XP Pro Quits on me

[George Richardson]

Hello,

In Windows XP Professional, I have a question concerning various programs abruptly shutting down.

We ran WIN 98 successfully for many years with only the low resorces - shut a program down - warning, every once in
a while in predictable situations.

In Jan.'04, due to a motherboard failure, we upgraded to a box with 3 times the processor speed and twice the ram.
We reinstalled programs from the WIN 98 box, all of which had been upgraded over the past year to be compatable
with XP. We do not multi-task, except for standard background programs including Norton Antivirus 2003, but do task-
switch with 3 or 4 programs most of the time.

The programs that quit are:

1. Windows XP ( Rare but has happened )
2. ACT! Contact Management ( Rare but has happened )
3.Peachtree Complete Accounting 2004 - ( More frequently than the previous 2; not frequent but a major pain due to
temporary files that must be deleted before rebooting - used to prevent unauthorized networking.)
4. CallAudit - An in-out telephone monitering program - uses an external serial coupled caller id box.
5. Opera - Internet browser - most frequently dropped.

The frequency of occurance varies from 2 to 3 times a week to 2 to 3 times a day with no pattern.

The only hint I have is using Administrative Tools, Event Viewer, System, I seem to get a corresponding shut down
error - parvdm.

Any Help will be GREATLY appreciated.

TIA
George Richardson

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, George.

Well, first of all...

The programs that quit are:

1. Windows XP ( Rare but has happened )

Windows XP is NOT a program; it is the operating system.

Second, please define "quit". Do you mean that the computer hangs? Or
reboots? Or you get a BSOD? Or what? When the symptom appears in multiple
programs, the underlying problem is most often in the operating system, not
in the several applications. Hardware failure (bad RAM, loose connections,
power supply, etc.) is a possibility, of course, but it sounds like the
problem is in software.

If you haven't changed from the default, then WinXP's instructions for "what
to do on system failure" are to "automatically restart". This is usually
best for newbies because, as you know, many computer problems are solved by
simply rebooting. However, when this does not solve the problem, we are
left with few or no clues as to what the actual problem is.

Go to System Properties | Advanced | Startup and Recovery Settings. Under
System failure, remove the check from the Automatically restart box. Next
time, instead of rebooting, your computer should halt with a BSOD (Blue
Screen of Death) full of codes. Post those codes - verbatim - here and some
guru (not me!) should be able to point you in the right direction.

In the meantime, Google gets hundreds of hits on "parvdm+xp", including:
HOW TO: Perform Advanced Clean-Boot Troubleshooting in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q316434

How to Gather Information After a Memory Dump in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q314084

Is your WinXP up to date with SP1 and all the Hotfixes at Windows Update? A
brief description of your computer (make and model, or motherboard/CPU/RAM
if you built it yourself, plus HD configuration, graphics card, etc.) would
help us to visualize your system, since we can't see it.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

Hello,

In Windows XP Professional, I have a question concerning various programs abruptly shutting down.

We ran WIN 98 successfully for many years with only the low resorces -

shut a program down - warning, every once in

a while in predictable situations.

In Jan.'04, due to a motherboard failure, we upgraded to a box with 3

times the processor speed and twice the ram.

We reinstalled programs from the WIN 98 box, all of which had been

upgraded over the past year to be compatable

with XP. We do not multi-task, except for standard background programs

including Norton Antivirus 2003, but do task-

switch with 3 or 4 programs most of the time.

The programs that quit are:

1. Windows XP ( Rare but has happened )
2. ACT! Contact Management ( Rare but has happened )
3.Peachtree Complete Accounting 2004 - ( More frequently than the previous

2; not frequent but a major pain due to

temporary files that must be deleted before rebooting - used to prevent unauthorized networking.)
4. CallAudit - An in-out telephone monitering program - uses an external serial coupled caller id box.
5. Opera - Internet browser - most frequently dropped.

The frequency of occurance varies from 2 to 3 times a week to 2 to 3 times a day with no pattern.

The only hint I have is using Administrative Tools, Event Viewer, System,

I seem to get a corresponding shut down

 

[Guest]

Hi George
I have had the same problem and assumed it was software. I don't mean to speak out of turn or confuse the issue, but I found my CPU was running too hot and causing the shut downs. It started to happen two or three times a day. Maybe I am way out in left field, but since you had a mother board problem it wouldn't hurt to check the CPU temp just to see. My 1700 XP Athlon was running as high as 98 degrees Centigrade. New fan and recoating with silver and now about 54 degrees. Hope I am not out of line here
Bob

 

[Sharon F]

Hi George. I have had the same problem and assumed it was software. I
don't mean to speak out of turn or confuse the issue, but I found my CPU
was running too hot and causing the shut downs. It started to happen
two or three times a day. Maybe I am way out in left field, but since
you had a mother board problem it wouldn't hurt to check the CPU temp
just to see. My 1700 XP Athlon was running as high as 98 degrees
Centigrade. New fan and recoating with silver and now about 54 degrees.
Hope I am not out of line here. Bob

Bob, when you were having trouble with your temps, were you getting parvdm
errors in Event Viewer too? Have seen them show up when the memory is a bit
flakey but have not seen them appear when temperature was an issue. Not
having experienced it doesn't mean it can't happen and that's why I ask.
Would really like to know

 

[George Richardson]

Hi George.

