computer randomly crashes!!?

Question

i check the event viewer after a system crash and it comes up with bugcheck 0x1000008e. it shuts down and restarts, no blue screen of death. it randomly happens and sometimes it will crash after it rebooted from a crash. It started about 5 months ago, after having it for 2 months and it is brand new.

any ideas on what the problem could be and any solutions? im not that keen on re-installing windows xp.

i have windows defender
mcafee firewall
spyware doctor
pc tools firewall firewall

havent had a virus threat since i installed spyware doctor and the firewall blocks nearly everything. last major virus threat was vundo, but its gone and it was about 6 months ago

note: have had computer for nearly 2 years not 6 months

how do i check BIOS??
i am still learning about computers (im only 14)so step by step procedure would be nice

anyone know where i can find somewhere on what RAM to upgrade to or check it?

ive run a system check on my system, but its custom built so there is no manufacture. i guess i have to go to where i bought it and see if they now what to upgrade to

Answer 1

to discount any software problems do all below
if it still plays up then do the bit about the RAM.

Do all this

Download and run superantispyware. I was put onto this program because of an annoying popup (XP)

http://www.superantispyware.com
Superantispyware is a good program and remember to update it before scanning. A scan may take 45mins.

afterwards clean up the registry with this
Clean up pc and IE
==============
To clean up run this Microsoft’s windows live program. It does registry, spyware , virus , disk clean up and defrag

it takes 2 hours or more so once it starts to scan (go to bed etc)

XP Users http://onecare.live.com/site/en-ca/defau...

Vista Users http://onecare.live.com/site/en-ca/cente...

Run the full scanner, then at the end of the scan it asks you to set it running full time.

Think twice about setting it to run in the background as it could be another thing to slow you down. However, it may be worth while if you have no other security programs running.

Consider the following options:
I personally run Norton 360 which is full internet security and run superantispyware when I want to.

So if you don’t have a decent internet security program then perhaps run the superantispyware with your antivirus in the background.

If you sick of antivirus programs that don’t work perhaps run onecare full time and run superantispyware whenever


RAM problem
==========
Your problem it sounds like a RAM power problem.

Some laptops are funny with RAM. Should try to stick to RAM that is designed at that speed and not backward compatable, also some laptops cannot handle "any" brand of RAM, because it may drag down the power supply.

If you have two sticks of RAM, remove one and try.

swap them over and try

If it works good on each one, but not together, then the RAM you have is not the best type for that laptop. The actual RAM stick may not have failed, just unsuitable.

On desktops a failing RAM will simulate the above

Answer 2

If you have a Core 2 processor in your computer try updating the BIOS although with Windows XP an update should have been made to fix the Core 2 bug from Windows (although a BIOS update would make sure and might be a good idea even if you don't have a Core 2).

If updating the BIOS has no effect (which I suspect it won't [EDIT: If your computer is 2 years old it won't have a Core 2 Duo so it's very unlikely to work] then you should try re-installing windows and seeing if that helps, it might or it might not.

If re-installing windows doesn't help then it would probably be a hardware fault in which case your best course of action would be to send it back (assuming it's under warranty).

If not then I'd first try to replace the power supply as dodgy power supplies tend to cause things like that to happen (and worse) with RAM being the second possible culprit.

Answer 3

to run diagnostics on your PC go to http://www.download.com and look-up ubcd. Its an image file to burn onto a disc to run all kinds of diagnostics prior to windows booting up, including a memory tester, and disk tools for just about every brand.
Could also be a power supply problem, but error codes that start with 0x1 are usually memory errors.......as far as replacing the memory, start by going to the manufacture site of your PC and see what the specs are, then go from there.

Answer 4

You have a random computer!



You may need to reinstall your os! I did that when my screen kept randomly going black and not recovering!

Answer 5

It depends on the rest of the information, for example:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms797161.aspx
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310740

Answer 6

it's problem of BIOS,plzcheck your ram...