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My Dell Vostro laptop keeps on restarting when I'm busy using it without commanding it to do so. I'm using windows 7 for O.S.

What might be the problem? How can I solve it?

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I tried most of the above and all didnt work until when I changed the Os from windows 07 to vista. Do dell vostros have problem running on win07? I have never experienced the problem again. – user61475 Jan 5 '11 at 0:17

2 Answers

up vote 4 down vote

This sort of question is very hard to diagnose with this amount of information. You would be best served taking it to a computer shop to get it examined.

That said:

  • It could possibly be heat related. Are the ventilation holes blocked in any way when you use it? Is it under heavy load when this happens?

  • It could be memory related. Faulty memory could possibly cause this. Run a memory checker on your machine.

  • It could be driver related. It could be a faulty device driver. For example, if it happens during game use and it is not heat or memory related, it could well be an issue with the video card's drivers. Try to find a newer driver version (or older if it is the latest).

  • Many other reasons not listed here, including viruses and cosmic rays

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Most likely heat related. I see this ALLLLL the time. Many laptops have the cool air inlet on the bottom, and people will set the laptop on a fluffy surface (or across a surface, like the user's legs, where the laptop "feet" are unable to keep the laptop from being flat against a surface), blocking the inlet... End result, laptop likes to reboot frequently as it keeps overheating. – Brian Knoblauch May 27 '10 at 12:50
Have seen exactly what @Dan McG describes and also an accumulation of dust and debris inside the case around the fan. Sometimes a rather large amount. Same result, too hot and shutdown or reboot – Dave M May 27 '10 at 14:20
I had this problem: superuser.com/questions/2125/lg-r500-notebook-crashing. I solved it by replacing the thermal paste on the video card and buying a notebook cooler. Now it never crashes. – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇 May 27 '10 at 14:25
up vote 0 down vote

Normally when I faced such issue it what Heating Up soon.

Just check if Fan at base(or wherever) are rotating fine... try installing some CPU Heat Diagnostic tools like: http://core-temp.uptodown.com/en

would advice to get it repaired if its Heating issue... delay could cost you a lot

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