Computer gurus, I need help

[471_Magnum]

Been getting some scary error messages on my computer for a while now. Now it has started spontaneously rebooting.

Checked the event view and found the following three System Events occurring with some frequency:

Event Type:   Error
Event Source:   System Error
Event Category:   (102)
Event ID:   1003
Date:      8/11/2009
Time:      7:19:57 AM
User:      N/A
Computer:   S0027430236
Description:
Error code 1000008e, parameter1 c0000005, parameter2 806631b1, parameter3 ecebbaf0, parameter4 00000000.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 53 79 73 74 65 6d 20 45   System E
0008: 72 72 6f 72 20 20 45 72   rror  Er
0010: 72 6f 72 20 63 6f 64 65   ror code
0018: 20 31 30 30 30 30 30 38    1000008
0020: 65 20 20 50 61 72 61 6d   e  Param
0028: 65 74 65 72 73 20 63 30   eters c0
0030: 30 30 30 30 30 35 2c 20   000005,
0038: 38 30 36 36 33 31 62 31   806631b1
0040: 2c 20 65 63 65 62 62 61   , ecebba
0048: 66 30 2c 20 30 30 30 30   f0, 0000
0050: 30 30 30 30               0000   
************************
Event Type:   Error
Event Source:   Dhcp
Event Category:   None
Event ID:   1002
Date:      8/13/2009
Time:      6:32:09 PM
User:      N/A
Computer:   FAMILY
Description:
The IP address lease 192.168.2.2 for the Network Card with network address 000347F43764 has been denied by the DHCP server 192.168.2.1 (The DHCP Server sent a DHCPNACK message).

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
**********************************
Event Type:   Warning
Event Source:   Dhcp
Event Category:   None
Event ID:   1003
Date:      6/26/2009
Time:      5:23:42 AM
User:      N/A
Computer:   S0027430236
Description:
Your computer was not able to renew its address from the network (from the DHCP Server) for the Network Card with network address 000347F43764.  The following error occurred:
The semaphore timeout period has expired. . Your computer will continue to try and obtain an address on its own from the network address (DHCP) server.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Data:
0000: 79 00 00 00               y... 


I know enough about this stuff to be really dangerous, so before I install some hotfix that disables my computer, I figured I'd solicit some advice.

Note that I randomly grabbed these off the log, so don't read into the time/date stamp.  I also changed the computer name the other day.

[Khyron]

The first one may be an Issue, I wouldn't worry so much about the second.

When it reboots, ar eyou in IE? have you upgraded to IE8? I know there have been some issues where the system will hang on a page and reboot the machine.

Run the standard AV scans, and so download Malware Bytes , it's a free spyware program, update it and run a full scan.

http://www.malwarebytes.org/

[Troy]

The second two look like there may be a problem with a firewall/router. Neither should cause a reboot.

Troy

[TylerCharger69]

There have been lots of my friends machines do the same thing due to a serious virus.  Total shut down.....System Restore couldn't solve the problem either.....whatever it is....it eats dll files and kernel files.....they had to reformat.....Not saying this is your problem...but it's worth consideration.

[471_Magnum]

I'm running IE7.

Just recently added the router, but the problems pre-date it. McAfee Spyware/AV scans turn-up nothing.

Not sure if it's related or not, but my video performance seems to have deteriorated.

MS shows a hotfix that might be applicable, but it comes with a lot of warnings and disclaimers that have me a bit intimidated.

I'm pretty much ready to junk this thing for an upgrade (it's seven years old) but I'm trying to milk it for another six months or so.

[b5blue]

Sounds like a "Root Kit" 

[471_Magnum]

The hotfix update had already been installed, so I'm stumped.

[RusTy/SE]

Have you disabled "wake on lan" within the bios? Also from within the bios, verify the boot order. After seven years you pc's memory may be failing. This may not be causing your spontaneous reboot issues but is an easy fix to attempt, and you will know those bios settings are correct.

[471_Magnum]

I forgot to mention the ocassional "buffer overflow" warning I get from McAfee on occasion. It's always a legit program that triggers it.

[Tilar]

I'll tell ya, The very first thing I do when I start having problems is to shut down, unplug the box and go through and remove and reseat all my cards and ram. Then I'll check to be sure all my cabling is tight. Once that is done if I still have a problem such as what you're having, is I'll move a card to another slot if possible and let it reinstall. All of that is really dependent on if I have done updates recently or installed software that also installed any third party driver.

I did the microsoft updates about a month ago and went ahead and installed Service Pack 3 for Windows XP and my system crashed on reboot. No fixing it at all. I had to reinstall windows. I couldn't even do a repair and get back into it.

[471_Magnum]

I've got SP3 installed, but the error predates it. This has been happening since June.

I had the box open last week to blow out all the dust (yuck), but didn't think to check the cards. I'll try that next.

[dodgecharger-fan]

Those errors are almost always hardware related. Sometimes it can be a driver for a specific piece of hardware.
Viewing the minidumps can point you toward the driver if it is that. You need to download the debugging tools from Microsoft to view the dump files.
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/default.mspx
They're not too tough to use. The info they give can be difficult to understand but in this case, all you really want to know is if there is a driver file that is mentioned in the dump. You can see that in the output - look for a file with a sys extension. if it is a hardware driver, do some research with the hardware vendor to find out if there is a newer version of the driver.

Those errors are also a very strong indicator of faulty memory. You can test that with Microsoft's memtest tool.
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

It is best to remove as many memory sticks as you can and test them individually. If your board can run with just one stick, then pull out all of the other sticks and test one, then swap in another and test it. repeat until all have been tested.

[TylerCharger69]

I know that I installed the latest Internet Explorer....the one with the "add-ons"  bulls**t.  Computer hasn't been the same since.  I use Mozilla Firefox for my browser now and it does okay......not great,   but okay.