Windows xp crash reasons

billubakra

Conversation Architect
Hi Guys,

We have a pc at home. We are using XP SP3 in it from the past many years. From the past couple of months it is crashing/getting bugged after a month or two. Say we shut the pc down properly and the next day when we start it, it will have a black screen which says start windows normally, in safe mode, with cmd or with the last settings or something. If we click on start normally then it will keep on restarting, if we click on safe mode or cmd we get these errors-

*oi68.tinypic.com/2n7gvif.jpg

*oi64.tinypic.com/wl3i9e.jpg

*oi65.tinypic.com/nozr0o.jpg

What does those driver errors etc. mean?

When we click on start with last settings or something, nothing happens.

This pc is used for typing documents in ms word and pagemaker. It has a K7 anti virus, we scan the pc once in a while. The ups is new, so power backup is fine. The fan makes a bit of noise when the pc boots up and then it goes back to normal after few minutes, this thing is going on from the past many years, hope that is normal. The driver or the windows does not give any type of error when it is working fine. So, why is the pc crashing after few months? What could be done to prevent it? The computer repair guy has used different XP SP3 cd's just to be on the safe side in the past couple of months.

Thanks
 

dashing.sujay

Moving
Staff member
Your OS is going for a ride. You'll either need to repair or better reinstall it otherwise someday it'll render itself non-bootable.
 

rhitwick

Democracy is a myth
Can you check the RAM and CMOS battery?

Seems your OS is not able to recognize it's last state. These two could be causing the issues.
 
OP
B

billubakra

Conversation Architect
Your OS is going for a ride. You'll either need to repair or better reinstall it otherwise someday it'll render itself non-bootable.

Repair windows some files are missing that is why your OS is not able to boot.

Can you check the RAM and CMOS battery?

Seems your OS is not able to recognize it's last state. These two could be causing the issues.

I recommend using at least Windows 7 as XP is getting old like Windows 95

Thanks for replying everyone. This thing happens after every month or two. What could cause this so frequently? We had to call the computer repair guy who would reinstall the windows from scratch after this screen shows up. I have a Win XP SP2 disc with me. Can I repair SP3 with the same?

How and what to check with RAM and CMOS battery? And pagemaker and regional fonts don't work that well with 7 so we had to stick with XP.
 

dashing.sujay

Moving
Staff member
Check RAM by running memtest. CMOS battery can be just checked if your windows Date/Time remains correct after reboot.
 
OP
B

billubakra

Conversation Architect
Check RAM by running memtest. CMOS battery can be just checked if your windows Date/Time remains correct after reboot.

Date/Time remains correct so I guess that the battery is fine. Regarding memtest, is this the correct file (less than 100 KB :confused_NF:) *www.memtest.org/download/5.01/memtest86+-5.01.iso.zip ? So, I burn it on a cd and then boot via it and then run it and post the screenshots here or will it repair the RAM itself? Moreover can I repair XP SP3 with SP2's cd?
 

sling-shot

Wise Old Owl
Keep on reinstalling each month or two is not a viable solution. Better try to find out the cause.

Is it a hardware error like failing hard disk?
 
OP
B

billubakra

Conversation Architect
If you repair via SP2 CD, you will have to install SP3 again. And all the updates.

Try it if it works then good else reinstall windows.

Keep on reinstalling each month or two is not a viable solution. Better try to find out the cause.

Is it a hardware error like failing hard disk?

The cd of SP2 didn't work at all, maybe due to scratches or something. Footi kismat. Google also said that it would mess up the system.
[MENTION=139416]sling-shot[/MENTION] Exactly what I am thinking. HDD seems fine because it does not give any hard disk or any error related to that. Just those errors which I posted in the screenshots in the first post. How to find out the cause?

As [MENTION=86068]dashing.sujay[/MENTION] has suggested, CMOS Battery seems to be fine. Regarding RAM, is this the correct file (less than 100 KB ) to run memtest? www.memtest.org/download/5.01/memtest86+-5.01.iso.zip will this repair the RAM for errors or something if I boot via it?

This crashing of windows causes lots of trouble. First it is a time waste, second the computer repair guys take Rs. 500 to install windows in our city. Ye mehangayi kab kam hogi.
 

sling-shot

Wise Old Owl
RAM cannot be repaired. Only be checked for defects.

I think that memtest should work.

