PC errors out and restarts

Q:
Every time my computer errors out, it automatically restarts itself and while that's okay in some situations, it doesn't give me much time to see what's causing the problem. Is there any way I can change that?
If so, please share it with me. Thanks!

A:
Great question! When you go to shut down your computer, you may notice that there's an option for you to restart your computer as well. That option is there for all the times you just want to restart your computer, instead of completely shutting it down. But did you know it also plays a part in system failures? Basically, Windows is set to automatically restart your computer whenever a fatal error occurs on your system.

But let's say the problem only happens when you're shutting down your computer. If Windows automatically restarts your computer in a situation like that, how are you supposed to find out any other information about why the error occurred in the first place? I mean, everything is gone so quickly with the restart, so if some things changed, you might be able to find out some additional information about the problem.

So, if you're having failure problems, one of the things you can do during your troubleshooting process is stop your computer from automatically restarting. The changed setting may allow you to see more information about the error, which will help you troubleshoot even further.

To do that, right click on your My Computer icon and select Properties. Choose the Advanced tab and under the Startup and Recovery section, click on the Settings button. Now, uncheck the box that says "Automatically restart."

From now on, when an error shows its ugly face again, your system will remain shut down until you do a regular boot up. You can then hopefully see more of what's going on and it may help you fix the problem faster. Now, this may not help you in every situation, but it's definitely worth a try!

~ Erin