Is there any way to regularly reboot a hung Windows PC

2

We have a PC (Dell Optiplex 760, WinXP SP3) that hangs periodically, like really hangs - everything frozen, can't reboot from keyboard, only way out is hold the power button down to turn it off and restart. RAM tests fine. The computer is not running any software that isn't running trouble-free on other machines

Anyway, the PC is required to be running for remote access.

Is there any way to perform a scheduled reboot of a PC that is probably not in a state where it can execute code. I realise that this will probably only be possible if there is hardware/BIOS support for it and I haven't found any. I just thought someone might have solved this one.

rossmcm

Posted 2012-12-09T21:25:08.437

Reputation: 1 328

2If the processor supports it, you could try to use the on-board watchdog timer. – Breakthrough – 2012-12-09T21:27:28.110

You have a warranty. Use it. – Michael Hampton – 2012-12-09T21:49:35.347

2

this might be of help :) http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/ITAPPMONROBOT.aspx

– Waleed Hamra – 2012-12-09T21:51:36.213

If your computer completely freezes to the point where cntrl alt delete do not work, then probably not. – cutrightjm – 2012-12-09T22:06:26.673

Thanks @Breakthrough. 760 doesn't support the WDT. – rossmcm – 2012-12-09T22:17:49.233

Yep (ignoring the point that you really should replace such an unreliable box), a watchdog timer is what you want. There are (or at least used to be) add-in units available that would do a full-on hardware reset if they were not "poked" within the required interval. Requires a slot to plug it in, but otherwise should be compatible with any box. – Daniel R Hicks – 2012-12-09T22:49:23.957

Thanks @Daniel. No Slots in a 760. Sigh. Agreed, we should replace the box, but we're unsure if it's a HW problem. A quick and dirty solution for the Christmas break might kave to be a $9.99 timer that removes the power for 30 mins at 3am daily. – rossmcm – 2012-12-10T02:52:00.843

@Waleed. +1 for bringing a smile to my otherwise worried face. – rossmcm – 2012-12-10T03:37:44.857

Well you could always get an X10 switch that's controlled by another computer. – Daniel R Hicks – 2012-12-10T03:55:33.393

I would do a thorough hardware and performance check. Do regular maintenance defrag, antivirus, antimalware. Check how many programs running in system tray. – crosenblum – 2012-12-13T11:05:03.007

Answers

1

After some experimenting we have concluded that the problem of our Internet gateway PC freezing was a result of something (we suspect the USB wireless modem drivers - only because of some chatter suggesting it has been observed elsewhere) that has problems running code in a multiple core environment. Specifically, using MSCONFIG to change the boot configuration so that the machine only runs one core has eliminated the problem for at least 5 days, whereas when running on 2 cores, the PC would not run for more than a few hours before locking up.

rossmcm

Posted 2012-12-09T21:25:08.437

Reputation: 1 328

Asked: 2012-12-09T21:25:08.437

Viewed: 334 times

Active: 2016-04-30T07:48:12.987