Windows 10: Computer Restarts Every 2 Minutes After Fresh Install of Windows 10

Unfortunately, that didn't work. We disabled auto restart, but the blue screen didn't come up. This is the craziest thing ever.

We also - without connecting to the internet - attempted to install the driver for the graphics card, but as it was installing the computer restarted. We go to restore from an earlier point, we find that the driver was intalling C++ files. I attached the picture of the screen.

I'm no computer expert, but it sure looks to me like it's the C++ files.

 

I also have no idea if there is a built in GPU. How would we know? That one picture I posted before said the computer is using MS Basic Display adapter. Would that be it?

But the message we got is that the computer doesn't have the most current driver for it. I'll just repost that picture.

 

If the computer isn't recognizing the graphics card, could that be the problem? Is there a way to search for new hardware in windows 10?
To remove a graphics card to test for this issue we're having, do we have to physically remove it or just unplug it from the motherboard?
Could the card have suddenly gone bad causing this problem?
We're getting nowhere with the C++ business. The kid was on the phone with MS, got a troubleshooting guide, but nothing worked. We think the MS helper misunderstood the problem.

 

The Microsoft Basic Display driver gets installed when Windows does not have driver provided by Microsoft for the display adapter. That could be perfectly normal behavior and the user would have to manually install the driver for their specific video card.

You can tell if there is a built-in graphics GPU by looking at the connection on the back. Are there video connections in the section where the other motherboard connections are (such as USB ports, ethernet network connection, ETC)? Unused video port connections there would indicate the motherboard has built-in GPU capability. Installing an additional video card in a PCIe slot many times will automatically disable on board graphics.

So, if there is unused video ports on the back of the computer, you would plug the monitor in there and physically remove the graphics card from the computer.

The fact that you are not getting BSODs with automatic restart disabled is pointing more to a hardware failure in the computer rather than a Windows error. A Power Supply Unit (PSU) going bad could cause the restarting. Believe it or not, so can a bad mouse or keyboard.

One way to check if it is a Windows issue or a hardware issue would be to run Linux on the computer. Most of the modern major Linux distributions now are very much Windows-like and more user friendly. Most Linux distributions can be run directly from a USB flash drive or DVD without having to install them on the hard drive - or they can be installed on the hard drive as well. If the computer restarts with Linux, you know it's hardware. There are also plenty of free MS Office like suites available for Linux. Just thinking about getting the computer going for the kid ASAP to be able to do school work.

If the computer restarts under Linux, I would look at keyboard and mouse first, since they are the least expensive. Then I would look at the PSU. I'm sure a computer repair shop probably has equipment to test the PSU under load.

 

Oh. That's a good idea. Try Linux. So we can install Linux to a USB drive. But if we do that, the computer wouldn't restart regardless, would it? I mean since it's running from the USB?

If we install it on the hard drive, do we need a separate partition? Does it wipe Windows 10 from the computer?

Neither of us has any experience with Linux. I suppose there are instructions on the Web somewhere?

I think the kid is starting to look other options for doing school work. Four days working on a computer instead of school work isn't too good during midterms.

 

If there is a hardware problem, the computer will restart itself regardless of if running from a USB with Linux or from the hard drive (unless the hard drive itself is the hardware failure). There should be stability testing programs available both for Linux and Windows which run the computer under heavy load to try to force a restart - those are used mostly for testing overclocking settings for people who overclock their computers.

You can usually install the Linux to the hard drive in it's own partition(s) and most Linux installers now will even set up dual booting with Windows. I will warn you, though, for the novice (and I am a Linux novice) it seems to be very difficult to remove the Linux boot files once installed on the hard drive. More experienced Linux people will know how to do it. Of course a complete wipe of the hard drive and re-install of Windows should always do it.

There are plenty of instructions on the web. I think Ubuntu is a pretty universal, full featured and highly recommended version of Linux:
Ubuntu PC operating system | Ubuntu

 

Well, the poor kid has decided to quit trying to repair the computer and find other ways to get midterm work done. Spending all your days going to work, class, and attemps to repair a computer doesn't leave much time for school work (or sleep). So the option left is to use the computer lab at school that has a few of the computers with the programs he needs. Most of them don't have the programs. But that's better than not getting work done at all.

Next week is spring break, so we'll resume repair efforts then.

