A BSOD is a "Blue Screen of Death", aka Bugcheck error message. If the
crash generates a BSOD the information in the message may point to the
problem. Gerry already explained how to enable it in one of his earlier
post, copied and pasted here:

[quote]

Disable automatic restart on system failure. This should help by
allowing time to write down the STOP code properly. Right click on
the My Computer icon on the Desktop and select Properties, Advanced,
Start-Up and Recovery, System Failure and uncheck box before
Automatically Restart.

Do not re-enable automatic restart on system failure even after you have
solved the problem as it's better disabled. Check for variants of the
Stop Error message.

[end quote]

If the reboot is caused by bad RAM or a flaky power supply you may not
get a BSOD at all, but you should still see if the system generates one.
Also look in the Event Viewer to see if anything is logged at the time
of the crash.

John

Jim Ludwig wrote:

> John,
> What is BSOD and how will that help me? Also, how do I disable AutoReboot
> and again, how does that help me? I'm guessing that some sort of log or
> error message will show?
> Thanks,
> Jim
>
> "John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message
> news:%234aNHJOIIHA.3636@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
>
>>It does sound like a hardware problem but you should still try to capture
>>a BSOD if you can. Do as Gerry told you to do earlier on and see if you
>>can get a bugcheck error message on it. It takes mere seconds to disable
>>AutoReboot and it could yield important information. When troubleshooting
>>difficult problems make sure that you don't skip over basic steps.
>>
>>John
>>
>>Jim Ludwig wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Is there any way to test the ram before I go out and buy a new chip?
>>>Thanks,
>>>Jim
>>>
>>>"Jimmy Job" <nospam@invalid> wrote in message
>>>news:OTkYUZaZUejGEn5inospam@invalid...
>>>
>>>
>>>>Jim Ludwig:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Hi all,
>>>>>I'm having trouble with dad's computer. I did a clean install of
>>>>
>>>>winxp and
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>it's still doing the same thing it was doing which caused me to do a
>>>>
>>>>HD
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>wipe. Every time he plays a game, the computer shuts down and
>>>>
>>>>reboots. You
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>can load a game (the ones I've tried are Tron 2.0, Jedi Academy, and
>>>>
>>>>Flight
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Simulator), go through all the initial setup, choose your options, and
>>>>
>>>>watch
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>any cut scenes or videos. However, when the actual "gameplay" starts
>>>>
>>>>when
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>you take control of your character/ship, the screen goes blank and it
>>>>
>>>>>reboots, just as if you hit the reset button. This is not limited to
>>>>
>>>>games
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>either. I have had the machine do the same thing while on the
>>>>
>>>>internet. It
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>seems like it was doing that when I would download an Active X control
>>>>
>>>>or
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>something like that. Not really all downloads, just the "on the fly"
>>>>
>>>>kind
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>of downloads that you install while you're browsing. Any idea at all
>>>>
>>>>why
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>this computer is so unstable? My brother built the computer with all
>>>>
>>>>>various components. It is an AMD Sempron with 512 mb ram, an nVidia
>>>>
>>>>mobo
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>and the video card is an nVidia geforce 3 6200. He built it about a
>>>>
>>>>year
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>and a half ago and it has never worked right. I am kind of suspecting
>>>>
>>>>there
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>is a conflict between the video card and the onboard built in video,
>>>>
>>>>but if
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>so, I don't know how to resolve this. Any help is greatly
>>>>
>>>>appreciated.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Jim
>>>>>jimlud@sbcglobal.net
>>>>
>>>>I would check the ram. A bad stick can definately cause what you are
>>>>experiencing. Go into the machines bios setup and disable the onboard
>>>>video also. Good luck.
>>>
>>>
>