hi i am running windows xp, and occasionally when i shut down my computer i recieve an error message, the computer makes the noise it makes when it puts up and error message, then shuts down. i can't read the error message since it's not up there long enough before the computer shuts down so i have no idea about what the problem even is. is there a way to see recent error messages in xp? thankyou

You can check the system log in the event viewer (start/control panel/administrative tools) and figure out what the error is by browsing to http://www.eventid.net/. Click on Search Events from the top menu to search on the cheap without paying a penny. De be warned though, the entries are for PC technicians and geeks alike. You can take the references and google them for more literate results and solutions.

Thanks i found out what the error message was, but now i have no idea what it means or how to fix it. (your right that log is for pc techs/geeks)
the message reads: AOLServicehost.exe- application error "The instruction at "0x7472b6dc" referenced memory at "0x03046fe0". The memory could not be written.
Thankyou for any help

Heh, it looks like the AOL program blew it's mind, agian. Do you use AOL? If not, uninstall the program from add/remove programs in the control panel.

I personally relish stripping AOL out of people's systems.

yeah unfortunatly i am still using aol, but only for email. do you think that whatever the problem is will be fixed if i uninstall aol and then put it back in? what if i just replace the file aolservicehost.exe with another working file from the aol cd. would that fix it?

Uninstall and reinstall AOL is the best solution for this matter. Back up your files when the uninstaller prompts you to do so.

ok thankyou for the help, i did a little research and found that you can do a quick restore with aol, but that did nothing so i just took it all out and reinstalled it. so far so good! i haven't gotten the problem again.
thankyou

nevermind, it's back
anyone else have any suggestions for something that i could try

'fraid it's AOL's software conflicting with a application on shutdown. Alot of other folks on the tech forums are blowing gaskets over it. Pretty much the bottom line is to ditch AOL's overpriced dialup and get onto a more budget-minded dialup for about 14.95/mo.

I can make some endorsements and vouch for the ISP i work for, but odds are if I do i'll get booted from here. :p