Thanks for the tips, now I have somewhere to start.

"Ted Zieglar aka "Rocky"" wrote in message
.. .
Well, let's get to the easy question first: Dell's warranty includes
in-home
service, but that applies to hardware problems. For example, if the hard
drive failed and needed to be replaced, you could convince Dell's
technical
support to send someone to the house to have it replaced. But in-home
service doesn't apply to software problems.

If the computer is still within the free return period, you may want to
just
send it back.

XP's BSOD consists of a lot of text and some important information right
at
the bottom. The two key pieces of information you are looking for are 1)
the
hexadecimal number right after the word STOP, which usually begins with
0x,
and 2) a cryptic looking name for the problem, which is usually in caps
separated by underscores (LIKE_THIS).

For help with the problem, you can search Microsoft's knowledge using
either
of those bits of information, and you can also try them in Dell's own
knowledge base. Another good place to look for an explanation of what they
mean is Jim Eshelman's Windows Support Center. Here is a link (look for
"STOP Error Messages at Shutdown):
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.htm

Once you know what the problem is, you can start to work on a solution.

Sometimes the blue screen flashes by so quickly that you can't read what
it
says. That is Windows automatically restarting, since a restart sometimes
cures a temporary problem. To prevent Windows from restarting, so you can
read the BSOD, go to Control Panel System Advanced Startup and
Recovery 'Settings' button, and under System Failure untick
Automatically
restart.

--
Ted Zieglar
formerly "Rocket J. Squirrel"

"CJL" wrote in message
news:y2wLc.4986$_K2.2629@lakeread02...
My in-laws just purchased a Dell Dimension 2400 and are getting the Blue
Screen of Death and a mem dump error whenever they open Internet
Explorer
or
Outlook Express. Numerous calls the tech support and reinstalling XP
Home
have not helped. Any ideas where to look to solve the problem besides
calling tech support. Does Dell provide in home service under warranty?

Thanks