Computer Rage - Unexplained Shutdowns

[JEJeffrey]

I have a very puzzling problem – my Windows XP PC shuts itself down fro
time to time. Not properly, either! It just goes off as if the powe
had been cut, then immediately reboots without any further action fro
me. Sometimes it restarts completely, but sometimes it fails agai
during the reboot and can take several tries before I get back to th
desktop display.
The manufacturer (Novatech) has run tests and are convinced there is n
hardware problem (though I am not 100% convinced, since this is a
intermittent fault). Apart from the waste of time waiting for the P
to become usable again, I am sure the registry must be gettin
corrupted by all these undisciplined shut-downs.
Two questions – First, is there any software I can run in th
background which will report the state of the system after one of thes
episodes?
Second, is there any way of cleaning up the registry? All the package
I have seen rely on having been installed before a problem arises. If
re-install Win XP, does that rebuild the registry from scratch

 

[westieben]

I have a very puzzling problem – my Windows XP PC shuts itself down fro
time to time. Not properly, either! It just goes off as if the powe
had been cut, then immediately reboots without any further action fro
me. Sometimes it restarts completely, but sometimes it fails agai
during the reboot and can take several tries before I get back to th
desktop display.
The manufacturer (Novatech) has run tests and are convinced there is n
hardware problem (though I am not 100% convinced, since this is a
intermittent fault). Apart from the waste of time waiting for the P
to become usable again, I am sure the registry must be gettin
corrupted by all these undisciplined shut-downs.
Two questions – First, is there any software I can run in th
background which will report the state of the system after one of thes
episodes?
Second, is there any way of cleaning up the registry? All the package
I have seen rely on having been installed before a problem arises. If
re-install Win XP, does that rebuild the registry from scratch?

clean install of xp format disc all before will be gone you will hav
brand new
xp,all your drivers,programs non microsoft will have to be reinstalle

 

[David Webb]

I do not recommend running ANY registry cleaners. They tend to cause more
problems then they can cure.

Yes, the registry gets rebuilt from scratch when you reinstall WinXP, but you
don't want to try this while your system is behaving as it is.

It sounds more like a hardware problem causing the shutdowns. It could be a
faulty power supply or even faulty memory chips or a disabled fan causing a heat
build-up.

Check this link for some troubleshooting tips:
http://winsupportcenter.com/win5/a/shtdwnxp.htm

 

[Clark...]

I have a very puzzling problem - my Windows XP PC shuts itself down
from time to time. Not properly, either! It just goes off as if the
power had been cut, then immediately reboots without any further
action from me. Sometimes it restarts completely, but sometimes it
fails again during the reboot and can take several tries before I get
back to the desktop display.
The manufacturer (Novatech) has run tests and are convinced there is
no hardware problem (though I am not 100% convinced, since this is an
intermittent fault). Apart from the waste of time waiting for the PC
to become usable again, I am sure the registry must be getting
corrupted by all these undisciplined shut-downs.
Two questions - First, is there any software I can run in the
background which will report the state of the system after one of
these episodes?
Second, is there any way of cleaning up the registry? All the
packages I have seen rely on having been installed before a problem
arises. If I re-install Win XP, does that rebuild the registry from
scratch?

Try this to see why the system is crashing and post back the reason.
(From Microsoft).

If you haven't changed any of the system failure settings, you should be
able to see the error by looking in the Event Log. But a better long-term
solution is to turn off the automatic reboot so you can actually see the
error when it happens-chances are it will tell you enough about itself to
let you troubleshoot further. To change the recovery settings to disable
automatic rebooting:

1.Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.

2. Click the Advanced tab.

3.Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings to open the Startup and
Recovery dialog box.

4.Clear the Automatically restart check box, and click OK the necessary
number of times.

5.Restart your computer for the settings to take effect.

Now when you go to shut down and a fatal error occurs, you'll at least see
it and it won't cause an automatic reboot. You still have to sort out what's
causing the problem, but that gets us to the next section quite nicely.

Software Incompatibility

The most common cause of a fatal error or BSOD is a software or driver
problem, and troubleshooting these can be tricky. The mechanism for
troubleshooting, however, is pretty much the same for any problem on a PC.
The first thing to look at is what's changed-what new software program or
driver have you added, usually just before the problem started. This sounds
easy and it often is, but if it's something you've lived with for a while,
you'll often have no idea what the proximate cause is. When you do, it's a
lot easier. When you don't, you need to do a bit of research to find out if
there is a specific cause for the particular error message you're getting
(when you have one) or a known issue with certain programs or drivers that
causes the behavior you're seeing. In the case of automatic reboots, even
when you've selected a shutdown, a search of the Microsoft Knowledge Base
turns up Windows XP Restarts When You Try to Shut Down Your Computer, which
points to a known problem with Roxio's Easy CD Creator 5.0 and Windows XP.
And, sure enough, a check of the Roxio Web site shows that there's an update
from them for Windows XP. Here's a suggestion-in my experience, solving
problems with CD-writing software requires one to follow the outlined steps
exactly. Many of us have installed numerous programs, patches, and drivers
over the years and think we know what to do. For most things, we probably
do. However, I've been a happy user of Easy CD Creator since version 2 and
if there's one thing I've learned the hard way, it's the need to follow
their instructions exactly when doing an update.

Clark...