application restart

[acruth7284]

This one has me and my teachers stumped. Whenever i run certain applications (i.e. powerpoint xp) or games (i.e. starcraft) my system will restart after around 2 minutes of use. there are no error messages or anything. i have noticed that cpu usage goes through the roof when these applications are run. i have stopped all unnecessary operations when running these programs and it makes no difference in the cpu usage. my system has hardly any applications installed on it (norten systemworks 2002, aol, office xp, and one game is about all there is). my system is above par for win2k:

Duron 1.2GHz
512 MB RAM
Onboard everything except modem

I have installed win2k several times (long story) and this is the first time that it has happened. i would like to not have to reinstall it again if i dont have to. Hope someone can help.

 

[acruth7284]

almost forgot, yes i have downloaded all the new service packs, and the problem occured before the packs too

 

[wolluf]

acruth7284,

Unfortunately this sort of behaviour can be difficult to diagnose. Have you looked in event viewer (run eventvwr.msc) for error messages? If there, may give you an indication of what's causing the problem (restarting is usually caused by bad hardware or drivers).

One point - do you need Norton systemworks? Try uninstalling it and see if that makes any difference (just reinstall if not). The reason I say this is because many posts have problems which are caused by Norton software (especially Norton software designed to help solve problems!).

PS. Your previous history of reinstallation may also be pertinent (if it was down to various problems you couldn't resolve, I'd suspect you have a hardware problem - and start by looking at memory. Eg, if that 512 is more than one stick, run on one stick at a time. Try each on its own).

 

[acruth7284]

thanks alot! the event viewer showed nothing, and it was reading my memory ok (previous os problem was my sad attempt to get a stable win2k and win98 dual boot system, but i learned well from my mistake), but the norton suggestion was right on. the cpu usage time is still at 100% when i run startcraft (i assume thats just the game though) but during powerpoint it is down plus the system dont restart on its own anymore. thanks alot i owe you one.