I am getting a BSOD on DAW computer, here is a little bit of background before I get to my questions:
I normally leave my workstation on all the time usually with iTunes up, but not with Sonar running, and my displays off.
I have experienced several computer restarts that I am pretty sure were BSODs (one confirmed because I saw it happen).  Many of these occurred when no applications were running at the time.
 
The one I did see stated that the system was stopped to protect hardware, but since I have it set to re-boot automatically, I did not catch the details of the issue.  The event viewer was not really helpful, but that may be because I don't know what to look for.
 
So after that lengthy preamble, here are my questions:
If I change the settings so that the computer does not reboot on a BSOD, do I risk any damage to my hardware if it sits on the BSOD for a day or so?
What should I be looking for in the event viewer to help me diagnose the problem?
Is there any other source of information that could lead me to the cause of the issue?
 
Thanks in advance for the assistance.
 

yes, change the setting so it doesn't restart; no, it won't hurt the pc
 
here's a guide to deciphering bsods: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/blue_screen_death_survival_guide_every_error_explained
 
good luck!

If it "stopped to protect hardware", that is usually indicative of a hardware issue.
Suggest you post this on the Windows 7 forum, where there are "techies" that can really get into it and help you.
 
http://www.sevenforums.com/bsod-help-support/
 
And the instructions for creating a log of the problems and posting and including it in your post.
http://www.sevenforums.com/bsod-help-support/96879-blue-screen-death-bsod-posting-instructions.html
 

I prefer that the computer NOT reboot itself after a crash, simply to assure that I notice it if happens. It makes no difference to system integrity either way.
 
More often than not, the Event Viewer has no useful information after a GPF. It's still worth looking at, though. Filter out everything but warnings and errors, and then check the System category, as this will be where you most likely see indications of Windows and hardware-related problems.
 
If it's SONAR that's crashing, the Event Viewer probably won't be any help. Any useful information will be found in SONAR's minidumps. If it's a plugin causing the crash, here's a thread about that.

Thanks for all the help - now I am just waiting for a BSOD (been 3 days without one).

dwardzala
Thanks for all the help - now I am just waiting for a BSOD (been 3 days without one).

Reverse Murphy's Law? lol....
Have you checked to make sure all your hardware (internal and external) drivers are up to date? 

I haven't checked in a month or so, but for non-audio h/w I usually get an informational message stating there is a new driver (e.g. nVidia) but I control the installation..
 
I did do a couple of windows updates since the last BSOD, so perhaps that corrected whatever issue it was as well.

Well, at least the good part is no more BSOD's. Hopefully, it'll continue to behave properly as it should.

Wow, I hope it is gone. I haven't seen one since W-98 or ME. I thought with W7, better drivers, CPUs etc they were pretty much eliminated. I'd freak out if I got one!
Say it ain't so...
I REALLY hope you don't see it again!
 
J
 
 

I hope they are gone to, but the engineer (non audio type) in me doesn't like things to just disappear without knowing why or confirming that whatever I changed actually eliminated the problem (A/B/A test).
 
In any case, thanks to all who have provided advice and assistance.  I will post if it occurs again.