John

Given the circumstances the first of these two may more easily
implemented.

An alternative is to keep pressing the F8 key during Start-Up and select
option - Disable automatic restart on system failure.

If you are using a wireless keyboard and the F8 key does not work
substitute a wired keyboard and mouse for this exercise only.

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



John John wrote:
> 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.