windows crashes, then CMOS date/time is wrong

[Rachel]

SInce installing XP, my computer has begun to crash
regularly. At first it just crashed when using the
scanner, but now it crashes even if I'm just editing a
word document.
It's a strange one as the screen just goes black and the
PC seems to be working, but I'm forced to restart the
machine to get things working again.

Each time it crashes, on restarting the machine I get the
following error message "CMOS date/time not set" and need
to run setup to reset these values.

Does anyone have any idea of what is causing my machine to
crash so regularly and what I can do about it?

Many thanks
Rachel

 

[John Dingley]

Could be your battery on the m/b needs replacing which would also explian
the crashes.

 

[Alex Nichol]

Each time it crashes, on restarting the machine I get the
following error message "CMOS date/time not set" and need
to run setup to reset these values.

That suggests a fairly serious degree of trouble in the hardware - I
think you have a repair shop consultation needed