Hi, John.
WHERE in PC World? I must have missed that one. Could you give us a
reference? At least the month and page number, or the URL for the online
version.
The starting point for resolving shutdown/startup problems in WinXP is MVP
Jim Eshelman's web page:
http://aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.php
The "repeated restart mode" often is because there is a glitch in the
shutdown sequence. The default setting for what WinXP should do on "System
failure" is "Automatically restart". This, unfortunately, leaves us with no
clue as to what caused the failure. :>(
Go to System Properties | Advanced | Startup and Recovery / Settings and
remove the check from the Automatically restart box. Next time, instead of
rebooting, your computer should halt with the infamous BSOD (Blue Screen of
Death). You'll still need to restart, but you'll have plenty of time to
read the BSOD. If it is not self-explanatory (and it may not be if you are
not pretty computer-savvy), then copy the Stop code verbatim and post it
here. We don't need all the "boilerplate" on that screen (we've probably
seen it many times before) but we do need at least the Stop code
(0x000000xx). There may be a driver or other program name, and there may be
several (usually 4) big long hex numbers; include those in the post.
Someone here should be able to point you in the right direction from there.
RC
