XP Pro keeps shutting down

I just did a fresh install of windows XP Pro for a customer. I reloaded all the software and restored all their personal data. Everything ran fine on my bench and even when I delivered the machine to the customer. I set it up for her and went through the machine with her so she could verify that everything was working OK. Now she called me this morning saying that she was working and the machine just shut down. I got her to reboot the machine and everything seemed to be fine for about a minute and then it shutdown again. It now shutsdown after about a minute every time she starts the machine. I will be going out there in a couple hours and was wondering if anyone had any ideas. I am new to XP so I dont know forsure what to all try. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

pull the side off and check fan is running , have they bounced it up and down stairs ???

i don,t think "xp" is different to any other o/s regarding shut down ,,
i think it,s prob hardware related ,,,,also check scanners printers modems etc ,,,

If it,s one of the newer boards , is it set on bios/thermal shutdown , a little low (maybe they have jammed it somewere with no airflow)

or maybe faulty PSU or even power outlet ,,,

let us know the outcome ?

FtF

I think it is probably a hardware problem in the box, or possibly in the bios. I had a PC a couple of days ago that would just lock up a short time after startup. No app was doing it and there was no set time. Anywhere from 1 minute to about 5 but no longer than that. Got it to my desk, took the cover off and here is the cooling cage laying on the motherboard. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" /> So after a motherboard / processor change, it was back up and running.

Does not seem to be hardware related. I tried booting into a Last Known Good and that did not help. I tried booting into safe mode and got the following message.

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

You can attempt to repair this file by starting windows setup using the original setup cd-rom.
Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.

I tried to do the repair, but nothing would happen, the machine would just hang (I let is sit for about 45 min). Now everytime I try to boot I get that same error and cant get any further.

Instead of press r when first prompted, try going on as if you were just doing an install. It will then come up with an option to repair the currently installed version.

I have found this to be more effective with "repairing" than the repair at the initial prompt.

You should also try swapping out memory as I recently had a machine in with a similar problem, after doing several tests it turned out to be faulty RAM.

Mike

You should turn off the automatic reboot after a problem, so that you get to see what XP is complaining about.

Many of the stop errors are quite informative allowing you to narrow it down somewhat.

To turn off auto reboot - right click my computer, properties, advanced tab, start up recovery section, settings button, uncheck automatically restart.

Also check the Event Viewer. I believe in XP it's under the control panel, administrative tools, computer management.

Look for an event saying that the PC rebooted from a 'bug check'. I've seen that one before and fixed it with downloading the latest drivers, for a video card or printer etc.

Even if you don't see the bug check event I would still update the drivers.

Well I tried to do a new install and was unable to get through the format portion. The Hard Drive in the machine is now toast. I picked up a new hard drive last night and everything seems to be going fine. I will keep you posted if it starts happening again. Thanks for everyones help. Oh, I just lucked out on the waranty for the drive, it expires July 10, 2002.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by gpint:
<strong>...... Oh, I just lucked out on the waranty for the drive, it expires July 10, 2002.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hang on its only the 6th .... :confused:

2 cultures separated by a single language... we in the UK say lucked in...