When this happens next time, before going for a reinstall, physically remove components connected one by one such as printer or bluetooth mouse or whatever and recheck at each step for a successful boot.

Cleaning the contacts of RAM, graphics card etc using Isopropyl Alcohol before reinstalling might help if it is dust/rust and moisture that is causing this.
 

sling-shot

Wise Old Owl
By the way, I have just seen the screenshots you posted above and they look like a normal safeboot to me and not errors.

Just select safe mode and wait. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to complete loading and those messages are normal.
 
OP
B

billubakra

Conversation Architect
RAM cannot be repaired. Only be checked for defects.

I think that memtest should work.

When this happens next time, before going for a reinstall, physically remove components connected one by one such as printer or bluetooth mouse or whatever and recheck at each step for a successful boot.

Cleaning the contacts of RAM, graphics card etc using Isopropyl Alcohol before reinstalling might help if it is dust/rust and moisture that is causing this.


By the way, I have just seen the screenshots you posted above and they look like a normal safeboot to me and not errors.

Just select safe mode and wait. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to complete loading and those messages are normal.

I removed the lan cable and it didn't help. I also removed the mouse and keyboard but then the computer showed an error that no keyboard is there or something. I will run memtest and post a photo of the results here.

I will retry in safe mode and will wait, what if it does start what to do next? BTW what exactly does "normal safeboot" mean and why is it showing up? And those screenshots why is it showing important files from system 32/partition etc. on black screen? Considering this pc is only used for typing, not even an audio file is there so we can rule out the software errors/faults.
 

sling-shot

Wise Old Owl
When Windows is not able to shutdown properly, the next time it assumes something went wrong somewhere and tries to load minimum drivers and programs needed to get it started. Safe mode is a minimum environment for troubleshooting.

Those lines are the individual files as they are being loaded. Any errors happening will show up on screen and you will know which is causing it.

Once safe mode is up, using menu restart the computer. Watch what happens.
 
OP
B

billubakra

Conversation Architect
When Windows is not able to shutdown properly, the next time it assumes something went wrong somewhere and tries to load minimum drivers and programs needed to get it started. Safe mode is a minimum environment for troubleshooting.

Those lines are the individual files as they are being loaded. Any errors happening will show up on screen and you will know which is causing it.

Once safe mode is up, using menu restart the computer. Watch what happens.

Thanks for the info. Will wait after clicking on safe more. Check A.User and Sirluke-'s reply here

*answers.microsoft.com/en-us/window...nwindows/2b3423cd-cf5a-4823-bcdd-4661c24b89b6

Windows XP won't load and safe mode freezes

Worth a try?
 

Desmond

Destroy Erase Improve
Staff member
Admin
How old is your machine? It could be possible that your hardware is beginning to malfunction. In that case, it would be better to upgrade your machine as these problems will only increase in frequency in the future until your machine stops working altogether.

If you still want to use XP, you can always use a VM software like VirtualBox to run Windows XP over any modern machine with no difference in compatibility or operation.
 
OP
B

billubakra

Conversation Architect
I waited after clicking on safe mode but eventually it restarted. There was no file with 0 bytes size as mentioned in those two links in system 32>drivers folder. I opened up the cpu and it was clean, I even took out the RAM and reinserted it. Finally I called the repair guy, he said that re-installation is needed. I told him to repair as mentioned in those links, but he didn't know the command for that, he only knew how to clean format so I gave him the command and now the windows seems to be working. IDK but I have a feeling that it will crash again. A friend of mine had an original SP3 disc which he purchased for himself, he has given me the serial key of the same. A question, from where can I download the SP3 setup file and the drivers for this computer so that I can install the windows myself instead of spending Rs. 500 bucks everytime? Still not able to find the reason for this hassle.

- - - Updated - - -

How old is your machine? It could be possible that your hardware is beginning to malfunction. In that case, it would be better to upgrade your machine as these problems will only increase in frequency in the future until your machine stops working altogether.

If you still want to use XP, you can always use a VM software like VirtualBox to run Windows XP over any modern machine with no difference in compatibility or operation.

We bought this machine in 2014. It has decent specs considering our need, Win 7 can run smoothly but the fonts which we need don't work that properly in 7. Here's the CPU-Z report of the machine-
TinyUpload.com - best file hosting solution, with no limits, totaly free
And the people who will be using this system will have no idea regarding VB, they just know about typing, designing and simple xp interface.
 
Top Bottom