WinXP Pro - how long should it stay up before having to reboot?

MSI KT4V mainboard
Duron 1300
512 MB RAM

Basically use this PC as gateway to Internet (DUN) for a small Win9x
LAN and for long downloads - overnight etc. Minimal programs installed
- no games other than the default WinXP ones.

Use Norton Internet Security/AntiVirus and Winproxy 5

Longest it has stayed up is 3 days - then there is always some sort of
error, maybe a system freeze or spontaneous reboot then "Windows has
recovered from a serious error".

I would have expected better from XP..

Interested in others experiences

jd

 

Sounds like a hardware problem. Possibly overheating or a problem with the
PSU. Check for dust/dirt in the computer and make sure the CPU heatsink fan
is turning freely.
You can use a DVM to check voltages directly or MBM to check them through
software:
http://mbm.livewiredev.com/

 

My first thought was remove and reseat the memory?

 

Actually, that's a very good idea. It may also be a physical problem with
memory, if that doesn't help, in which case this can test it in a DOS
environment: http://www.memtest86.com/

 

I'm wondering - doesn't ScanReg or RegScan, or whatever M$ calls it...
Doesn't that run every time you boot.. and only hold the last 5 days'
"good" registry settings?

If so, shouldn't you reboot once every 4 days to be safe?

 

I'd suggest dumping the Norton crap and installing AVG Anivirus and
ZoneAlarm or another firewall of your choice. Before I dumped XP for
Mandrake Linux I could regularly keep it up for two weeks without
rebooting.

 

Should be good for much longer than that. I personally power off my
system every night (power outages and surges are fairly common here,
especially during the fall and winter months) but I know many others
who leave there XP systems running for weeks and sometimes months at a
time, rebooting only when required to do so by some special updates or
new installs.

Norton is always a prime suspect for any computer malfunction or
misbehavior.

When it does the "recovered from a serious error" bit have you ever
investigated the nature and possible cause of these errors?
Right-click on My Computer and select Manage.
Expand the Event Viewer category and browse through each of the 3
subcategories for red-flagged error records.
Double-click on an error record to see the details of that error.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

That is true in Window 95/98/Me but not in Windows XP.
There is no Scan Registry in XP and separate registry backups are not
made. Registry data is included in the System Restore data.


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

"Ron Martell" wrote

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[To be continued]

 

Yes I monitor Event Viewer closely, but when the PC has rebooted
spontaneously (=> recovered from serious error), there is no red flag,
just a typical event. This is a typical one:

Source: Save Dump Event: 1001

"The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck was:
0x0000000a (0xc8325538, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0x80592370). A dump
was saved in: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini101203-01.dmp."

OTOH I get red flagged errors whenever a time server can't be
contacted - as though that were particularly important <sigh>

Your comment appreciated

jd

 

For the above error see MVP Jim Eshelman's STOP errors page at
http://www.aumha.org/win5/kbestop.htm and click on the "0A: IRQL Not
Less/Equal" item at the top of the left side column.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."