Hi,

The Microsoft website has an article about this issue. Here is a copy:

This article was previously published under Q320299 
SYMPTOMS
If you shut down your Windows XP-based computer, your computer may restart instead 
of shutting down. The computer may also restart unexpectedly while you are using 
the computer to perform certain tasks. A error message on a blue screen may appear 
when the computer restarts. 
CAUSE
This behavior may occur if Windows throws a fatal error during a typical operation 
or during the shutdown process. By default, the computer is configured to automatically 
restart during a fatal error. To view this setting, right-click My Computer, click 
the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery, and then view the Automatically 
restart check box under System Failure. If the Automatically restart check box is 
selected, Windows automatically restarts if the computer stops unexpectedly. 
RESOLUTION
If your computer constantly restarts if you are using the computer or if you are 
trying to shut down the computer, click to clear the Automatically restart check 
box. If you clear this check box, you receive an error message if a stop error occurs. 
This error message may describe the cause of the critical stop error. You can also 
review the system log in Event Viewer to view the critical stop error that occurs 
when the computer restarts.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in 
the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 
308427 HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP 

To configure Windows' behavior if the computer stops unexpectedly, follow these steps.

NOTE: You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators 
group to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network 
policy settings may prevent you from completing this procedure. 
Log on to the host computer as either an administrator or the owner.
Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Click Performance and Maintenance under Pick a category.
Click System under the or pick a Control Panel icon section.
Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under Startup and Recovery.
Click to select any of the following check boxes under System Failure: 
Write an event to the system log
Send an administrative alert
Automatically restart
STATUS
This behavior is by design. 
MORE INFORMATION
By default, the Automatically restart check box is selected so that you can continue 
to use the computer if a critical stop error occurs. Microsoft Services start during 
the startup process before you log on; therefore the computer is functional after 
it restarts. If the computer stops because of a critical stop error, you lose all 
functionality including the remote access functionality. After the computer restarts, 
you can investigate the reason for the stop error.

The stop error message only displays information about the possible cause of the 
critical stop error. In most situations, the error is logged in the system log.

You can configure Windows to perform the following actions if a severe error such 
as a stop error or fatal system error occurs: 
Write an event to the system log.
Notify administrators.
Automatically restart the computer.
Dump system memory to a file that advanced users can use for debugging.
You must have at least a 2-megabyte (MB) paging file on the computer's boot volume 
if you want to configure the computer to either write an event to the system log 
or notify an administrator. If you configure Windows to create a dump file that contains 
the system memory data, you can use the dump file to debug the cause of the stop 
error.

To configure Windows to create a dump file: 
Log on to the host computer as either an administrator or the owner.
Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Click Performance and Maintenance under Pick a category.
Click System under the or pick a Control Panel icon section.
Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under Startup and Recovery.
Under Write Debugging Information, click one of the following entries:
Small Memory Dump: If you click this setting, the smallest amount of information 
that helps you identify the problem is recorded. This setting requires that you have 
at least 2 MB available for a paging file on the boot volume of your computer. If 
you click this setting, Windows creates a new file each time the computer stops unexpectedly. 
A history of these files is stored in the folder that is listed in the Dump File 
box.
Kernel Memory Dump: If you click this setting, only kernel memory is recorded, which 
speeds up the process of recording information in a log when the computer stops unexpectedly. 
Depending on the amount of random-access memory (RAM) in your computer, you must 
have 50 MB to 800 MB available for the paging file on the boot volume. The file is 
stored in the folder that is listed in the Dump File box.
Complete Memory Dump: If you click this setting, the contents of the system memory 
are recorded when the computer stops unexpectedly. If you use this setting, you must 
have a paging file on the boot volume that is large enough to hold all of the physical 
RAM plus one MB. The file is stored in the folder that is listed in the Dump File 
box.
Windows always writes to the same file name. To save individual dump files, click 
to clear the Overwrite any existing file check box and change the file name after 
each stop error.

To save memory, click to clear both the Write an event to the system log check box 
and the Send an administrative alert check box. The memory that is saved depends 
on the computer. Typically, about 60 kilobytes (KB) to 70 KB of RAM is required by 
these debugging features. 
Last Reviewed: 4/16/2002 
Keywords: kbenv kbprb KB320299 

 
 
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 Last reviewed  Tuesday, April 16, 2002 

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On Monday, March 31, 2003 at 3:46 pm, Nick Haidet wrote:
>I have a question about When 
>I choose "Shut Down" from the Start Menu, my computer restarts instead of shutting 
>down:

>
>
>My computer restarts instead of shutting down. I tried updating and reinstalling 
>Easy CD Creator 5 and neither fixed the problem.  I also tried disabling AMP but 
>that didn't work.  I unchecked restart on system failur and this is the message 
I 
>got:
>
>*** stop: 0x000000D1 (0X0000002B, 0X00000002, 0X00000000, 0XF9D52941)
>***  kdbclass. sys-address F9D52941 base at F9D52000, DateStamp 3d6ddad3
>
>If you know what this means your help would be appreciated.

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