Windows fault

[daviddoc]

Hi has anyone else had this problem.

For no reason my laptop shuts down with a page saying,
Windows has found a problem and is shutting down to prevent serious damage to your machine.

It then says to check any new hardware or software which there are not any.

It then says it is then starting a phyisical dump of memory

I restart the laptop and all is ok .

This happens maybe 2-3 times a month.

They is nothing new on the laptop.
I use windows XP

Everything else is ok.

I do not lose anything when this happens

Anyone got any ideas

[artyman]

It may be a poorly written piece of software trying to access a memory location that it shouldn't, the OS detects this and shuts down to protect things.

[SeanSaunders]

It should give you a series of Error codes in the following format:

0xYYYYYY (where y is a number) (Paremeter 1, PArameter 2, Parameter 3, Parameter 4) again all as 0x numbers.

Can you tell us what these are please? also a google result would point you in the right direction as these codes are error codes recognised by microsoft and give clear concise answers to your problem more than likely :)

[daviddoc]

Hi there no error codes.It is a page full of writing saying check any new software ,hardware etc.IT also says to restart your machine.

When it happens again it will write down what the page says in full and get back to you
Thanks.

[smartybones]

i had this with a laptop... it gave several difrent error codes, they the os gives up the ghost... no safe mode, no nothing....

i eventually traced the fault to a dodgy bit of RAM... once the offending item was removed it worked fine..... saying that, it took a while to find some replacement ram that was compatable.....

[TimeRider]

Most common times I've seen this on laptops is when it's due to overheating, you're getting the error fairly rare, so this is a good possibility. Worst cases even show the error repeatedly during windoze install. I've detailed info on some of this on my site in the tech section (or whatever I call it at the mo, lol) See link at bottom of post for causes, research and possible fixes documented (CPU change!! eek!)

As also mentioned, dodgy RAM can cause similar errors, but I'd expect them to be MUCH more often if it was RAM to blame.

Other causes could be hard drive failure (does the drive had SMART?, if so there are many packages that can check on the status of the drive and give you clues as to failures etc)

Windows memory dumps are a pain in the ass to try and get any info from, and in many cases you get a reboot before you can even read em (this setting can be altered however).

Given your experiences, I'd check for heat first, and then wonder about the harddrive, or perhaps some dodgy update from windows that doesn't like your hardware.

Steve!
http://www.timerider.co.uk

[daviddoc]

Hi thanks for replys. Have downloaded Speedfan to monitor temp.Also this allows the smart feature.
the max temp for my harddrive is 49 degrees so i am going to monitor temp.
The smart results seem ok, have enclosed them.Any other advice would be welcome.
Will let you know how the temp watch goes.
hd Almost every EIDE or SATA hard disk includes S.M.A.R.T. data. That information is collected by the drive itself and contains data that the manufacturer considered relevant to check reliability. The data is made up of several attributes that have a current value, a worst one, a threshold, some raw data, and some flags. Basically, when any attribute's current value is below its threshold, the hard disk is considered unreliable and likely to fail. By using several techniques, this report tries to give a wider range of info, basing its analysis on advanced comparisons with normal values based on real hard disks and on expert-like checks. The final results are not to be taken as an absolute truth, but they are a very good approach to what a professional would say about your hard disk status.
Your hard disk is a FUJITSU MHV2040AT with firmware 00000096.
The average temperature for this hard disk is 40C (MIN=29C MAX=49C) and yours is 44C.
Your hard disk's S.M.A.R.T. attributes are now being analyzed and a full report about the reliability, health and status of your hard disk is generated:
Your hard disk is not below any attribute threshold. This is good.
Your hard disk was never below any attribute threshold. This is good.
Your hard disk is now being compared to real data used to define normal values for your specific hard disk model. This way, the analysis can automatically use proper operating ranges. The images give you an idea of how each attribute is within such range. Current and raw values are shown for easier reference for experienced users. There are 1742 hard disk models in the current archive.

Attribute Current Raw Overall
10 Raw Read Error Rate 100 44649 Very good
10 Throughput Performance 100 15728640 Very good
10 Spin Up Time 100 0 Very good
9 Start/Stop Count 99 1469 Very good
10 Reallocated Sector Count 100 2000 0 0 Very good
10 Seek Error Rate 100 860 Very good
10 Seek Time Performance 100 0 Very good
9 Power On Hours Count 97 6262039 Very good
10 Spin Retry Count 100 0 Very good
10 Power Cycle Count 100 1002 Very good
10 Power Off Retract Count 100 55 Very good
10 Load Cycle Count 100 14194 Very good
10 Hardware ECC Recovered 100 2 Very good
10 Reallocated Event Count 100 459145216 Very good
10 Current Pending Sector 100 0 Very good
10 Offline Uncorrectable Sector Count 100 0 Very good
10 Ultra DMA CRC Error Rate 200 0 Very good
10 Write Error Rate 100 31424 Very good
10 Run Out Cancel 100 356 106 772 Very good

All of the attributes of your hard disk have normal values. This is good.

The overall fitness for this drive is 100%.
The overall performance for this drive is 100%.
The link to get back and see a new report about this hard disk in the future is this. Consider that new hard disks and new checks are added over time.
DISCLAIMER: this report does its best to highlight issues and warnings related to your hard disk. It cannot be held responsible for any mistake. This page and its results cannot be used in any other way but the one defined by its author.

[TimeRider]

Recent laptops run hotter than many older ones, or my c2d 2750 does anyways, yet doesn't get much hotter than the (warm) idle speed when I push it... means nice and quiet fans which is what I like :)

Give your laptop a push, burn some CD's DVD, do some video encoding, set it away defragging, virus check, unzipping some heavilly crunched files is also good. If it fails during that, well.... I guess not much further forward, as memory, drive or cpu temp could be to blame, but if you monitor the temps during, then perhaps you can see where it's going wrong.

Steve!
www.timerider.co.uk

[Krokr]

Have you looked at the Event viewer to see any application or system messages? (Right-Click on My Computer, Manage, and then under System tools-Event Viewer etc.)

[daviddoc]

Hi have check that but nothing.
On looking through other forums heat seems to be the thing.
Have Downloaded Notebook Hardware control and HD running at Max 57c and CPU at Max50c.
Am going to get can compressed Air and give give fan cleanup.
Fan keeps coming on but with the readings on NHC panel this seems to control the CPU temp.
Have not had any shut down lately.
Will keep you all updated.
Thanks