Faulty shutdowns

[KenK]

More and more recently I've had the system restart when I turn it off. Yes,
I'm sure I click on the right choice. It, so far, has shut down properly
the next attempt. Not a huge problem but annoying.

Any ideas? XP Home SP2.

TIA

 

[philo]

More and more recently I've had the system restart when I turn it off. Yes,
I'm sure I click on the right choice. It, so far, has shut down properly
the next attempt. Not a huge problem but annoying.

Any ideas? XP Home SP2.

TIA

You should install SP3

 

[BillW50]

In philo typed:

You should install SP3

Why? It breaks things like compact OE6. As it never finishes and hangs
on the folder file. And Microsoft has no plans on fixing anything that
SP3 breaks.

 

[BillW50]

In philo typed:

Why? It breaks things like compact OE6. As it never finishes and hangs
on the folder file. And Microsoft has no plans on fixing anything that
SP3 breaks.

There is a saying on oldversion.com that I love...
because newer is not always better!

 

[Nil]

Why? It breaks things like compact OE6. As it never finishes and
hangs on the folder file. And Microsoft has no plans on fixing
anything that SP3 breaks.

I haven't experienced either of those issues.

 

[philo]

I haven't experienced either of those issues.

Not only is SP3 a virtual necessity...all subsequent updates need to be
applied as well. As to OE6...I cannot imagine that anyone would be using
that outdated software anymore.

 

[Paul]

More and more recently I've had the system restart when I turn it off. Yes,
I'm sure I click on the right choice. It, so far, has shut down properly
the next attempt. Not a huge problem but annoying.

Any ideas? XP Home SP2.

TIA

Have a look in Event Viewer.

If nothing there, get a copy of BlueScreenView, and see
if anything shows up in there of interest.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html

What could be happening, is a driver could be crashing the system,
just as the computer is shutting off. Causing a dump and
a reboot. If the conditions are just right, there may not
be much evidence as to what happened, and you'll have
to use your "intuition". Like, remembering what drivers
you added lately (from the optional ones in Windows Update),
what new hardware was added to the computer, and so on.
Even, if you've been making changes to some "Wake-On-LAN"
thing. You may have to rely on your own memory, for clues
as to what is wrong.

By default, your WinXP is probably set up to
"Automatically Restart" on a BSOD. You can disable
that, and get the problem to "stand still".

http://www.terryscomputertips.com/images/newsletters5/startup-and-recovery-xp.jpg

In theory, an entire system crash can be written out to disk.
So it is possible to instrument a PC to collect extensive
information about the problem. But the computer may not
necessarily be set up right to make that happen, out of
the box. And the file that happens in, has to be big enough
to hold an image of the entire computer memory.

Paul

 

[BillW50]

I haven't experienced either of those issues.

There was a huge stink about it when SP3 first came out on the
outlookexpress.general newsgroup. Since some of my machines do have XP
SP3 installed, I found a workaround. Tell OE6 to go offline and then
close OE6. Then reopen (it should be still offline) and then compact.
That actually works.

 

[BillW50]

Not only is SP3 a virtual necessity...all subsequent updates need to be
applied as well. As to OE6...I cannot imagine that anyone would be using
that outdated software anymore.

And who told you this?

 

[BillW50]

And who told you this?

You actually sound a lot like me back in 2008 before I was forced by
Asus and Microsoft as to not update. And I thought that was weird that
part of Microsoft didn't want me to update and another part did. Luckily
I have dozens of machines here and I started to experiment. You know,
like real scientists.

 

[philo]

You actually sound a lot like me back in 2008 before I was forced by
Asus and Microsoft as to not update. And I thought that was weird that
part of Microsoft didn't want me to update and another part did. Luckily
I have dozens of machines here and I started to experiment. You know,
like real scientists.

Experimenter?


Yep I must have 35 spare machines to fool with.

I moved to Linux as my full time OS about five years ago
but all the machines I repair are Windows...or I should say "most".

Actually worked on an OS/2 machine last year.

Got it fixed and even got the software installed...but unfortunately all
the custom settings were lost.

The thing was used to control a laser cutter.


I did have a mobo that could not handle XP sp3 but in all the hundreds
of machines I've worked on...it was only that one.


BTW: I recently dug it out of storage, maxed out the CPU and RAM and
loaded Win7 on it and it was fine.

 

[BillW50]

Experimenter?

Far more than an experimenter, but go on.

Yep I must have 35 spare machines to fool with.

Ah lovely. I too have dozens of machines and work on thousands of others.

I moved to Linux as my full time OS about five years ago
but all the machines I repair are Windows...or I should say "most".

I too use Linux but I am so dissatisfied with the Linux applications.

Actually worked on an OS/2 machine last year.

I was an OS/2 beta tester and user.

Got it fixed and even got the software installed...but unfortunately all
the custom settings were lost.

Oh bummer! There is always backup and restore. I always backup in case I
or Microsoft or somebody else makes a mistake.

The thing was used to control a laser cutter.

Shouldn't really matter what it is used for if you made a backup first.

I did have a mobo that could not handle XP sp3 but in all the hundreds
of machines I've worked on...it was only that one.

SP3 works for most people, but not all.

BTW: I recently dug it out of storage, maxed out the CPU and RAM and
loaded Win7 on it and it was fine.

