Auto Reboot (mini mem dump) at Welcome page

[Trebax]

Hi,

Please can someone offer a novice some advive...

Lately my computer has been loading up to the 'Welcome to Windows' blue page and then reseting itself and rebooting.

This can often happen 2 or 3 times before it actually manages to load into winodows and when it does I get the message - 'Your computer has just recovered from a serious error...' message.

When I check the error message it says the computer has done a mini memory dump.

Does anyone know why this happens? and how can I fix the problem. The frustrating thing is it doesn't happen all of the time. Sometimes it will load up fine - others it reboots.

Thanks in advance.
Trebax

p.s. My system:
XP pro (sp1)
2.5ghz intel pentium
512 Ram
DVD Emprex DVD burner
Liteon 48X CD burner
80gb Maxtor HD x 2
Via motherboard
Creative labs ti4200 Video Card

 

[bcastner]

Right click My Computer, Manage, Event Viewer
What is listed as the cause of the restart?

The most common reason for the behavior you are experiencing can be "fixed" by using chkdsk /r under the Recovery Console:

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...port/kb/articles/q307/6/54.asp&NoWebContent=1

But it would help to know the actual error shown in Event Viewer.

 

[Albion]

I would guess this is one of two things. Either there's a driver that your system doesn't like or there's some sort of Malware trying to start at bootup. Do you run the 4 essentials religiously on your computer? I.E. Anti-Virus, Firewall, Anti-Spy/Adware, Anti-Spam? If not, then you know what your problem is.

-Al

 

[Trebax]

Thanks for your replies

First of all - yes I have all 4 of the essentials (Norton AV, Spybot and XP firewall)and I have run them all since the problem started and everything seems fine there.

When I get home I will check the event viewer (currently using work computer) - I haven't checked this yet. Will let you know what this tells me tomorrow.

Thanks again
Trebax.

 

[Albion]

You should run both Spybot and Ad-Aware. They can both miss things.

Also, I trust Microsoft's firewalls as much as I trust a convicted child molester to watch my kids. Check out Sygate or Agnitum for free firewalls.

-Al

 

[Trebax]

I'll get a new firewall.

I will also download ad-aware and get that to check my system also - good point.

I will let you know how I got on tomorrow.

Thanks!

 

[JFBouchard]

Hi, I've tried microsoft anti-spyware (beta) and it found registry entries and folders leaved behind by spybot search and destroy.

So I recommend it.

Seems very promising.

Jeff

 

[bcastner]

Tech TV several months ago did a default XP install, and then installed Service Pack 2. They then published the IP of the computer and asked anyone to try and get access to the computer and win a prize.

They had to stop the test after several hours because their ISP complained of the traffic volume generated. But not one person was able to hack the workstation.

The legitimate technical complaint about the XP firewall is that it is an SPI firewall and does nothing to block outgoing traffic. A legitimate end-user complaint is that they find it difficult to configure. The illegitimate technical complaint is that it is not a competent firewall. It most assuredly is.

 

[Trebax]

Hi All,

Thanks for eveyones help.

I now have more information...

Firstly I tried to install Ad-Aware SE to detect and remove any conflicting spyware but unfortunately it kept stalling and couldn't complete the scan (it stopped at the system condition checking).

Then I noticed that it had conflicted with my Norton AV (disabled auto protect) so I had to remove Ad-Aware and then reinstall Norton. I have another thread going regarding this if you have some advice on Spyware removal:

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=992268&page=1

Anyway - back to the subject of auto rebooting at start up. I have since noticed that the system tends to reboot itself at start up after I have just burnt a DVD. For example I burn a DVD shut the computer down... then the next day restart the computer and it gets to the welcome page and reboots a couple of times.

So could this reboot problem be caused by some sort of memory error or DVD burner conflict?

Any ideas?

Thanks
Trebax