Well it seems I do have a problem.  When I went to shut down the XP system last night all went well until the last screen, it was Blue.

It said something to the effect the Windows encounter a problem and shut down before any damage could be done.  Something about if this is the first time you have seen this screen turn your computer back on.  If have seen this screen before then you need to check the following things.  Talks about checking to see if you have enough HDD space, change out your graphics card, etc, etc.

It then somes the Technical information for the stop, several sets of ten digit/alpha combinations and other information.

My questions is how do I find out what is wrong, or what the codes mean?  Search the internet or go to Microsoft's site?  I could post the info here and one of you smart folks can tell me what's wrong, but then I don't really learn anything from that. 

The Blue screen does not stop me from starting my computer and everything looks like it is running fine.

If you can help it would be appreciated.

There should be a hexadecimal error code on the blue screen, something like 0x001AF57C (completely made up, don't google!). Google should find a Microsoft Knowledge Base article with that code, whether that helps or not, is a different matter.

In doing a research on the internet on the stop error code it would appear that either some file or the registry may have gotten corrupted.  The links that I click on all wanted me to run thrid party software to 'fix' the problem.

My question is can't I just run the restore function and go back to when I wasn't having this problem?

It's certainly worth a try. if it doesn't help,you can undo the restore.

I do believe that there is more to this problem then I realized.  It won't let me use the restore function, and I found that my CD and DVD drives are not recognized.  Went and got new drivers, didn't work. 

Anyone in need of a perfectly good doorstop?

I do believe that there is more to this problem then I realized.  It won't let me use the restore function, and I found that my CD and DVD drives are not recognized.  Went and got new drivers, didn't work. 

Anyone in need of a perfectly good doorstop?

I'm sorry to say it, Philly, but those are very similar symptoms to when my mobo was dying... my ROM drives kept disappearing and sys restore would go through the motions but was never successful, and my Nvidia 8800GT graphics card settings would revert back to 600 x 800 from 1280 x 1080... it wasn't being recognised correctly in Windows device manager because the mobo/BIOS was messed up.

My issue started much like yours, with Windows refusing to shut down and sys restore not functioning, then a racing sound coming from the CPU/mobo and freeze ups, then peripherals not being recognised as there.... oh, and the intermittant BSOD's, which were probably graphics card related due to its non-recognition.

The situation is not quite that bad... it is fixable with a new mobo, depending on make and model, for under a $100 USD.

Best of luck with it Philly.

Perhaps I was premature about filling in that hole.   Sorry to hear it may be terminal with out a "transplant"  I'm sure it lived a good life and served you well but age takes it's toll on everything.(including me)   

New mobo means a reinstall of the OS...

True, but it's still better than a new PC... using the old one as a doorstop.

Last time I did that I kept stubbing my toe.

Looks like I'm going to have to put the XP computer out in the middle of the road if I want to get rid of it.

There were two problems, one, apparently I picked up something while visiting on the internet that messed with some files and got past the A/V and security stuff, not nice.  The other was the last updates from Microsoft made some folks systems not see thier CD and DVD drives, how nice.  I remember probably more than a year ago an update stopped folks from getting on the internet.  Never thought that something like that would happen again.

So all is well after repairing files and even works a little better, imagine that.

Imagine, then, how happy I am for you that it didn't come down to a new mobo.  I'm glad you got your issue resolved more easily and without that expense.

Thanks starkers, but there was just a little spark there that said, gee I might have to think about a new computer.

I wonder if it might be worth looking at putting in a new motherboard and CPU to upgrade the XP computer, but then I remember some very wise advice, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

You're welcome, Philly... been there done that when PC things go wrong, and yeah, it can be frustrating, not to mention rather expensive. So, best to wait until the doctor/coroner pronounces death by old age before doing anything.  Once the professinals have given their opinion, you can then decide to either bury it it or do a Frankenstein and bring it back to life with spare parts.

Be warned, however, if you do a Fankenstein on it, brain trauma may occur and you may find it wandering your hallways, lost and disoriented.

It is actually like this new car I just bought - it already has a computer problem where the tach and speedometer and sometimes the fuel guages read wrong or for that matter not at all. Then after you drive it a while or turn the key on and off again it all comes backup and works fine. So we are doing a check out of the computer this weekend at the shop to see if we have to get a new one or if it is something else.

Seems one personal friend of mine says it is a ground that is not very good. Which he may know very well being an x GM line mech. for 5 yrs.. Thus I've got the books out and I'm look all the wiring over very carefully to see if it is right or wrong. But I need more test equipment. Thus this weekend I'll be under the hood of a new Pontiac Sunfire trying to figure where or what is up with either the computer or the wiring.

Either way I bet I find it and get it fixed at whatever the cost may be!!!

I love that part for these new cars ___$$$COST$$$___  

Oh almost new a 2006 Pontiac Sunfire...

Ooops, I failed to point out a very important factor in getting my computer repared, it was Shelbygt_the_Car~! 

Shhhh... now you done gone and said it.

Now if I can just fix the car I'll be happy. I'll get it this weekend I bet...  

Philly, your PC didn't want to shut down....mine don't want to start up!!!!      

No, it doesnt. I swapped about year ago my old MSI socket939 mobo and Athlon64 3200+ for Gigabyte p35 and C2D E8400 + 4 GB DDR2 and no OS reinstall was needed. Later I could even overclock the CPU to 3,6 GHz without any problems.

But maybe i just got lucky.