That works sometimes. But now try getting an Atom Z670 running Windows 7
or 8 to run somewhat satisfactory. Sure you can get simple email,
newsgroups, and most web browsing just fine. But videos will never work
satisfactory.

 

[philo]

On 01/16/2014 05:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:

On 1/16Xer.


Oh bummer! There is always backup and restore. I always backup in case I
or Microsoft or somebody else makes a mistake.


Shouldn't really matter what it is used for if you made a backup first.

I was a sub-contractor. My friend owns a CNC repair business and tries
to sell all of his customers on backing up...but you know the story.

Now they have a very expensive "door stop">

SP3 works for most people, but not all.


That works sometimes. But now try getting an Atom Z670 running Windows 7
or 8 to run somewhat satisfactory. Sure you can get simple email,
newsgroups, and most web browsing just fine. But videos will never work
satisfactory.

I retired about a year ago and now do volunteer IT work for a local NPO.
For the last several months I have been going through their machines and
upgrading the hardware and installing Win7.

If the machine has at least a P-4 1.8ghz with 1 -2 gigs of RAM
it will work OK for running Microsoft Office. That's about all they need
to run. For the heavier use machines I've been saving the dual core
machines that are SATA and have 2- 3 gigs of RAM.

I have now taken on the task of maintaining their server. (SBS 2008)

The place who set it up pretty much did nothing during their initial
first year of "covered" service and now have quoted the organization
$18,000 for the 2014 contract.

I've already done more in the last month than they did in the first year.


They had it on a grossly undersized UPS and better still...the server
was not even plugged into the UPS protected outlet...it was on the
MOV-only output! sheesh


Wrong drivers for the backup drives.

Security software expired.
Windows updates not applied. etc


Although in general XP has been doing a good job for them part of the
reason I am trying to get the XP machines off-line is due to MSE no
longer being supported after April. It's the only free AV I know of that
does not require registration. Av's such as Avast are only free for home
use AFAIK.

 

[Nil]

There was a huge stink about it when SP3 first came out on the
outlookexpress.general newsgroup. Since some of my machines do
have XP SP3 installed, I found a workaround. Tell OE6 to go
offline and then close OE6. Then reopen (it should be still
offline) and then compact. That actually works.

I don't need to do any of that. I can compact folders at any time. No
workaround has ever been necessary.

 

[Daave]

I don't need to do any of that. I can compact folders at any time. No
workaround has ever been necessary.

I believe the "secret" is to keep the Inbox folder small. With a huge
Inbox folder, all bets are off.

See:

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/techrepublic-out-loud/compress-a-stubborn-outlook-express-inbox/

 

[Nil]

I believe the "secret" is to keep the Inbox folder small. With a
huge Inbox folder, all bets are off.

See:

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/techrepublic-out-loud/compress-a-s
tubborn-outlook-express-inbox/

I don't doubt that there is a problem with large folders in Outlook
Express. I've heard plenty of stories about corrupt folders, and I've
heard it said that it's a built-in weakness in the program. I think
I've heard that there's a technical file size limit and that OE doesn't
bother to check for and prevent the limit from being crossed.

But hasn't that been a problem with OE all along? I'm skeptical that
this is something that's new with XP Service Pack 3.

The article you cite kind of compromises its own credibility by calling
the program "Microsoft Office Outlook Express".

 

[philo]

I don't doubt that there is a problem with large folders in Outlook
Express. I've heard plenty of stories about corrupt folders, and I've
heard it said that it's a built-in weakness in the program. I think
I've heard that there's a technical file size limit and that OE doesn't
bother to check for and prevent the limit from being crossed.

But hasn't that been a problem with OE all along? I'm skeptical that
this is something that's new with XP Service Pack 3.

The article you cite kind of compromises its own credibility by calling
the program "Microsoft Office Outlook Express".

Bottom line is the OP should have sp3 and the subsequent updates.

 

[BillW50]

I don't need to do any of that. I can compact folders at any time. No
workaround has ever been necessary.

Lucky for you Nil. For many others, it is a huge problem.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2398839

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!t...s.inetexplorer.ie6_outlookexpress/ccXhxqvcdWM

http://www.lancelhoff.com/outlook-express-compacting-error/

http://superuser.com/questions/625964/outlook-express-gives-the-error-this-folder-is-in-use

There are zillions of other sites which also talks about this XP SP3
compacting bug.

 

[Nil]

Lucky for you Nil. For many others, it is a huge problem.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2398839

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/microsoft.public.windows.in
etexplorer.ie6_outlookexpress/ccXhxqvcdWM

http://www.lancelhoff.com/outlook-express-compacting-error/

http://superuser.com/questions/625964/outlook-express-gives-the-err
or-this-folder-is-in-use

There are zillions of other sites which also talks about this XP
SP3 compacting bug.

Did you bother to read any of those articles? I did. It was a waste of
my time. NONE of them mention any correlation with a Service Pack.

 

[BillW50]

Did you bother to read any of those articles? I did. It was a waste of
my time. NONE of them mention any correlation with a Service Pack.

Really? You want to place a bet on that?

Outlook Express Compacting Error: The folder is currently in use
by outlook or another application. This error may be encountered
while proceeding to close Outlook Express after checking your
email. It is known to effect systems running Windows XP with
Service Pack 3 installed. The email auto compact problem is
thought to be a bug. In the following simple solution, I show
you how to solve the problem.

http://www.lancelhoff.com/outlook-express-compacting-error/