My Computer Keeps Restarting Without Saving Files

I use some simple PC maintenance checks to understand why my computer keeps restarting repeatedly. These checks are intended to pinpoint which piece of software or hardware component is actually caused the problem in order to research online what possible solutions may exist.

The first check should always be of your BIOS menu to make sure the CPU temperatures are not getting excessively high. If your PC overheats then you could actually cause major data loss and damage to the hard drive as well as the CPU. Stop this happening by clearing out dust from any of the vents and air inlets, repairing any damage to internal fans and identifying if the heat sink and CPU are still attached.

If you cannot log into the system without restarting then you should resort to the last known good configuration. This can be accessed from the advanced start menu by hitting the F8 key when Windows boots up. The last good configuration actually rolls back your Windows registry file to an earlier version in an effort to bypass any corruption that made being cost. This is a prominent cause of computer freezes and restarts.

If the system does allow you to login then the event viewer log is a most useful file for identifying issues. The log file (start, run, enter eventvwr.exe) presents error messages which probably didn't make it onto the screen in the moments before my computer keeps restarting. Error messages can then be looked up online to pinpoint what hardware component or software utility was at fault.

Lastly, it is critical to do a bad sector repair of your hard drive platters to make sure there is no corruption to the drive itself. Other hardware components can also be checked using the Device Manager tool. This utility will identify any erratic behavior, corruption to drivers or conflicts between peripherals that can occur and suggest solutions.