Random restarts on windows 7 but not on ubuntu 10

[bowater]

Hi,

I have a problem with my laptop where it restarts randomly. No patten to this, but this doesn't affect windows running in safe mode with networking and also doesn't affect the new unbuntu 64bit which i'm using write now.

Is this a driver error? Is there some kind of program i can run in windows that will record what is happening until it happens? (Event viewer just records the laptop "loosing power") Any help would be much appreciated .

Intel core duo mobile P8700 (2.53ghz) 3mb
4GB DDR3 Ram
512MB DDR3 ATi Radeon HD 4650 + HDMI & VGA
250GB Hard Drive (7200rpm)
DVD Drive
Onboard Lan & Wireless card 802.11g card
Bluetooth
Windows 7 64 bit

 

[bowater]

Now it's happening it ubuntu

 

[das_stig]

Does it do it if you run of battery?

Yes, battery fubar

No, remove battery and run of mains, does it still happen?

Yes, faulty power pack or charging circuit on motherboard

No, software.

 

[bowater]

Hi, thanks for the post. I haven't done that yet and will do. I've been looking in event viewer and noticed this:

: The embedded controller (EC) did not respond within the specified timeout period. This may indicate that there is an error in the EC hardware or firmware or that the BIOS is accessing the EC incorrectly. You should check with your computer manufacturer for an upgraded BIOS. In some situations, this error may cause the computer to function incorrectly.

The "source" is ACPI and i think it's the SD card reader, i have disabled it in device manager and it hasn't restarted since . If it does then i will definalty try the laptop without the battery. Is there anyway to prove it is the SD card reader?

p.s. I would disable it in ubuntu as well but i have no idea how to do that as it's my first time using it, i'll try google

 

[bowater]

Tried without the battery and it's still happening. So event viewer is saying it is
: The embedded controller (EC) did not respond within the specified timeout period. This may indicate that there is an error in the EC hardware or firmware or that the BIOS is accessing the EC incorrectly. You should check with your computer manufacturer for an upgraded BIOS. In some situations, this error may cause the computer to function incorrectly.
So it's the motherboard? Anything i can do?

 

[bowater]

I've formatted my hard drive and i am just running an av. But it's still happening, can anybody help?

 

[bowater]

ok, so if anybody is actually reading this.... i was a bit lost, well very lost. Started looking at speed fan because maybe it was to do with the heat (even though my laptop doesn't go about 50c) but then i stumbled across CPUGENIE. Running the test now, and it's identified 2 voltages that were causing a crash so far, the test has been running for a long time, maybe 10 hours... But my system is a lot more stable. Has anybody used CPUGENIE before?

 

[vvhocare5]

It looks like CPUGenie slows down the CPU in addition to reporting voltages.

How old is this laptop? The good thing about laptops is they are a closed system. If something goes wrong its either the battery or its bad....not much one can replace...

 

[bowater]

Not that old, 9 months. About 2 months ago i sent it back and they said that they did a "full chassis change ensuring no further hardware problems". But last week it started black screening, then on boot and after a few mins freezing resulting in me holding the power button down to turn it off.

I think they didn't know what was wrong with it either.

 

[bowater]

cpugenie did't work, same problem . I've got a mini dump file, should i post it here?