Computer Crash - Device Driver

I own a Gateway 500X puter purchased in June 2003.

Recently I have been experiencing complete shutdowns - two days ago 5 times.

Here is the message error I received:

"You are receiving this message because a device driver installed on your
computer caused a stop error message. This error message required a restart
of your computer. After the restart your computer should continue to operate
normally, however the error may re-occur until the problem is corrected.

A stop error occurs when your computer encounters an error from which it
cannot recover. This is usually caused by a device driver which encounters
an unhandled exception or performs an illegal operation. When the operating
system detects this situation it is stopped to prevent future problems,
such as data loss or further system instability"

When I purchased the 500X a red Drivers CD came with the unit. The question
I have is should I reinstall the drivers using this CD and will this correct
the problem? Or is there another solution out there?

I would start making backups of the important data on your hard drive. I
started getting message like that and then starting getting hard drive not
found messages. Shortly after that my hard drive died permanently.
Tom

"mwm" wrote in message
news
I own a Gateway 500X puter purchased in June 2003.

Recently I have been experiencing complete shutdowns - two days ago 5
times.

Here is the message error I received:

"You are receiving this message because a device driver installed on your
computer caused a stop error message. This error message required a
restart of your computer. After the restart your computer should continue
to operate normally, however the error may re-occur until the problem is
corrected.

A stop error occurs when your computer encounters an error from which it
cannot recover. This is usually caused by a device driver which encounters
an unhandled exception or performs an illegal operation. When the
operating system detects this situation it is stopped to prevent future
problems, such as data loss or further system instability"

When I purchased the 500X a red Drivers CD came with the unit. The
question I have is should I reinstall the drivers using this CD and will
this correct the problem? Or is there another solution out there?

Does the error message indicate WHICH driver failed? If not, you are wading in
quicksand between hardware-caused and software-caused problems.

I would start by running memory (MEMTEST-86) and hard drive (manufacturer's)
diagnostics, to make sure that the system memory and hard drive are still in
tip-top condition. I would also open up the system chassis and clean out all
the dust and dirt inside. Use a can of compressed air, readily available at
Staples, OfficeMax, Best Buy etc, to blast out all the dust, with particular
attention to rotating fans.

The shutdowns could be caused just as easily by overheating, failing memory or
hard drive, or software. But it the hardware is not 100% A-OK for sure, there
is no point messing with the software.

If the hardware is found to be in good condition, download, install, and run
CCleaner (short for Crap Cleaner) to remove a lot of junk from the system
registry (another possible culprit) and all sorts of useless files. Boot the
system in safe mode if necessary to run CCleaner... Ben Myers

On Sun, 20 Aug 2006 11:16:07 -0400, "mwm" wrote:

I own a Gateway 500X puter purchased in June 2003.

Recently I have been experiencing complete shutdowns - two days ago 5 times.

Here is the message error I received:

"You are receiving this message because a device driver installed on your
computer caused a stop error message. This error message required a restart
of your computer. After the restart your computer should continue to operate
normally, however the error may re-occur until the problem is corrected.

A stop error occurs when your computer encounters an error from which it
cannot recover. This is usually caused by a device driver which encounters
an unhandled exception or performs an illegal operation. When the operating
system detects this situation it is stopped to prevent future problems,
such as data loss or further system instability"

When I purchased the 500X a red Drivers CD came with the unit. The question
I have is should I reinstall the drivers using this CD and will this correct
the problem? Or is there another solution out there?