Computer keeps restarting without warning

Hello all, Ok, This all started happening either yesterday or today, I can't remember which… I uninstalled DropboxPortableAHK but it couldn't delete the .dbfiles so I tried to delete them but windows said I couldn't so I just left it be, then I installed Syncplicity but didn't like it so I uninstalled it but when it was uninstalling I saw that the .dbfiles from DropboxPortableAHK was getting deleted. I though that was a good thing but when I restarted everything was going good at the moment, I was able to get to the desktop and all. I was deleting and rearranging my portable external hard drive and it just restarted without no warning whatsoever. So, I tried the same thing for the second time and it restarted again, third and forth times. I think when I uninstalled Syncplicity some how something messed up or something… Is there something I could try like a program or something that could get this computer to stop restarting without warning? Thank you

You need to disable Automatic Restart so you can see what the BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) says. Need the error and file information if there is any.

Right click on My Computer.
Click Properties > Advanced > Startup and Recovery Settings.
Uncheck box for "Automatically restart".

Now when the error occurs, you will get a blue screen with information in it. Record it and post here please.

To recover from a BSOD you need to power off and power on, C-A-D will not work.

Also install WhoCrashed then run it. It should tell you what is causing the BSOD.

Hello Ztruker,

The computer has crashed on my wife about 2 or 3 times since I posted earlier but she didn't know I had already posted so I didn't catch it… I un-checked "Automatically restart" and I installed WhoCrashed and it gave me several errors of the same thing… The error follows:

—-
On Mon 5/2/2011 7:51:28 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini050111-02.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: se_filter.sys (SE_Filter+0x135B)
Bugcheck code: 0x10000050 (0xFFFFFFFFE1365000, 0x0, 0xFFFFFFFF80506D42, 0x1)
Error: CUSTOM_ERROR
file path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\se_filter.sys
product: System Explorer
company: Mister Group
description: System Explorer Filter
A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: se_filter.sys (System Explorer Filter, Mister Group).
Google query: se_filter.sys Mister Group CUSTOM_ERROR
—-

I looked up "se_filter.sys Mister Group CUSTOM_ERROR" and it said the (I guess) real name is "sefilter.sys", and it also said that the OP was win7 but I have xp, humm… I got the info from this site http://systemexplorer.net/filereviews.php?fid=11331. That's pretty much all I could find.

I don't find anything useful on that file either. What about doing a System Restore to before you uninstalled DropboxPortableAHK , see if that gets everything straight again.

Hello , I haven't did a system restore yet but the computer restarted, well it crashed 2 or 3 times since the last time I posted. And when it crashed, it didn't do a "Blue Screen Of Death", it didn't do anything… just a black screen when it crashed. And we had to restart manually… I'm on the laptop for now. I'll do a system restore tomorrow or maybe tonight I don't know. Thx EDIT: It didn't help, it's still restarting… I had previously un-checked "Automatically restart" and when it restarted (or didn't) it just froze, no info or nothing, like BSOD. So, I had to manually restart, it did that 2 or 3 times and 1 time the computer wasn't even been used, it went dark or froze and I had to manually restart.. This is getting very frustrating to me and my wife cause my wife tends to be on more than me on our main pc. Thank you

Time to test your computers ram, though that se_filter.sys sure sounds like a device driver problem.

Download Memtest86+ (you want the 2nd one Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)). Unzip it then create a CD from the iso file using your CD burning software. There is a good freeware burner called ImgBurn which will do this easily.

Boot the CD and run for at least 3 complete passes unless it shows errors sooner than that, even better, let it run over night.

For some reason I did not get the notification that this topic was read… Ok, I will download it… I know my computer don't have the ram that is recommended, I think it only has like 4 hundred something megs.

Hi there. I'm having a very similar problem. After a few minutes of computer use (time varies between 1-30 min), my laptop will turn off without warning. I've looked at the Event Viewer under Administrative tools, and several lines read the same error: Type: Warning Source: PlugPlayManager Category: None Event: 262 User: N/A Computer: Acer-A I've read that the event 262 is referring to an attempted shut down. However, I'm not quite sure what specifically is causing this shut down, and how I can prevent it/repair the system. I'd appreciate any advice that you can give.

As per Microsoft: "The system's attempt to put the computer into a power-saving mode was blocked by the specified service. Stopping the service may allow the system to go into a power-saving mode, but it may also cause other problems". See MSW2KDB for more details

Sounds like a device driver problem or a program running that is blocking the laptop from hibernating.

How does it behave if you boot to Safe Mode with Networking? If better then something is starting at boot that is causing the problem. See if it's a program or service.

Use msconfig to determine what is causing the problem

These are good tutorials on using msconfig in XP, Vista or Windows 7:
How to use msconfig in Windows XP
How to use msconfig in Windows Vista
How to use msconfig in Windows 7

Click on Start then Run, type msconfig and press Enter.
Click on the Startup tab, record what is currently starting then click the Disable All button.
Reboot and see if it runs better.
If yes then use msconfig to enable several items at a time till you find the culprit.

If no, start msconfig and click on the Services tab.
Check the Hide All Microsoft Services box, record what is currently starting then click the Disable All button.
Again, do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable services till you find the culprit.

Once you've found the culprit, uninstall it or find out how to eliminate it from your system. Simply disabling it in msconfig is a temporary fix at best.
Enable everything else you disabled.

If this doesn't help then it's a device driver problem. Make sure you have the latest drivers for video, lan, wireless, audio to start with.

Ok, well… I tried to burn it to a CD and I thought I had at least one CD-burner but I didn't. I could have swore that it did but anyway, I couldn't so I don't know what to do… Could I use daemon tools to create a virtual drive and then do it?

No, that won't work. Try this: HOWTO: Boot Memtest on USB Drive

Well, I don't have Linux but on that same site I found the windows one… But anyway, I downloaded the "Auto-installer for USB Key" at http://forum.canardpc.com/threads/39168-Wi…st-on-USB-Drive, and started to install it on my external hard drive but it didn't have it. It had pretty much everything but that drive. I just have a 250GB external hard drive, and obviously a build in hard drive… and I thought I could install it on there and it's portable as well. Nevertheless, I didn't get it installed… Though, it's not restarting as bad as it was. So, if it restarts like it was doing, I'll just post back here but for now, just close this thread. Thank you very much Ztruker.

Sorry about that. I gave you the Linux version instead of the Windows version.

Try this one: http://forum.canardpc.com/threads/39168-Wi…st-on-USB-Drive

I started to install it on my external hard drive but it didn't have it. It had pretty much everything but that drive. I just have a 250GB external hard drive, and obviously a build in hard drive… and I thought I could install it on there and it's portable as well. Nevertheless, I didn't get it installed… Though, it's not restarting as bad as it was. So, if it restarts like it was doing, I'll just post back here but for now, just close this thread. Thank you very much Ztruker.

Hello Ztuker,

Like I said in the last post, I can't get it installed on my 250G HD, cause it isn't there… So, as I stated above, it isn't doing like it was… I don't know what happened but you can close this thread. Thx for all your help.