Why would your Windows 98 computer automatically restart after 15-20 minutes?

Answer 1

On some motherboards, when the CPU temperature gets too high, it will automatically reboot the system in hopes of cooling the chip and the associated hardware. This is not a normal occurrence though - if your PC is rebooting automatically, something is wrong with the fans inside your PC case. Check to see if one of the fans aren't turning on or is running too slow. Make sure that dust has not piled up on the board or heat sync.

If the fans are working fine, and there is not dust, then try adding some extra thermal grease to the CPU. You can get a tube of it for a dollar or less on ebay. Just open up the PC, remove the Heat Sync, and carefully apply a small amount of the paste to the top of the CPU. There should be some fairly dry paste already on the CPU. You can leave it there, or replace it. If a small amount gets out on to the board, it will probably be fine, but try to avoid this if you can. Remember that when you latch down the heat sync, it will try to squeeze out the thermal grease, so only use a little. Now carefully put back the heat sync, and close up the PC again.

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Other answers:

The fans will affect that. My mom's laptop did that and all it was was a dust buildup on the fan and most processors nowadays have a thermal sensor and when it gets too hot it shuts the computer down to try and prevent the processor from dying. It could also happen because the processor IS dying and needs replacing

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There may be a program that turns on automatically when you start up windows 98. Go to the start button, run and type in Msconfig. When the box opens look for the tab that says "Start-up" then click on it, uncheck anything that you do not want to start-up when you turn your computer on. It is safe to uncheck all options that are check under the Start-up tab only if the computer truly needs the program to work it'll turn on automatically again.

Answer 2

This is rather unusual for any computer. It could be a worn out or damaged power supply that fails after it warms up. It could also be a program running on the computer triggering a restart for unknown reasons. Start the computer in CMOS Settings mode, usually by pressing the DEL key or a function key early in startup, then watch for it to restart. If it still restarts, you have a hardware problem. If not, it is a software problem.

For a software problem, look for programs that start automatically and stop them using the Task Manager (control+alt+delete). It should be possible to determine which program is doing it and uninstall it.

I suggest you go to your local computer store and ask about and possibly get it fixed. There may also just be a setting on the computer that has been set incorrectly, you can also find out if the setting is wrong by the computer store too.

Although the site is so long try this:

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