I still get crashes under XP to this day and I don't know why - Sisoft Sandra won't even work on my PC for some reason - complains that a database service can't start or something. Anyway, since I installed Vista (dual boot) on the same PC a while ago, the XP crashes still happen, but in Vista it's fine.
I'm beginning to wonder if something has changed during the many hundreds of WindowsXP updates, that simply doesn't like certain CPUs. Mine's an Athlon XP3000+.
I'm beginning to wonder if something has changed during the many hundreds of WindowsXP updates, that simply doesn't like certain CPUs. Mine's an Athlon XP3000+.
Stupid question, but did you actually install all of your device drivers? The only time I experienced bad instability in any of my computers was the time I didn't bother to install the IDE busmastering drivers for the onboard IDE controller (part of the motherboard driver disk)
I figured it wouldn't make much of a difference -- big mistake. After installing the IDE busmastering drivers, all instability problems went away immediately.
furthermore, If you have a power supply with one leg in the grave, you may also experience a lot of spontaneous reboots. (although probably not lockups or blue screens)
Finally: a couple of years ago many motherboard suppliers had problems with bad capacitors which would lead to chronic system stability issues, getting worse and worse until the entire system was unusable. At the office we've gone through some batches of Acer PC's (I know, I know) where on average the motherboard would last for 6-9 months before requiring a replacement. Which too would fail very quickly. Rinse and repeat.
If you suspect a motherboard issue, open your case and take a quick peek at the capacitors -- those little barrel-shaped thingamajigs that are mounted on the motherboard. They tend to be blue, black or grey, with a metallic top with an 'X' on them. If you see any of them bulging at the top partially opening the X, or see rust-colored crusts on them (similar to a leaking battery), then more than likely that's the culprit.