My XP Professional Computer Reboots Spontaneously

[rlynn9]

I've run into a problem over the last week. The computer reboots spontaneously, usually when I've called up AOL, and usually at the sign-in screen before I even have a chance to attempt a sign-on. I think its happened with other programs as well but not recently. I've gone back to a previous set point and used the computer without problems all weekend until I installed News Stand to get the New York Times electronic edition. It then started doing the same thing last night. Its not all the time but its annoyingly unpredictable and I don't know exactly how to troubleshoot it. When I turn the computer back on and I "send" the information to Microsoft I get a "device driver" conflict but no mentionl of the specific device. The computer was fine since I built it in June, and is working perfectly in all other respects. Would anyone know of a generalized approach to trouble-shoot or has anyone else heard of this spontaneous rebooting problem?

I appreciate any help I can get.

 

[gargouille]

1st you need to turn off automatic restarts...Right Click My Computer/Properties/Advanced Tab/Startup and Recover Settings/uncheck "automatically restart". This will at least give you the blue screen and hopefully some information on what's happening.
The information fed into Tech Net search will SOMETIMES return a diagnostic aid.

 

[gargouille]

And in hindsight, should have added look in Event Viewer
(right click on My Computer and choose Manage: thanks linney)
The application and system logs may have a clue...

 

[linney]

Some general things to try.

GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING OF STOP MESSAGES: If you can't find a specific reference to your problem, running through the following checklist stands a good chance of resolving the problem for you:

1.. If you've recently added new hardware, remove it and retest.
2.. Run hardware diagnostics supplied by the manufacturer.
3.. Make sure device drivers and system BIOS are up-to-date.
4.. However, if you've installed new drivers just before the problem appeared, try rolling them back to the older ones.
5.. Open the box and make sure all hardware is correctly installed, well seated, and solidly connected.
6.. Confirm that all of your hardware is on the Hardware Compatibility List. If some of it isn't, then pay particular attention to the non-HCL hardware in your troubleshooting.
7.. Check for viruses.
8.. Examine the System Log and Application Log in Event Viewer for other recent errors that might give further clues.
9.. Investigate recently added software.
10.. Examine (and try disabling) BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing.


Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking.

Run the System File Checker program from the Run Box by typing.....Sfc /Scannow in it and have your XP CD handy.

HOW TO: Verify Unsigned Device Drivers in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/5/14.asp

If they don't work you could try repairing windows itself by running it over itself. You will lose all your windows updates but your files will be untouched.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP (Q315341)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q315/3/41.asp