Recent issues with XP: BSOD caused by driver, system restore doesn'twork anymore

[Chuck]

Hi,

I've been having intermittent trouble recently with Windows XP on a
desktop that I built on my own. Apparently, there is some error caused
by a device driver or something.

I'm getting blue screens once or twice a day and Firefox is crashing
randomly, and sometimes the blue screen is caused by Firefox. I've
also had Opera and IE crash on me recently. This indicates to me that
maybe it's my network adapter. I recently moved back home, which means
that I moved from a T1 wired connection to a Netgear USB wireless
adapter that connects me to the wireless network at home, which goes
to a cable modem. However, the wireless adapter never gave me problems
when I was home for Winter Break. I dunno...I'm just rambling now.

Also, System Restore doesn't work, so I can't undo whatever I might
have done. When I do a system restore, my computer restarts and then
tells me that the system could not be restored and no changes have
been made.

Can someone offer any advice, or a guess as to how I could fix the
problem? I'm willing to back up my stuff and reformat, but only as a
last resort.

Thanks,

Chuck

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Hi,

I've been having intermittent trouble recently with Windows XP on a
desktop that I built on my own. Apparently, there is some error caused
by a device driver or something.

I'm getting blue screens once or twice a day and Firefox is crashing
randomly, and sometimes the blue screen is caused by Firefox. I've
also had Opera and IE crash on me recently. This indicates to me that
maybe it's my network adapter. I recently moved back home, which means
that I moved from a T1 wired connection to a Netgear USB wireless
adapter that connects me to the wireless network at home, which goes
to a cable modem. However, the wireless adapter never gave me problems
when I was home for Winter Break. I dunno...I'm just rambling now.

Also, System Restore doesn't work, so I can't undo whatever I might
have done. When I do a system restore, my computer restarts and then
tells me that the system could not be restored and no changes have
been made.

Can someone offer any advice, or a guess as to how I could fix the
problem? I'm willing to back up my stuff and reformat, but only as a
last resort.

Thanks,

Chuck

In view of the multiple problems you have, rebuilding the system would be my
first choice, not my last resort. It would give you a robust installation
within a fairly short time. Remember to back up your EMail files!