Did Windows XP “Spontaneously” Reboot?
When certain errors
occur, Windows XP will reboot itself. This apparently random behavior is
actually built into the system in the event of a system failure (also
called a stop error or a blue screen of death—BSOD).
By default, Windows XP writes an error event to the system log, dumps
the contents of memory into a file, and then reboots the system. So, if
your system reboots, check the Event Viewer to see what happened.
You can control how Windows XP handles system failures by following these steps:
1. | Launch Control Panel’s System icon.
| 2. | Display the Advanced tab.
| 3. | Click Settings in the Startup and Recovery group. Figure 4 shows the Startup and Recovery dialog box that appears.
| 4. | Configure how Windows XP handles system failures using the following controls in the System Failure group:
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| Write an Event to the System Log | Leave
this check box activated to have the system failure recorded in the
system log. This enables you to view the event in the Event Viewer. | | Send an Administrative Alert | If
you’re on a network, when this option is activated, Windows XP sends an
alert message to the administrator of the network when the system
failure occurs. | | Automatically Restart | This
is the option that, when activated, causes your system to reboot when a
stop error occurs. Deactivate this check box to avoid the reboot. | | Write Debugging Information | This
list determines what information Windows XP saves to disk (in the
folder specified in the text box below the list) when a system failure occurs. This information—it’s called a memory dump—contains data that can help a tech support employee determine the cause of the problem. You have four choices: | | | None—No debugging information is written. Small
Memory Dump (64 KB)—This option writes the minimum amount of useful
information that could be used to identify what caused the stop error.
This 64KB file includes the stop error number and its description, the
list of running device drivers, and the processor state. Kernel Memory Dump—This option writes the contents of the kernel memory to the disk. (The kernel
is the Windows XP component that manages low-level functions for
processor-related activities such as scheduling and dispatching threads,
handling interrupts and exceptions, and synchronizing multiple
processors.) This dump includes memory allocated to the kernel, the
hardware abstraction layer, and the drivers and programs used by the
kernel. Unallocated memory and memory allocated to user programs are not
included in the dump. This information is the most useful for
troubleshooting, so I recommend using this option. Complete Memory Dump—This option writes the entire contents of RAM to the disk.
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Caution
Windows XP first writes the debugging information to the paging file—Pagefile.sys in the root folder of the %SystemDrive%.
When you restart the computer, Windows XP then transfers the
information to the dump file. Therefore, you need to have a large enough
paging file to handle the memory dump. This is particularly true for
the Complete Memory Dump option, which requires the paging file to be as
large as the physical RAM, plus one megabyte. The file size of the
Kernel Memory Dump is typically about a third of physical RAM, although
it may be as large as 800MB.
| Overwrite Any Existing File | When
this option is activated, Windows XP overwrites any existing dump file
with the new dump information. If you deactivate this check box, Windows
XP creates a new dump file with each system failure. Note that this
option is enabled only for the Kernel Memory Dump and the Complete
Memory Dump (which by default write to the same file: %SystemRoot%\Memory.dmp). |
Did You Recently Change Any Application Settings?
If
so, try reversing the change to see whether doing so solves the
problem. If that doesn’t help, check to see whether an upgrade or patch
is available. Also, some applications come with a Repair option that can
fix corrupted files. Otherwise, try reinstalling the program.
Note
If a program freezes, you
won’t be able to shut it down using conventional methods. If you try,
you might see a dialog box warning you that the program is not
responding. If so, click End Now to force the program to close.
Alternatively, right-click the taskbar and then click Task Manager. When
you display the Applications tab, you should see your stuck application
listed, and the Status column will likely say Not responding. Click the program and then click End Task.
Did You Recently Install a New Program?
If you suspect a new
program is causing system instability, restart Windows XP and try
operating the system for a while without using the new program. (If the
program has any components that load at startup, be sure to deactivate
them.
You should also
examine the program’s readme file (if it has one) to look for known
problems and possible workarounds. It’s also a good idea to check for a
Windows XP–compatible version of the program. Again, you can also try
the program’s Repair option or you can reinstall the program.
Similarly, if you recently upgraded an existing program, try uninstalling the upgrade.
Tip
One common cause of
program errors is having one or more program files corrupted because of
bad hard disk sectors.
Tip
When
a program crashes, Windows XP displays a dialog box to let you know and
it asks whether you want to send an error report to Microsoft. If you
never choose to send the report, this dialog box can be annoying. To
turn it off, launch Control Panel’s System icon, display the Advanced
tab, and then click Error Reporting. Activate the Disable Error
Reporting option. Alternatively, leave the Enable Error Reporting option
activated and deactivate the Programs check box. Did You Recently Install a New Device?
If
you recently installed a new device or if you recently updated an
existing device driver, the new device or driver might be causing the
problem. Check Device Manager to see whether there’s a problem with the
device. Did You Recently Install an Incompatible Device Driver?
Windows XP allows you to install drivers that aren’t Windows
XP–certified, but it also warns you that this is a bad idea.
Incompatible drivers are one of the most common sources of system
instability, so whenever possible you should uninstall the driver and
install one that is designed for Windows XP. If you can’t uninstall the
driver, Windows XP automatically set a system restore point before it
installed the driver, so you should use that to restore the system to
its previous state. Did You Recently Apply an Update from Windows Update?
Before you install an update from the Windows Update site, Windows XP creates a system restore point (usually called Software Distribution Service 2.0). If your system becomes unstable after installing the update, use System Restore to revert to the pre-update configuration.
Tip
If
you have Windows XP set up to perform automatic updating, you can keep
tabs on the changes made to your system by examining the WindowsUpdate.log file, which you’ll find in the %SystemRoot%
folder. You can also review your Windows Update changes by going to the
Windows Update site (select Start, All Programs, Windows Update) and
clicking the View Installation History link. Did You Recently Install a Windows XP Hotfix or Service Pack?
It’s ironic that
hotfixes and Service Packs that are designed to increase system
stability will occasionally do the opposite and cause more problems than
they fix:
If you’ve applied a
hotfix, you can often remove it using Control Panel’s Add or Remove
Programs icon. Look for a Windows XP Hotfix entry in the Change or
Remove Programs list. If you have multiple hotfixes listed, make sure
that you remove the correct one. To be sure, check with either the
Microsoft Security site or the Microsoft Knowledge Base, both of which I
discuss in the next section. Note, however, that many hotfixes cannot
be uninstalled. You can try using System Restore to revert to a recent
restore point, but there’s no guarantee this will work. If
you installed a Service Pack and you elected to save the old system
files, you can uninstall the Service Pack using Control Panel’s Add or
Remove Programs icon. Look for a Windows XP Service Pack entry in the
Change or Remove Programs list.
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