devices all working? BIOS at the latest version? Wireless devices like Mouse or keyboard? If so start unplugging one thing at a time to see if there is a change. Go into the system properties/hardware and see if there are any conflicts with hardware. Also visit the Mfg web site of your CAD software to see if there are any updates and that your computer meet the min spec.

jarsong