When you’re playing games or writing articles on your computer, an unexpectedly random restart can frustrate you and cause you data loss. But fear not, we’re here to help. If you’re constantly experiencing this issue, follow the tips below and try troubleshooting the problem.

  1. Turn off automatic restart 
  2. Check the power supply
  3. Update your graphics drivers
  4. Check for malware or viruses
  5. Change your power plans

Please note that the workarounds above may not work for a blue screen issue. This is for random restart only. Before we start troubleshooting, make sure that your computer is in a cool environment. Also, shut down any unnecessary programs to avoid high CPU usage and overheating. After that, go through the tips below.

1. Turn off automatic restart

Due to the automatic restart feature, your computer will be forced to restart when you have a blue screen or any other errors. But it means that you don’t have time to read the error messages and figure out what’s happening. So when your computer restarts randomly, remember to turn off the automatic restart first.

To do so:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows key and R together to invoke the Run prompt. Type sysdm.cpl and hit Enter.
  2. Click the Advanced tab from the top menu and click Settings… under Startup and Recovery.
  3. Uncheck Automatically restart. Click OK to save changes.

Check if your computer works properly. If it restarts again, try the next method.

2. Check the power supply

Another reason why your computer restarts randomly is a faulty power supply. To test if this is the case, find a compatible power supply, either from another computer or by borrowing one, and replace your current power supply with it. If your computer stops restarting, then you’re dealing with a faulty power supply.

In this case, we recommend you use a new power cable and power supply unit(PSU).

If this is not what you’re encountering, move on to the next tip.

3. Update your graphics driver

When your computer restarts randomly, one of the first things you should do is to update your graphics card driver, since an up-to-date graphics driver always ensures the best overall performance and fewer bugs.

To update your display card driver, here’s what you can do (please note that the following screenshots are taken on Windows 11, but the instructions work on Windows 10 as well):

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows key and X at the same time, select Device Manager.
  2. Double-click to expand the category Display adapters. Then right-click your graphic card driver and click Update driver (the name of the device can be different on your computer).
  3. Then click Search automatically for updated driver software.
  4. Wait for Windows to find the latest driver available for you.
  5. When the driver update is done, restart your computer for the change to take effect.
  6. Then check and see if the problem is fixed.

If Windows says that it’s already found the latest driver for you, so no newer drivers are found, then you should consider updating your graphics driver in a different way with the help of Driver Techie.

Its ever-growing driver database allows you to always have access to the latest device drivers that you need. More importantly, Driver Techie simplifies the driver update process, so all it takes is just 3 clicks (for Pro users), and all your drivers are updated.

To use Driver Techie to find you the latest drivers:

  1. Download and install Driver Techie, then launch it.
  2. Click Scan Now.
  3. After the scan, select all the drivers you need to update and click Update All. Then all your drivers will be updated automatically without you having to do anything else.

Please note that Update All is available for Pro subscribers only, otherwise, you can only manually update the driver one at a time. To see how to manually update the drivers one by one, please check this post.

If you’re a Pro user of Driver Techie, and need our technical support to help with the computer random restart problem, please feel free to contact <support@drivertechie.com>.

4. Check for malware or viruses

As some users reported, malware or virus infections can cause your computer to restart unexpectedly, frequently, and randomly. To resolve this issue, you need to invoke your antivirus or Firewalls Defender and run a deep scan.

In Windows 10, you can go to Windows Security and perform a full scan. Here’s how to do it:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows key and I together to open Windows Settings. Select Update & Security.
  2. From the left menu bar, select Windows Security. Click Open Windows Security.
  3. From the left menu bar, select the shield icon to enter Virus & threat protection, and click Scan options.
  4. On the Scan options page, select Full scan and click Scan now. Then, wait for the scan to complete.
  5. Once done, follow the on-screen instructions to remove any threats from your computer. Now, go back to the Scan options page, select Windows Defender Offline scan and click Scan now. Then, wait for the scan to complete.
  6. Once done, follow the on-screen instructions to remove any threats from your computer. After that, restart your computer.

Check if the problem persists. If so, proceed with the next solution.

5. Change your power settings

If your computer still restarts randomly, you can try changing your power settings and lower your minimum processor state to 5%.

To do so:

  1. In the search box on the taskbar, type Power Options and hit Enter. Select Edit power plan from the results.
  2. Click Change advanced power settings.
  3. On the Advanced settings page, select Balanced from the drop-down menu. Double-click to expand Processor power management > Minimum processor state. Set it to 5% for both Plugged in and On battery. Click Apply and then OK.

Hopefully, your computer will be working fine. So these are the five top tips we recommended when you face the “computer random restart” problem. If you have any questions, ideas, or other solutions to supplement, please feel free to comment down below.