Is there a way to determine if the graphics card is bad? Could that cause the problems? Windows doesn't recognize the video card and we can't install the driver for it. You could see from the picture I posted earlier that the installation also installs the C++ files, and then the computer restarts. If we knew it was the graphics card, we could just go buy a new one. Hate to buy one, though, if we don't know it's part of the problem.

 

Well, we're home and attempting to fix this computer. I made a boot disk with something called UBCD, which is a linux thing, I believe, and has some diagnostic tools on it. I managed to boot the computer using the flash drive, but then when I selected PartedMagic, nothing happened. (It's a black screen that you can scroll up and down on, like old DOS.) When I hit enter, nothing happened. A blinking line at the bottom of the screen just kept right on blinking. I waited a few minutes and still nothing happened. So I shut down the computer.

Then it got very interesting. When the computer booted, it started with one screen, then shifted to another, and then instead of going to windows, it cycled though those first two bootup screens - over and over and over and over. I thought I "broke" the computer! I read somewhere to try unplugging a computer when this kind of thing happens, so I did. A minute later, I plugged it back in and started it up. It started just fine.

But....I can't apparently do any diagnostics on the computer. And we still have the restart any time we're on the internet. Connect to the internet and 1 to 3 minutes later, the computer restarts. Right now it's been on for over 1/2 hour - not connected to the internet and it's fine. But we'd like to use it for more than a lighted paper weight.

I swear, this just gets curiouser and curiouser, as Alice in Wonderland would say.

 

I would try running it from a full Linux USB flash drive such as Ubuntu. That will let you connect to the internet to tell if it is Windows or hardware.

 

Okay. I'll try that next. Thank you.

 

You can find Ubuntu here.

Download Ubuntu Desktop | Download | Ubuntu

I usually use a DVD, because its simple, just burn the ISO. When you install you don't actually have to install to HDD, there is an option to try. It runs from DVD so slower but does not change boot records. Yes it connects to internet. Firefox will be installed. You may need to shut off secure boot and fast boot in UEFI.

To shut off Windows Driver updates I've been following this process.

Windows + R keys
Enter Sysdm.cpl
Click on Hardware tab
Click on Device Installation Settings
Click on No
A menu appears (first time) click Never Install driver software.
You may get a warning. Click the option that says I’ll take care of it (not exact words)

You may also want to run the Windows Memory tester as it is easy, before you connect to Internet. In Cortana search bar type mdsched, click on app, should be at top. It will ask you to restart or wait until you next restart.

 

I can't boot from a CD apparently. Flash drive, yes. CD. No. And I did tell the computer to boot from a CD. Didn't matter. So now I'm going to try creating a flash drive with Ubuntu. Unfortunately there, the program (Live Linus) I found for creating a boot flash drive isn't compatible with the latest version of Ubuntu, so apparently I have to download an earlier one. Not sure which one to download. Version 15.04 is compatible, but there are several choices, not sure if it makes any difference:
Ubuntu Vivid Vervet (Unity)
Ubuntu Vivid Vervet (Gnome)
Ubuntu Vivid Vervet (MATE)
Ubuntu Studio DVD
UbuntuKylin (Vivid Vervet)

 

This is supposedly how to create a bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive. I haven't tried it myself, but getting ready to today.

How to create a bootable USB stick on Windows | Ubuntu

 

Just tried a couple Linux distros. Here's what I found. Linux Mint seems to be very straightforward to use, connect to the internet and surf with:
Download - Linux Mint

I downloaded the Cinnamon version. I used Rufus to create the USB flash drive with:
Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

I found that the 32-bit version of Linux Mint Cinnamon will only boot in legacy BIOS (CSM) mode. The 64-bit version will boot in either legacy BIOS (CSM) or UEFI mode. Here were the Rufus settings:

 

Okay. This is progress - sort of. I *finally* got something to work - sort of. Thank you for that info on creating a flash drive with Mint. It actually booted and I got to a menu giving me an option to work in Mint. Yup. I did. So I selected that. The screen went dark and I was expecting to see Mint. Nope -- computer restarted into Windows again.

So that must mean this is a hardware issue, right? I need to take it in for repairs to find out what the problem hardware is, right? It's not going to matter if I also try Ubuntu now, is it? That thing is still downloading. It keeps stalling. It's not even halfway done.

Btw, I changed the cluster size to 16 kb. That's not the default I get in Rufus. But it worked.