At random times, for unknown reasons, my computer restarts. It has been going on for so long, and has become such a nerve wracking problem, <Grrrrrrrr> it's getting harder and harder to control my temper, and not ........(well, you know the thoughts
that run through ones head when frustrated past your point of endurance.)

After logging back on to Windows XP, I get a Microsoft message saying the system has recovered from a serious error, and ask that I send a report to MS. When I send the report, I get the same USELESS explaination:
"The crash was caused by a Device Driver"
It goes on to say they don't know WHICH ONE, and suggest that I uninstall each driver, one at a time, to see if it's the one causing the problem! When I take into consideration that the restarts are so random, (may not happen for 2 or 3 days, then may restart 6 to 8 times in an hour) and the number of drivers on my machine, it seems to me that this process could take weeks or even months, which is unacceptable! Is there no other way??

I've been told, because in ADDITION to the restarts, I get "freeze ups", web pages load very slowly, and many times programs "Have to close now" that I have a "WORM". I have downloaded so many "AVs", "spywares" "Botwares", "firewalls" and other software, that I'm running out of space on my desktop for Icons!

ANY help, thoughts, or suggestions?? If NOT, could someone loan me a gun, so I can put myself out of my misery! :-)

Thanks to the "Computer Gods" for allowing me to finish this post before a restart hit!

RedHawk50

first off turn off the auto restart feature

rt. click My Computer then click Properties then Advanced then Startup and Recovery Settings then unclick Automatically restart

this will give you more detailed errors after which you will have to manualy shut down.

also: look in your event viewer: rt. click My Computer then click Manage then Event Viewer.
open the system as well as the application tabs & look for errors. click error line for details. post back the source & event id especially of errors that seem to coincide with a crash.

also:
please follow owen's instructions HERE and then post your log HERE

Thanks Jephree for the quick reply!
I've already done most of the things suggested. I'm currently running AVG7, Spybot, the latest version of Ad-Aware, have the latest Windows downloads including sp2, have McAfees Firewall running along with Windows XP firewall, ect.
I ran HijackThis and saved a log, however I ran it BEFORE disabeling Auto restart.
Should I wait until the next time my computer restarts, before posting a HighjackThis log, or go ahead and do it now?

BTW, THANKS! to ALL you folks who have the kindness in your hearts to be here for us novices, and dummies.

You might as well post your HijackThis log in the Spyware, Adware, Viruses and HijackThis Logs section.

When you get any errors from a blue screen or the Event Viewer post them in this thread.

Will go from there.

Just had two restarts!
Blue screen said A problem occured, Windows had to shut down to prevent damage to computer.... blah, blah,
Tech Info:
Stop:0x0000008E (0xC0000022, 0xF7703CE6, 0xF129F224, 0x00000000)
Ntfs.sys-Address F7703CE6 Base atF769D000, DateStamp 41107eea

I restarted and while checking the event logs, it restarted again. This time no blue screen, just came back to windows login.

I cut and pasted all events from System as well as Applications leading up to both restarts. Should I post those here, now?

I also ran another Hijack This and saved a log.

Originally Posted by jephree

You might as well post your HijackThis log in the Spyware, Adware, Viruses and HijackThis Logs section.

When you get any errors from a blue screen or the Event Viewer post them in this thread.

Will go from there.

Here is the info from the EVENT VIEWER:

Under SYSTEM:


1:13;33AM

Source: System Error

Event ID: 1003



1:23:45AM

Source: System Error

Event ID: 1003



2:23:59AM

Same as above



Under APPLICATIONS

(Around the same time as above)



1:13:16 AM

Source: Security Center

ID 1800



1:13:42 AM

Source: Esent

ID 100



1:23:29 AM

Source: Security Center

ID 1800



1:24:01 AM

Source: ESENT

ID: 100



2:23:44 AM

Source: Security Center

ID: 1800



2:24:23 AM

Source: ESENT

ID:100

Other blue screen said (basics) Windows shut down to prevent damage...
Then, (This is different from the first one) "AD_POOL_CALLER"
Then: Be sure hardware and software installed correctly, if problem persist, disable or remove new hard/soft ware.. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing.
If you need to use Safe Mode to remove, restart, press F-8, ....ect.

Tech Info:
Stop: 0x000000C2 (0x00000007, 0x00000CD4, 0x04860203, 0xE18C5BD8)

It's 3:00AM here, I'm tired. Will check back tomorrow, eh..later today.

Thanks again!

~Hawk~

Did you post your Hijack This log?

Did you notice this problem before SP2 was installed?

Any hardware installed that might coincide with these problems?

As to the WINS data base error try this:

start > run > cmd
in the new window type chkdsk/f
when prompted to run on boot choose Y & reboot
this will check for & fix any disk errors.

Also you might consider scan now (requires your XP CD):
http://www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html

Error code 1000008e = "KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M" - Most of newsgroup comments about this error point to faulty hardware or drivers. The hardware varies from modems, video cards, USB device to memory or sound cards. Sometimes it proves to be hardware that it is not compatible with Windows XP. Q310740 gives an example of this error occuring when and old Audigy sound card driver is installed.
This behavior can occur if the WINS database is damaged or is missing from the "%SystemRoot%\system32\wins" folder. See Q225346 for more details.
If this is the first time you have booted after installing new hardware, remove the hardware and boot again


...

Hello again jephree,
This Blue Screen message may be of some help. (I hope!)
Said, Problem seems to be caused by the file:

Win32k.sys

PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

I have no idea what that means, but it sounds like we may have found something!
To answer your questions, yes, I just posted the Hijack This log. The problem existed BEFORE I downloaded the SP2 pack. As for the hardware, this has been going on for so long, I'm not sure, it SEEMS that around that time, I switched from dial up to cable, brought a LexMark All-In-One scanner/printer online, and MAYBE added speakers, and a digital camera. All came as a bundle, but I didn't install those things right away.
I know that's a lot of ground to cover, and doesn't make it any easier on you, but I'm hoping that last blue screen message provided some help.

In light of the new info, should I still run the disk check?


~Hawk~