Crashing and unstable

[Guest]

My PC has gone to pieces! If I leave it unattended for more than 10 minutes
it crashes and restarts showing this message. "The system has recovered from
a serious error. A log of this error has been created. Please tell microsoft
about this problem. Then it gives a choice of sending error report or not".
This has happened dozens of times over the last 3 days. What is going on.
Also it is hard to get rid of this message box so at times I am dragging it
offscreen so that I can continue working. Also I cannot download anything
without being present using the PC otherwise again it just crashes after 10
mins.
My PC is also unstable and things are just not working properly! Any ideas.

 

[Rob graham]

Have you got virus protection and is it up-to-date?

Rob Graham

 

[Guest]

Yes I have up to date virus protection!

 

[Malke]

Yes I have up to date virus protection!

Then there is a good chance that you have failing hardware. You haven't
really given us enough information about your system to get a specific
answer, but try these general hardware troubleshooting steps:

1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing). Obviously
you can't do this with a laptop, but you can hear if the fan is running
and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.

2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an extended period of time - unless
errors are seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.

3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Usually
you will download the file and make a bootable floppy with it. Boot
with the media and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical
errors, replace it.

4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system - this isn't applicable to a laptop, of course.

5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com. Sometimes this is useful, and sometimes it isn't.

Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts
with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a good local
computer repair shop (not a CompUSA or Best Buy type of store).

Malke

 

[Guest]

Thanks Malke, I will check out your suggestions.