I have had the same problem and assumed it was software. I don't mean to speak out of turn or confuse the issue, but
I found my CPU was running too hot and causing the shut downs. It started to happen two or three times a day.
Maybe I am way out in left field, but since you had a mother board problem it wouldn't hurt to check the CPU temp just
to see. My 1700 XP Athlon was running as high as 98 degrees Centigrade. New fan and recoating with silver and now
about 54 degrees. Hope I am not out of line here.
Bob

Bob,

Thanks for your post. How did you get the temperature readings. My processor is the AMD Athlon XP2000+ @ 1.7
GHz. (PS - I type with 1 finger between trying to run a business so sometimes my posts are tardy but I appreciate your
help!)

George

 

[Jim Macklin]

Motherboard Monitor


| On Fri, 2 Apr 2004 18:01:02 -0800, Bob Gililand
| > Hi George.
| I have had the same problem and assumed it was software.
I don't mean to speak out of turn or confuse the issue, but
| I found my CPU was running too hot and causing the shut
downs. It started to happen two or three times a day.
| Maybe I am way out in left field, but since you had a
mother board problem it wouldn't hurt to check the CPU temp
just
| to see. My 1700 XP Athlon was running as high as 98
degrees Centigrade. New fan and recoating with silver and
now
| about 54 degrees. Hope I am not out of line here.
| Bob
|
| Bob,
|
| Thanks for your post. How did you get the temperature
readings. My processor is the AMD Athlon XP2000+ @ 1.7
| GHz. (PS - I type with 1 finger between trying to run a
business so sometimes my posts are tardy but I appreciate
your
| help!)
|
| George
|
|

 

[George Richardson]

Motherboard Monitor

Jim

Thanks for the reply but my ignorance abounds! Where do I find Motherboard Monitor?

TIA

George

 

[Jim Macklin]

Google it will be #1


| On Sat, 3 Apr 2004 11:46:40 -0600, "Jim Macklin"
| > Motherboard Monitor
| >
| Jim
|
| Thanks for the reply but my ignorance abounds! Where do I
find Motherboard Monitor?
|
| TIA
|
| George
|
|
|

 

[George Richardson]

Hi, George.

Well, first of all...


Windows XP is NOT a program; it is the operating system.

Second, please define "quit". Do you mean that the computer hangs? Or
reboots? Or you get a BSOD? Or what? When the symptom appears in multiple
programs, the underlying problem is most often in the operating system, not
in the several applications. Hardware failure (bad RAM, loose connections,
power supply, etc.) is a possibility, of course, but it sounds like the
problem is in software.

If you haven't changed from the default, then WinXP's instructions for "what
to do on system failure" are to "automatically restart". This is usually
best for newbies because, as you know, many computer problems are solved by
simply rebooting. However, when this does not solve the problem, we are
left with few or no clues as to what the actual problem is.

Go to System Properties | Advanced | Startup and Recovery Settings. Under
System failure, remove the check from the Automatically restart box. Next
time, instead of rebooting, your computer should halt with a BSOD (Blue
Screen of Death) full of codes. Post those codes - verbatim - here and some
guru (not me!) should be able to point you in the right direction.

In the meantime, Google gets hundreds of hits on "parvdm+xp", including:
HOW TO: Perform Advanced Clean-Boot Troubleshooting in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q316434

How to Gather Information After a Memory Dump in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q314084

Is your WinXP up to date with SP1 and all the Hotfixes at Windows Update? A
brief description of your computer (make and model, or motherboard/CPU/RAM
if you built it yourself, plus HD configuration, graphics card, etc.) would
help us to visualize your system, since we can't see it.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP

RC

Thanks for your reply. While I understand that Windows XP is considered an operating system, I can assure that it is not
operating on my system. I was trying to be nice by not repeating in public what I have been saying in private ;-).

The program "quit" sequence seems to be something like a computer alert ding, and a notice screen saying that a running
program, but not necessairly the program in focus, has encountered an error and must shut down and anything you have done
since last saving data is lost. I think to add insult to injury, I then have to click OK to terminate the program.

My Win XP Pro is configured to automatically restart and I will make your suggested change. I have applied all hotfixes
available @ windows update. Some of the hardware is as follows: Shuttle Motherboard; AMD Athlon XP2000+ 1.7 GHz processor
;512MB PC2700 2.5V DDR SDRAM DIMM; NVIDIA GeForce FX5200 ; I also had an auxiliary card with a second parallel port added.
For what its worth, I have two physical hard drives each divided into 2 virtual drives.

I followed your suggestion and perused the Google "parvdm+xp". An interestingly large number of problems seemed to be related
to old CD-RW drives and I did salvage an old Sony CD-RW from the old box for this one.

I was hoping Bobs experience with overheating might apply but my temperature seems to be quite acceptable.

Thanks for your continued support.

George