Dear all

I have a problem with my computer. Whenever my computer is idle, after around 5 minutes it boots itself!! It just cannot remain stable for more than 5 to 10 minutes when it is idle. However when I am using some application like the internet the PC is ok - it does not boot. But if I load a new CD (any software CD or VCD) sometimes it loads properly but sometimes the PC reboots the minute I load the CD-Rom. After rebooting sometimes windows loads properly and comes to the start-up menu but sometimes there is a blue screen with a 'fatal error' message. I then have to switch off the PC and switch it on again, then it works.

At first I thought it was something to do with my Windows 98 software, so I upgraded to Windows 2000 Professional but the problem still persists.
I also have a anti-virus software loaded (Norton Anti-Virus 2002) and after I do a virus scan, the result is always negative (i.e no virus found).
Can anyone help me to know why this problem happens and what can I do about it.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Most likely not a virus. Typically when an uninitiated reboot occures it is a hardware or driver conflict. Have you installed any new hardware or drivers prior to the behavior?

I run P/Bell iconnect 1100, Win ME and get this prob too; I've virus, bot and trojan scanned (online and with programs The Cleaner, Swat-it and Norton) and Im squeeky; but my comp comes outta Idle all by itself on an irregular, unpredictable, for no reason(!!!) basis.

Most possible sollutions:

-replace memory with some of your friends and test if yar pc still reboots
-check bios for turbo and fast access settings and set them to slow values.
(some hardware could be not as good as default settings assume.)
-last but not last format c: or rather use some friends disk or old disk and test.

hope you find the problem

Thanks Kheno for the tips.
I tried the following options

1. From the Bios Frequency/Voltage setting I changed the CPU Clock/Ram/PCI clock settings from "133/100/33Mhz" to "100/100/33Mhz". The PC remained stable for around 8 hours initially, but then it booted from idle again. Since then it happened some more times. Another thing is whenever I insert a new CD/CDRom in the CD rom drive the PC suddenly reboots.
After then I tried the second option.

2. I then reformatted my C: drive and reloaded Win 2000 and all the other software. But the problem still persists.
Incidentally my hard drive has been partitioned under the FAT32 system into C, D and E drives. Will this in anyway cause the booting problems?

Am I doing something wrong here. Do I need to change any specific BIOS settings. I am hesitant to try the other option of changing the ram chips as I am not a techie and in order to change the ram chips I will have to dismantle almost the entire PC as mine is a Book PC (very small size and tightly fitted components). Or should I go to a repair shop? Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.