Hi there --

I'm running XP Professional SP1 on a P4 machine that keeps rebooting itself. Sometimes in a matter of seconds. It freezes when it is not rebooting. I can't get anything done! I decided to skip SP2 to see if things would improve. Alas not.

Please help.

I have done a complete reinstall. Nothing helps.

Sounds like a hardware problem.

As to installing XP: XP SP2 is the only supported version of XP. It is what you should have.

Anyway there are many troubleshooting options:

Boot into Safe Mode and see if there is a difference.

Run a diagnostic on your hard drive.

Also provide more history: Is this a new problem? Were things working OK previously?

What is the make and model of the computer?


The issues persisting after a complete Clean Install would indicate a hard drive failure at first glance.

The manufacturer's web site will have a diagnostic.

I am just going out the door for the night but will be back tomorrow and perhaps other members will fill in the gaps.

Go into your BIOS at bootup, and check if your BIOS offers a PC health ststus tab - this will usually show you the temperature of your proccessor.

If its any more than 70 deg, your reboots might be because of this.
Thermal paste in between heatsink and processor breaks down with age, so a new heatsink and thermal compound might sort you out.

Also, in BIOS you can often change the way your system handles overheating processors. Most default to REBOOT WITHOUT WARNING. Change it to warn you with beeps before rebooting, so at least you know whats going on....

Also check your RAM is plugged in securely.

Regards,
Arf