The system has recovered from a serious error

Right on Elder, I started a new thread

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows\_xp-system/system-recovered-from-a-serious-error/517b27d4-5090-4ad2-beb4-658979648d15

Here's what to do:

Please provide additional information about your system as best you can:

What is your system make and model?

What is your XP Version and Service Pack?

What is your Internet browser and version?

Does your system have IDE drives or SATA drives?

Describe your current antivirus and anti malware situation:  McAfee, Symantec, Norton, Spybot, AVG, Avira!, MSE, Panda, Trend Micro, CA, Defender, ZoneAlarm, PC Tools, Comodo, etc.

Was the issue preceded by a power interruption, aborted restart, or improper shutdown?  (this includes plug pulling, power buttons, removing the battery, etc.)?

Does the afflicted system have a working CD/DVD drive (internal or external)?

Do you have a genuine bootable XP installation CD that is the same Service Pack as your installed Service Pack (this is not the same as any Recovery CDs that came with your system)?

What do you see that you don't think you should be seeing and when do you see it?

What do you not see that you think you should be seeing?

If the system used to work properly, what do you think might have changed since the last time it did work properly?

Does your system seem to boot okay and then crash or does it not boot at all?

Can you make the system crash any time you want?  For example, would you say that there is any particular system activity that coincides with the crashes (like watching videos, playing games, etc.).

Now provide more information about your system and information from the most recent crashes.

Click Start, Run and in the box enter:

msinfo32

Click OK, and when the System Summary info appears, click Edit, Select All, Copy and then paste the information back here.

For video driver information, expand the Components, click Display, click Edit, Select All, Copy and then paste the information back here.

There will be some personal information (like System Name and User Name), and whatever appears to be private information to you, just delete it from the pasted information.

This will minimize back and forth Q&A and eliminate guesswork.

While you are waiting, please do this:

Perform some scans for malicious software, then fix any remaining issues:

Download, install, update and do a full scan with these free malware detection programs:

Malwarebytes (MBAM):  http://malwarebytes.org/

SUPERAntiSpyware: (SAS):  http://www.superantispyware.com/

They can be uninstalled later if desired.

Reboot your computer and troubleshoot remaining issues.

Sometimes it is easiest to just upload the memory dump files from your most recent crashes to your SkyDrive (everybody has a SkyDrive for sharing file).   Then somebody that already has the Windows debugging tools can take a closer look at things and figure out what is going on.

The memory dump files from the recent crashes and BSODs are usually in this folder:

c:\windows\minidump

The files will be named something like this:

Mini120311-01.dmp

You need to upload the most recent ones...  maybe 5-10 of the most recent crash dump files ought to be enough if you have that many.  If you do not have that many, send what you do have.

Getting started with SkyDrive:

http://explore.live.com/skydrive-get-started

After you get your files uploaded and are looking at them on your SkyDrive, you need to "share" your folders/files so others can see them.

Here is a link that tells you how to do that:

http://explore.live.com/windows-live-skydrive-change-access-permissions-faq

Then choose the "Get a link" button.  When you click that, a window will open that contains the link to your SkyDrive files.

Copy the contents of the box "Copy this link to share:" by selecting the link contents (it will all become highlighted), press Ctrl-C (copy) and then come back to the forum and in your next message press Ctrl-V to paste the contents of the link back here.

What you paste back will look something like this link to my SkyDrive:

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=6a7e789cab1d6f39&resid=6A7E789CAB1D6F39!311

Sorry Elder, I've been googling how to find that dump file but am not sure where to find it.