Computer constantly freezing up and rebooting

[Eager to Solve]

I have a Dell Desktop with Windows XP.  My computer is probably 10 years old.  I can't tell you the specifics of the RAM and such because I can't get the computer to stay up long enough to retrieve the information needed.  I do know that 3 years ago I had the RAM increased but I don't remember to what.  I've never had any trouble with it until recently and ran the Microsoft diagnostic.  The following is the code that I am receiving and the files that seem to be connected to it.  I have looked for the files on my computer because I was going to delete them but I cannot locate them.  I have been told that it could be that malware has infected my software.  Can anyone help me with this?

Here's the code:
BCCode: f4  BCP1: 00000003  BCP2: 82F08840  BCP3: 82F089B4  BCP4: 805FB1D6 OSVer:5_1_2600  SP:3_0  Product: 768_1

Here are the files:
C:\DOCUME~1\Denise\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERf847.dir00\Mini101711-28.dmp
C:\DOCUME~1\Denise\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERf847.dir00\sysdata.xml

I would appreciate anyone's input to let me know if this is fixable.

Kind Regards,
Denise

[jason2074]

I was going to delete them but I cannot locate them

These are hidden files. Windows Explorer - Tools - Folder Options - View - Tick Show Hidden Files and Folders - Apply.
Any Bluescreens? To stop automatic restart and post the bluescreen error, see this link http://www.kevinscrate.com/blog/2007/10/12/turn-off-auto-reboot-in-xp/

[geek hoodlum]

Hi and welcome to Computer Hope!

If you cannot boot into normal Windows mode or cannot troubleshoot because of errors in normal mode boot into Safe Mode. Check this out: Getting into Windows Safe Mode.

Once you access Safe Mode, observe if problem will still persist, and try to troubleshoot as well. You can also get the specs of your computer and do some system scan as well.

Computer Hope experts will wait for your next post.

[Dr Jay]

Enable driver verifier so we can find the problem driver...

To use driver verifier:
- First make sure you can access Safe Mode (with Networking preferably), by tapping [F8] during startup.  If verifier detects a problem, you may not be able to start in normal mode, so it is very important that you can access Safe Mode to disable it.
- Go to Start and in the run/search bar type in verifier and press [Enter].
- At the start of wizard, click Next.
- Click Automatically select all drivers installed on this computer followed by Finish, and then restart the PC.

If you receive any BSOD's during the course of using verifier, please upload the logs, as they will contain the results of any driver problems. 

To turn off driver verifier, simply go back to the verifier wizard again in Safe Mode, and select Delete existing settings.


Otherwise, please upload any BSOD minidmps:

Upload Dump Files:
Please go to C:\Windows\Minidump and zip up the contents of the folder.  Then upload/attach the .zip file with your next post.
Left click on the first minidump file.
Hold down the "Shift" key and left click on the last minidump file.
Right click on the blue highlighted area and select "Send to"
Select "Compressed (zipped) folder" and note where the folder is saved.
Upload that .zip file with your next post.

If you have issues with "Access Denied" errors, try copying the files to your desktop and zipping them up from there.  If it still won't let you zip them up, post back for further advice.

If you don't have anything in that folder, please check in C:\Windows for a file named MEMORY.DMP.  If you find it, zip it up and upload it to a free file hosting service .  I recommend Windows Live SkyDrive - http://skydrive.live.com or another free, file-hosting service.  Then post the link to it in your topic so that we can download it.

Then, follow the directions here to set your system for Minidumps (much smaller than the MEMORY.DMP file):  http://www.carrona.org/setmini.html

[elwilli]

It may be that some memory module is bad. Try to open the PC and check the memory modules separately to see what happens.

[kwisj]

I had this problem with an old pc and eventually I tracked it down to a problem with the motherboard. I changed the system hard drive still the same, I added new fans still the same , as I found out the too high a temp can cause this, no change, I reinstalled the operating system still the same. In the end I  put my finger on one of the chipset chips and it was red hot. So I changed the mother board for 20 or 30 bucks and problem solved.
Kwisj