What just happened?

I popped in an old USB drive.
It opened to show me that my wife's resume was on it.
Then I got the Blue Screen of Displeasure, which flashed on the screen for a second and the pc shut down.
The above took no more than 3 seconds.
When I rebooted, I found some info:
C\docs~temps...WERa92adir00\mini072909-01.dmp
and C\docs~temps...WERa92adir00\sysdata.xml

I had FF 3.5.1 open when I inserted the usb thumb drive.
I have XP Pro w/SP3 fully patched, DW 2.56, Prevx and Avast free.
What happened to my pc?
Thanks.
Hugger

 

sounds like the usb caused the crash, it happens
disable autoreboot, review the event viewer logs
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/russel_02may13.mspx

plug the drive back in and test again, it might not crash this time

 

Cudni,
Thanks for the info.
I'll try it.
Hugger

 

USB devices, cables, and connectors are prone to electrostatic discharges that can cause reboots -- if you're very lucky, a reboot is the least damaging. Fried mobos or other components can easily result from ESD. Mobos that use liquid capacitors vs. solid state capacitors are much more vulnerable to damage.