What would cause a computer that you leave on all of the time to restart itself?

Answer 1

AnswerMost of these answers can cause this, updates sometimes need a restart to apply settings, and overheating can cause crashes. Now this is what most likely happened (crashed) but not always caused by overheating. Windows comes with the "Automatically Restart" setting ON by default, you need to change this to see what may be causing the issue. Normally we need to know what OS you're using for exact directions, but this should get you there - Control panel > click the System icon > Advanced settings > Advanced tab > Startup & Recovery, click Settings, then remove the check from "Automatically Restart" box. This will cause a BSOD instead of a restart and the BSOD may contain the faulting module name, and an Stop Error Code that can be researched for the cause. Also the Event Viewer (Ctrl Panel, Admin Tools, Event Viewer) may have more info on the cause, look for Critical entries near the time of the problem. Find a good online Tech Help forum to post this into and they can help find the cause. www.besttechie.net www.bleepingcomputer.com AnswerMight it have automatically downloaded an update package and then automatically restarted itself? Just a thought... AnswerOne of my computers did that a couple of times right before the Power Supply gave out. Once replaced it never did it again. Answeroverheating of the parts.

You need to improve the airflow through the machine.

Alternatively, you could invest in a water-cooling system. These are favoured by gamers, who put a lot of stress on their machines, heating them up.

AnswerA virus

External power glitch or brown out.

Note that the proper response to overheating is to power off. Nothing is gained by restarting. However, overheating could cause the BIOS or power supply to malfunction causing it to restart.

If the power went out or if someone used shutdown -i which is a command to remotely shutdown a computer all they would need is an IP address (internet protocol).

Microsoft AutoUpdate can force a reboot after countdown (many pc's are set up to do this at 3am by default) if the update requires a dll reload/change.

Also, some applications can force a restart if they are set to update automatically, perhaps an antivirus program, before a scan