BleepingComputer.com: Windows Crash While Browsing Internet

Over the last week I have encountered a strange Windows crash. I will describe the symptoms as best I can.

Occasionally when I navigate to a web page in Firefox then click on a link, it will cause the entire system to crash. It can be any link on any page. I haven't noticed a pattern from specific sites. I spend most of my browsing time on message boards, but it has occurred on Yahoo! News links as well. It always occurs in this order specifically.
1) I notice the page has stopped loading at some point.
2) I am unable to interact with the page or windows icons using the mouse or keyboard.
3) The mouse cursor stops responding.
4) The screen goes black and the system reboots.

Once I reboot, Windows behaves as if nothing ever went wrong. I don't receive a message saying Windows did not shut down properly. I have tried searching for a memory dump file (*.dmp) but I can only find a partial, which is dated in October 2010.

The crash is infrequent. I have noticed it now four times over the last week, perhaps ten days at the most. The other primary use for my computer is gaming (1-3 hours a day) and have yet to notice a crash during gaming. It may only be a coincidence that this crash is occurring while browsing the internet, but it is the only time I have seen it happen.

What have I done so far?
I have scanned my computer for malware using AVG Free Edition 2011.
I have scanned my computer for malware using Housecall 1.41.
I have run CPUStabTest.exe for 16 hours without a crash.
I have searched for a memory dump file (any file ending in .dmp) in hopes of possibly analyzing it, but haven't found anything aside form the minidump from October 2010.

What hardware/OS do I use?
MB: MS-6712 1.0
CPU: Athlon XP 2400+ (not overclocked)
RAM: 2 x 1024 PC2700
HDs: Maxtor 6Y160P0 and ST3120026A (primary boot drive)
Video: ATI Radeon HD 2400
Internet: D-Link DWA-552 Wireless Adapter to D-Link / Wireless N Router DIR-628
Windows Ver: Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (build 2600)

I can think of only one other piece of information that might be relevant. About two months ago I purchased a new video card and have been tinkering with the BIOS settings for performance. Perhaps two weeks ago, I changed two BIOS settings. AGP Master 1 W/S Write set to Enabled and AGP Master 1 W/S Read set to Enabled. Previously they had both been set to Disabled. I enabled both options to improve performance. I don't know whether or not this is related but it is the only thing I have done to my system recently.

Open cmd and type in sfc /scannow this should fix any bad files you may have !
Make sure you reboot afterwards!

Also try opening cmd and type in ipconfig /release then enter then ipconfig /renew
Also clearing your DNS cache by typing into cmd ipconfig /flushdns !

Good Luck !

This post has been edited by doinmeedin: 09 February 2011 - 04:12 PM

In addition to Doinmeedin`s suggestions.

What version of FF are you running? Do you have and add-on`s installed?

How To Use Sfc.exe To Repair System Files - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic43051.html

Louis

doinmeedin, on 09 February 2011 - 04:04 PM, said:

I have done as you recommended. I will have to keep using the internet and see if this makes a difference. I can't seem to do anything to force the crash. I will report back if the problem persists. Otherwise if a week goes by without issue, I think I might be able to assume the problem is solved.

ThunderZ, on 09 February 2011 - 04:26 PM, said:

v 3.6.13
I have a number of add-ons:
Adobe Acrobat
i-Tunes Application Detector
Java Deployment Toolkit
Java Platform
Microsoft DRM
Mozilla Default Plug-In
Office Genuine Advantage
Pando Web Plug-In
Quicktime Plug-In
Shockwave Flash
Shockwave for Director
VLC Multimedia Plug-In
Windows Media Player Plug-In Dynamic Link Library
Windows Presentation Foundation

I wanted to add a note updating the status of things. I haven't had a crash since my last post so things appear to be running well. Perhaps doinmeedin's suggestions have made the difference. I will update again in a few days if this occurs again or not.

Well I haven't experienced the bug since my last post. I guess it is safe to say the problem is fixed. Thank you everyone for your help.

Thanks for letting us know.

It would seem Louis`s indtructions may have done the trick.