The return of the revolting reboot

The nightmare
From time to time, when I open an Excel spreadsheet, my XP machine reboots. There's no warning. The system just hangs for a couple of seconds, then the PC starts up as if I had just switched it on or hit the reset button. Do ghosts live in this machine, or is Microsoft trying to lower the country's productivity?

Analysis
Of all the I-hate-XP complaints we received, the unexpected reboot won by a landslide. We heard from users who suffered das Reboot during a bewildering range of computer activities, from dialing an ISP and launching Microsoft Office apps to printing after upgrading drivers to simply copying files. Seemingly, XP blips on and off with no rhyme, reason, or common cause.

But XP does reboot for a reason. Whenever the OS encounters a Stop Error--the kind that, in earlier editions of Windows, resulted in the dreaded blue screen of death--the system automatically reboots. According to Microsoft, such errors could place data at risk, so the OS generates an error message that reboots the system rather than continuing on and possibly corrupting data. Microsoft also refers to these sudden deaths as fatal system errors.

The actual cause of the critical error, of course, could be almost anything, including incompatible software, an out-of-date BIOS, or outdated drivers for computer components such as video cards, CD-RW drives, printers, or scanners.

Advice
The immediate, straightforward solution is to turn off the automatic-reboot function in Windows XP. The long-term fix, however, is more difficult. We'll walk you through both.

Windows XP lets you specify how the OS handles critical errors. To change this setting, select Start > Control Panel > Settings > System (in the Classic-style Start menu, Control Panel is under Settings). Click Advanced > System And Recovery > Settings. In the System Failure section, clear the Automatically Restart check box, then click OK. While you're here, it's a good idea to shut off XP's irritating habit of asking whether you want to report every petty error to Microsoft. Click the Error Reporting button near the bottom right and check Disable Error Reporting. However, check the box next to "But notify me when critical errors occur." Click OK here and in the next dialog.

Now when Windows XP encounters a Stop Error, it will simply display a message on the screen and won't automatically reboot. Ta-da!

That's the easy part. The tough part is troubleshooting your PC to find the root cause of the errors. We could probably fill a book or two with troubleshooting tips, but, in the meantime, consider these basic fixes for some of the obvious culprits.

Device drivers
These small programs, which control internal and external components of the PC, such as the video card and printer, may be to blame. You can run into all kinds of trouble if drivers are missing or incompatible. Go to your device manufacturer's Web site and look for XP-compatible drivers. Download and install them.

Incompatible third-party software
These apps can cause critical OS errors, so search your software makers' sites for any available XP updates or patches. If no update exists, XP's Program Compatibility Wizard, part of XP's "Help and support center," may help you make an end run around old software. Step through the wizard, select the program that you think is the culprit from the list, and choose one of the offered OS compatibility modes. (If you upgraded to Windows XP and didn't have problems with the program before, pick the version from which you upgraded.)

Out-of-date BIOS chip
This chip in your PC's motherboard can also cause critical errors. Once again, check your PC manufacturer's Web site and look for BIOS updates that you can download and install or instructions on manually updating the BIOS. For another worthwhile resource, check Intel's Download center for BIOS updates of Intel microprocessors.

Show me how to restart my kaput XP PC!

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