What kind of computer is it?

How old is it? Is it under warranty?

What kind of Processor/Memory?

Have you installed any new hardware?

Have you installed any new software?

Is your system overclocked?

What OS are you running?

Does it happen at random or only when certain programs are running?

Do you leave your machine on all the time or do you shutdown for the night.

Do you get any error messages?

Does it shut down or reboot?

Have you scanned for a virus? (Very unlikely, I know, but it doesn't hurt to ask.)

How old is it? 3-4 Years, upgraded in April 99
Is it under warranty? No

What kind of Processor/Memory? P1, 333, 32RAM

Have you installed any new hardware?No

Have you installed any new software?Finale 2001, but that was last night and it's been acting up for a few weeks.

Is your system overclocked? What?

What OS are you running? Win 95

Does it happen at random or only when certain programs are running? Random

Do you leave your machine on all the time or do you shutdown for the night? I shut it down at night but it's on for normally 8 hours a day.

Do you get any error messages? I get "Illegal Operation" Msgs from time to time.

Does it shut down or reboot? Reboot

Anyway...i need info, so here are my thoughts...

Rich, with the Win95, what verison of 95 is it (To find this, on your desktop, right click on My Computer and go to Properties, then look for Microsoft Windows 95) I need to know the version of your Win9x OS, it will be just "Microsoft Windows 95" or it will have a "B" or C" after. If you don't have B or C, this is a problem, Win95 A was the crappiest verison of the OS. B was a much improvement, and C was even better. Of course, 98 is a God send.

Also, with your P I 333, you mean a P 2 correct, because Intel never made a P I 333, but I know all those socket 7 guys would love one

Also, with the "illegal opperation" what program is it assocated with?

When it reboots, does it make any funny sounds? Also, does it to it randomly, like you will be working and then it just reboots? If sounds like a power supply (that includes case fan too)/ CPU fan problem, more a power supply problem because you dont have your system over clocked (over clicking is when you reset the jumpers in the motherboard for make the processer give you more speed, its really bad, I dont reccomend it) And I dont care what you "overclockers" think eather, its bad and thats that!

As for the HDD Wipe/Reload are hella fun, I love them

--Kyp
Writer/Editor

It was a P120, but we upgraded as far as we could at the time, which was a 333 chip or something, but because its a P1, it's only as fast as a P2 300.

NP: Thunderheart, Horner

It's weird that your reset button doesn't work...

NP: Rambo III

It could be a hardware problem, like mentioned before. Maybe the power supply isn't strong enough? Or does your computer get too hot?

Anyway, it could quite as well be a Windows problem. Generally, if you use your computer frequently and often install new programs, you'll have to re-install Windows every few months. Windows 2000 looks significantly more stable, luckily, and it really depends on how much hardware extensions you have and how many programs etc., but there are very few Windows computers that work properly if they aren't re-installed for years. (Windows generally shows random behaviour, e.g. my second computer, which I haven't touched for one hour, brought up an illegal operation while I was reading this thread )

Someone mentioned a bad power supply. This can cause problems. If the flow of power is not clean and consistent, the bios will send a reset signal to the power supply. This happens automatically during post to make sure that the power is good, once that is done the system boots normally. If there is a fluctuation in the power supply, the bios can automatically send a reset signal to power supply.

Here are some things to check:

Is there a heat sink or fan on your processor? If there is a fan, is it working?

Check and make sure that the processor, memory and expansion cards are all firmly seated.

Is the fan in your power supply working? This can cause the system to overheat in general and make performance erratic.

One way to tell if it is a windows/software problem is to boot into MS-Dos mode, let it run for a few days and see if it reboots there. If it does, this is likely a hardware problem.

Having said all that, let me add that this kind of problem is the hardest to diagnose simply because of its intermittent nature. If the problem continues or gets worse, consider taking it into to someone who can actually test the power supply and processor.

I wish I could say that this was uncommon but its not. Starting with 4th Qtr 99 product cycles many manufacturers went to a no power configuration on low to mid range PCs. The thinking was that the part most likely to fail on a PC power supply was the on/off switch. It also made the PC cheaper to make, a very important consideration for PC manufacturers in sub 500 dollar market.

The button that looks like a power button is actually a sleep mode button (I like to call it a coma button). When things work, this arrangement is functional. However, when the system locks completely the only way to do a full power reset is unplug from the wall.

I was sort of thinking I should check everything internally is firmly seated.
I'll do that tomorrow, it's too late now.

Marian, a lot of people have said the same as you, but when I boot up, it says 333MHZ and its not a pentium 2 because when we did upgrade we didn't get the P2 chip because the cost was much higher than we wanted. I'll double check it though, I could be wrong but I am almost certain I'm not.
Like I say, it only has power of a 300MHZ processor because of this.

I suspect it is probably the processor. Cyrix was always twitchy, one of the reasons they went out of business. I would take it in and have tests run on the processor, but the machine is old enough that it will be difficult to find a processor that will work on that motherboard. AMD used to make 'em but I am sure that they don't make any straight Socket 7's anymore. You might find some on EBay.

They are some inexpensive systems that are far more powerful than what you are running. They can be had for less than 500$. If you have the money, there are some 900 Mghz machines for as little as $900 to $1100 dollars depending on peripherals.

I'm looking at getting a new computer soon, so I'll just run this one until it stops I guess.