Auto Reboot On System Crash

Posted by admin

August 26, 2009

By default, when the Windows XP operating system crashes an automatic reboot of the system occurs. While this behavior can be convenient, the downside is the error message accompanying the crash is not visible. Often times this information can be a great help in troubleshooting the source of the crash. This behavior can be modified in two ways; via the registry or using the System Properties property sheet.

[Start] [Run] [Regedit]
Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl
Modify/Create the Value Data Type(s) and Value Name(s) as detailed below.
Data Type: Dword // Value Name: AutoReboot
Setting for Value Data: [0 = AutoReboot Disabled / 1 = AutoReboot Enabled]
Exit Registry and Reboot

To avoid the inherent danger of editing the registry, the same results may be obtained by using the procedure detailed below.

Open System Properties via Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > System
[ System Properties may also be opened using the WinKey+Pause key combination ]
Select the Advanced tab and then click Settings in the Startup and Recovery section
In System Failure section, clear the checkbox next to Automatically Restart
Click OK and OK to exit

It should be noted that when you disable the Automatic Restart option you may be presented with the screen below.

Restart