I have reformatted 2 times and it still does it
First, start using a real newsreader instead of the lame web interface.
That way, you'll be able to find your posts and more easily search this
newsgroup. Here's a link explaining how to set up Outlook Express to
read
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/support/news/howto
default.asp
Note that the url is wrapped in my newsreader and you will need to enter
it into your addressbar on one line.
Sudden restarts can be caused by a lot of things - overheating, bad
power supply, bad drivers, viruses, etc. The first thing to do is set
Windows to *not* restart on failure by going to the System applet in
Control Panel, then Advanced>Startup and Recovery>Settings and under
System Failure uncheck "Automatically Restart". This will give you the
blue screen with the stop error. Write down the stop error because you
will need it to troubleshoot.
If you are getting an rpc error, then you have the blaster virus
(although it doesn't sound like that from your post). Here's
information on that:
http://www.sarc.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.html
And last for now, here are generic 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); 2) test
the RAM - I like Memtest86 from
www.memtest86.com - let the test run
for an extended (like overnight) period of time - unless errors are
seen immediately; 3) test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from
the mftr.; 4) test the motherboard. If you can't do this testing
yourself, take the machine to a good local computer repair shop (not a
CompUSA or Best Buy type of store).
Good luck,
Malke
