Need help with Blue screen error & computer shutdown

[Guest]

Twice today when I was downloading a file, I got a blue screen that said
something about a memory dump and then my computer was shut down. The blue
screen was only up for a second before restarting the computer, so I wasn't
able to read it all. Is there any way to access the error message so I can
see what the problem was? I don't know much about computer
diagnostics/repair, so I'm not sure what I should do about this.

 

[Guest]

By the way, I'm running Windows XP Professional.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Twice today when I was downloading a file, I got a blue screen that said
something about a memory dump and then my computer was shut down. The
blue
screen was only up for a second before restarting the computer, so I
wasn't
able to read it all. Is there any way to access the error message so I
can
see what the problem was? I don't know much about computer
diagnostics/repair, so I'm not sure what I should do about this.

Yes, the message will probably be in the system logs. However, what you
really want to do first is to turn off the "reboot on fault" feature.

Right-click on My Computer and choose Properties. Click on the advanced
tab, and under Startup and Shutdown, choose Settings. In the System Failure
section, de-select "automatically restart". Choose Apply, then OK back to
the desktop.

Now, if the blue screen happens again, you should at least be able to read
the error message before the machine gives up.

With that information, it will be a lot easier to figure out what went wrong
and how to fix it.

To view the logs, right-click on My Computer gain but choose Manage. In
teh Event Viewer section, look at the Application and System sections for
what happened at a particular time.

HTH
-pk